Many beginner triathletes tend to use the breaststroke because it’s perceived as easier and might seem to offer better sighting and breathing opportunities.

But the breaststroke is the slowest stroke – even slower than the backstroke.

And believe it or not, the breaststroke is also more technical!

Plus, other triathletes really don’t like breaststrokers swimming next to them.

So hopefully this article will help you learn how to transition to the crawl (freestyle is actually not the name of a stroke) and you’ll become a better and faster swimmer.

Why Transition to Front Crawl?

1. Speed: The front crawl is significantly faster due to its lower drag. Breaststroke positions the body at an angle, creating more resistance, while the crawl maintains a flat, streamlined position.
2. Efficiency: Breaststroke requires more exertion, especially from the legs, which you need to save for the bike and run portions of the race. Front crawl is less tiring and more energy-efficient.
3. Better Sighting: Experienced crawl swimmers can sight without significantly disrupting their stroke or body position.
4. Injury: The jerky movement of the frog kick breaststrokers do can result in knee injury.
5. Consideration for Others: Breaststroke’s wider arm and leg movements can be disruptive and potentially dangerous to nearby swimmers.

Steps and Drills to Transition from Breaststroke to Front Crawl

The objective is to develop a more efficient, faster, and less energy-consuming swim stroke.

Each drill below targets specific aspects of the freestyle technique, helping to internalize proper form and build muscle memory.

Important: Perform the drills below in separate blocks or portions of 4-6 weeks each, starting with body position only. Then, move on to the next, slowly and systematically.

1. Body Position Drill

Objective: Develop a streamlined body position.
Rationale: A horizontal body position reduces drag and improves efficiency, preventing unnecessary resistance.

Drills:

• Floating Face-Down: Arms extended overhead, relax and maintain a horizontal position. Exhale underwater and turn your head to the side to inhale above water. Repeat. You may skip this if you are comfortable doing the Pull Buoy Glide (next). If you are not comfortable doing the Pull Buoy Guide, do not do it until you are comfortable floating face-down.
• Pull Buoy Glide: Place the pull buoy between your thighs, push off the wall, and glide in a streamlined position, focusing on keeping your body horizontal and head aligned with your spine. Keep your arms extended overhead. Look straight down.
• Streamline Push-Offs: Push off the wall in a streamlined position, maintaining your body alignment as long as possible. Like the Pull Buoy Glide but without the buoy.
• Torpedo Drill: Push off from the wall again, and glide in a streamlined position, but this time with your arms at your sides. Focus on body alignment and keeping your trunk and core engaged. This may be trickier as you’ll need to keep your legs up. To start, you can use a pull buoy.
• FORM Goggles with Head Pitch Setting: Use FORM Goggles to ensure correct head position. (see video below)

The short video above shows how FORM Googles can train you to have the right head pitch.

2. Kicking Drill

Once you can comfortably complete the body position drills above, you can move on to the kicking drills.

Objective: Develop a consistent, efficient flutter kick.
Rationale: Proper kicking provides propulsion and stability without excessive energy use.

Drills:

• Kickboard Kicking: Hold a kickboard with arms extended and perform small, fast flutter kicks from the hips, keeping legs straight but relaxed.
• Fin Kicking: Use fins to practice kicking technique and improve ankle flexibility. To start, you may want to use a kickboard.
• Vertical Kicking: Kick vertically in the deep end, focusing on small, quick movements from the hips. Your pool needs to be deep enough for this, however.
• Side Kicking: Kick on your side with one arm extended, alternating sides.
• Streamline Kicking: Like the Torpedo Drill above, push off the wall in a streamlined position. But this time, introduce the kick. Kick without using your arms. Your arms should be at your sides.

3. Single-Arm Drill

Only once you have mastered the body position and kicking drills above should you move on to arm drills.

Objective: Improve arm stroke technique and body rotation.
Rationale: Isolating one arm helps focus on the correct movement and timing of the stroke, as well as proper breathing.

Drills:

• Single-Arm Freestyle: Swim using only one arm, keeping the other extended in front. Focus on a high elbow catch and pulling straight back, breathing to the side of the working arm.
• Snorkel Use: Use a snorkel to focus on arm movement without worrying about breathing.
• Kickboard Assist: Hold a kickboard with the non-working arm to isolate the arm stroke further.
• Fins: Use fins for more propulsion and easier focus.
• Switch Arm: Do 25m with one arm, then switch for the next 25m. Repeat for 100-200m.

4. Breathing Technique Drill

Objective: Master bilateral breathing and maintain body position while breathing.
Rationale: Proper breathing technique prevents stroke interruption and maintains efficiency.

Drills:

• Bilateral Breathing: Swim freestyle focusing on breathing every third stroke to both sides.
• One Goggle in Water: Turn your head to breathe, keeping one goggle in the water to maintain alignment.
• Face-Down Exhalation: Float face-down and practice exhaling underwater, turning your head to inhale above water.
• Progressive Repeats: Start with short distances and gradually increase, practicing for 100-200m repeats.

5. Catch and Pull Drills

Objective: Strengthen upper body and improve pull technique.
Rationale: Isolating arm movement to focus on catch, pull, and body rotation improves propulsion and efficiency.

Drills:

• Pull Buoy Swimming: Use a pull buoy between your thighs and swim using only your arms, concentrating on a strong catch and pull.
• High Elbow Catch: Focus on maintaining a high elbow during the catch and pull.
• Paddle Swimming: Use paddles to strengthen your pull and improve technique.
• Finger Paddle Drill: Enhance your catch and pull technique.
• Sculling: Perform small, quick movements with your hands to improve the feel of the water.

6. Finger-Drag Drill

Objective: Improve arm recovery technique.
Rationale: Encourages a high elbow recovery, reducing drag and preventing over-reaching.

Drills:

• Finger-Drag Freestyle: Swim freestyle, dragging your fingertips across the water surface during the recovery phase.
• High Elbow Focus: Keep your recovery elbow high, reducing drag.
• Smooth Recovery: Practice for 50m repeats, alternating with 50m of regular freestyle.

7. Distance Per Stroke Drill

Objective: Increase stroke efficiency and length.
Rationale: Longer, more efficient strokes conserve energy and improve speed.

Drills:

• Stroke Count: Count your strokes for a set distance (e.g., 25m or 50m). The FORM Goggles can show you real-time stroke count.
• Stroke Reduction: Try to reduce the number of strokes needed to cover that distance by lengthening your stroke.
• Reach and Pull: Focus on reaching forward and pushing water back efficiently.
• Repeat: Practice for 200-400m, maintaining or reducing your stroke count.

FORM Goggles can show you real-time stroke count, as seen above.

Conclusion

Try these drills out and incorporate them into your swimming. But be patient and systematic.

You’ll soon be able to move away from the breaststroke to a faster, more efficient stroke and you’ll be well on your way to improving your triathlon!

Check out my training plans on TrainingPeaks for more structured, guided steps to a faster triathlon.

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