Mar. 11, 2025 - Breakout Distance:  The 2nd Pillar of Teaching Better Swimming

Breakout Distance:  The 2nd Pillar of Teaching Better Swimming

The key to long-term improvement as a swimmer is this:  Increase distance per cycle while maintaining the same tempo and breakout distance.  This combination of skills ensures that improvements come from better swimming technique, rather than just relying on a strong push-off, a bigger kick, or a faster stroke rate.   This week we look at one part of the equation:  breakout distance.  We’ll assume you have a certain level of mastery for your underwater dolphins.  We’ll explain how to use a FINIS Tempo Trainer to determine how many dolphins you should take, as well as their optimal size and rate. And we’ll give you some sets to help you experiment.  Come join us!

Monday

Turns: Practice Underwater Dolphins

For freestyle, here’s how to learn CONSISTENCY in how many dolphins to take before transitioning to flutter kick for the breakout.

https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2724-turns-practice-underwater-dolphins

0526 start by setting up a pattern

0944 transition from dolphin to flutter

1133 transition from flutter to swim

1982 depending on the speed of the race determines how short the transition

2510 too shallow

2998 you can start by skipping the dolphins

3650 maintaining a stable body line

4025 Breaking out each step again

4236 making a definitive separation to the flutter kick

4835 shortening the duration of the flutter

5138 angle of attack off the wall

5402 transition to flutter and first stroke occur at the same time

10284 timing the breakout so it’s not too deep

10989 continuing to practice the sequence

Tuesday

Butterfly Drill: Dolphin Initiation

For butterfly, here’s how to determine WHEN to initiate your first dolphin kick, and how to develop CONSISTENCY in your breakout distance.

https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/998-butterfly-dolphin-initiation

0730 experimenting with when to initiate the dolphin

2036 experimenting with both the start and the turn

2967 immediately initiating the dolphin on entry

4102 immediately initiating the dolphin on the turn

4778 experimenting with maximizing the initial glide

5840 experimenting with maximizing the initial glide off the turn

10546 splitting the difference

11329 splitting the difference off the turn

11796 immediately initiating the kick 

12051 timing to a static line

12383 increasing the glide

12609 timing to a static line

12993 glide dolphin and time

13464 timing the turn immediate

13731 timing the turn long glide

14317 timing the turn splitting the difference

Wednesday

Butterfly: Breakout Practice

To develop consistency in your butterfly breakout distance, it’s important to know where your body should be just prior to your breakout and first stroke.  Once you’ve learned this position, then you can experiment with how many kicks – at what rate – will get your to that position.

https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1978-butterfly-breakout-practice

0454 immediate but small dolphin

0805 feet breaking the surface prior to the head

0841 Head nearly completely out but no breath

1155 becoming parallel to the surface as soon as possible

1404 gradual climb to the surface

1943 look how stable the front end is

3089 become horizontal as soon as possible

3645 gradual climb to the surface

4325 parallel to the surface before the breakout

4674 Drive forward not up

11137 look at the eyes

Thursday

Backstroke Drill: Underwater Dolphin – Size

For backstroke, here’s how to determine how big and how fast your dolphin kicks should be.  Measure it.  Count it. Time it.

https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/819-backstroke-underwater-dolphin-size

0553 the master

1143 elegance

2321 Extreme body angles

2619 simply trying too hard

3702 increasing rate limit amplitude

4567 better head position

5431 Chin on chest

11051 still too tucked

12647 better head position what’s the quick fix for this

13229 better position

13318 tucking the chin on breakout

Friday

Underwater Dolphins – Increasing Rate

Working on how many dolphins you take off each wall is just one part of the equation.  Just as important is how quickly you take those kicks.  Here’s how to experiment to find the optimal combination of number and rate.

https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1960-underwater-dolphins-increasing-rate

0787 set a standard tempo

30.46 gradually increase the rhythm

3701 increase the rhythm again

4208 max rhythm

4522 limiting amplitude

5849 set the rhythm and time to a static spot

10060 increase the rhythm time to the static spot

10560 max rhythm time to the static spot

11057 once you determine the proper rhythm at fins

11955 matching the rhythm with fins is harder and is more work

15369 after some training go back to no fences

20471 Time to the static spot again

Saturday

All Strokes: Tempo Trainer Underwater Dolphins

Here’s a quick set that uses a FINIS Tempo Trainer to help the swimmer determine the ideal size and rate of their underwater dolphins.

https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2185-all-strokes-tempo-trainer-underwater-dolphins

2821 horizontal breakout

3117 set a time for a kick forward or a kick backwards

3626 have the swimmer match the tempo for a set number of dolphins

10438 increase the rate keep the number of dolphins the same

11923 Time either a static spot or 25s

13000 add data to your experimentation

14465 take the guess work out

Sunday

Adding Dolphins

We love this short set to help swimmers search for their ideal number of underwater dolphins.

https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2696-adding-dolphins

0563 add dolphins and strokes to get an overall count

1858 increased dolphins decrease stroke by one each time

3266 continue the process until failure or 15 m

BONUS

Data Testing Underwater Dolphins

Glenn explains how to use the GoSwim app to help a swimmer determine how many underwater dolphins to take.

https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/3451-data-testing-underwater-dolphins