How Can I improve my 100 Breaststroke time?

I can swim a 100 breaststroke in a 1:27:15 which i think is ok but my goal is a 1:18 I think that will take me one or two seasons depending on how hard I work. I was wondering if there are any techniques that i could work on to make it faster?|||One major factor many swimmers and coaches don't thoroughly include in racing is a clear race strategy. You must plan your race and be very specific in doing so. I'm providing you with a long explanation as it directly addresses how to determine your swimming speed AND, due to my 48 years of experience as a competitor and coach and my education where I studied this exact topic, I'll also address how you'll feel at each part of your race ... but it is a long explanation.





Keep in mind that you do not run out of energy while racing unless your race lasts almost 2 hours. However, waste products (lactic acid) that interfere with muscle function from short races accumulate quickly and interfere with muscle function (cause you to tighten up). So the key to going fast is NOT building waste products from going too fast at the beginning of your race. When the waste products build, your muscles lose power as they cannot relax. You can especially see that happening during the last 10 or 12 yards of 100s as people lose power and fade at the end of a race. Those who can maintain power win but, to maintain power you can't have lactic acid interfering with muscle function. So, how fast are you supposed to go on the first 25 yds to avoid a negative accumulation of lactic acid so that you can maintain your stroke length and power right up to the moment before you touch the wall?





Here is how you plan your race:


1. You must have a very thorough warm-up that you complete within 5 minutes of your race. That means that you have swum a minimum of 1200 yds/m (2000 or more is better). If you warmed up 20 minutes or more before your race your warm-up is gone and you should warm-up again.





2. On the first 25 yds/m of your race you MUST, on the 2nd stroke (for free and fly) after you breakout, start breathing every other stroke. DO NOT hold your breath on the first 25 yds/m. The air you breath in 'now' does not reach your muscles for about 30 seconds. So, if you don't breath at the beginning of your race, somewhere around your 50 there is no fresh oxygen reaching your muscles because you didn't breath 30 seconds earlier and you'll begin to fatigue (lactic acid develops from not having adequate amounts of oxygen) prematurely.





3. Determine how fast you should be going on the first 25 yds/m of your race and practice that speed, off the blocks, in practice or in warm-up. The formula for determining that speed is to take your goal time and change it into all seconds. Due to your start on the first length add 1.4 to the seconds for your goal time. THEN divide by four. That time is what each of your last THREE 25's should be. Then, subtract 1.4 seconds (the start) from the time you should be doing for the last three 25s ... that should be your time for your first 25.





Here is what it looks like. Let's use a goal time of 1:21.0 for your breaststroke (for others and your future goal times) you must change your time to seconds (1:21 = 81 seconds). Add 1.4 + 81 = 82.4. Divide 82.4 by 4, which equals 20.6.





Next, you should be doing 20.6 for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th 25s of your race. However, for the first length, you should subtract the 1.4 from 20.6 ... and that time (20.6 - 1.4 = 19.2) 19.2 is what your first 25 should be.





You must learn what the 25 split "feels" like. At the same time, you're going to learn how difficult it is to go slow. Thus, in practice and/or during warm-up you should do some 25s from the blocks with a turn at the 25 with a LOT of rest between each 25 and see if you can hit 19.2 seconds. Of course, as you improve your times, you鈥檒l have to adjust your splits.





Now, in a race you'll be all hyped up AND there are no waste products in your muscles so you feel very fresh and not fatigued at all. So, 19.2 will feel like you're going really slow ... but that is OK ... HOLD BACK on that first 25 and breathe right after your breakout ... breathe every stroke cycle for freestyle and breaststroke. Breathe every other stroke for fly. Backstrokers need to consciously force themselves to breathe.





THEN, as you come into your first turn, start to speed up your kick and your stroke rate A LITTLE! If those against whom you're swimming are of comparable speed, you'll likely be a little bit behind. But being slightly behind at this point of the race is OK as in a short while you're going to be feeling a whole lot fresher than they are. THAT will pay off at the end of your race. Your second length should feel as if you've sped up slightly over the first. On your third length, keep your stroke long and be working at catching everyone without sprinting. Your goal at this point of the race (just before the 75) is to be either tied with or very close to catching those who were leading. THEN ... at about 70 yards into your race (30 yds to go and BEFORE your turn) you've got to be building into an all out sprint and go for it before your 75 turn. Maintain long and strong stroke.





The key thing is that during your race you must work at speeding up BEFORE each turn and, at a minimum, you hold that speed for the next whole length ... always be speeding up slightly throughout the race. Then, on the last 30 yards, you've GOT to use your kick and really sprint it home.





What I tell my swimmers is that you should never be going faster in your race than you can maintain for the remainder of the race. In order to learn all of this, which is surprisingly difficult, my swimmers do a lot of broken swims (a broken 100 is a block start, 10 seconds rest at each 25 and working on the strategy). At the end of the season when we taper, the swimmers get a lot of individual attention from me as I time them on the stopwatch with a lot of encouragement.





On the last 25 is when you should now hold your breath in free and fly. Remember, the air you breathe in 'now' does not reach your muscles for about 30 seconds. So, although it will be painful, the air you breathe in on your last 25 never gets to your muscles during the race. And, of course, that first breath after you touch the wall feels soooooo good! It鈥檚 OK to take a breath or two 鈥?just kept it to a minimum.





For a 200, do the same planning except plan for 50's instead of 25's.


Let me know if you use this strategy and how it works for you. Contact me at


academicjoq with a yahoo and a dot kom|||Keep your strokes long and strong, keep your head facing down, complete each kick, streamline. Practice will be your best bet. Ask your coach to help you with it. But just practice and practice untill you reach your goal. Also running will help build your endurance. Also practice in between seasons as well, it will really help you keep in shape and get better|||remember to do pull outs and when gliding dont wait 4 the very last moment 2 do your next stroke|||timing, is so important.