When you want to improve your breaststroke gliding techniques, you should start with your hips and learn how to drive them forward and let them ride up as you glide forward.
If you have already learned how to keep your body streamlined you are ready to work on your glide if not you need to practice keep your body straight.
To do your best at swimming you need to learn how to keep your body as straight as an arrow.
You can practice this outside of the water by lying on your side with your lower arm straight out and with your palm on the floor, keep your top arm down by your thigh.
Practice the scissor kick by keeping your knees straight and kicking from the hip.
You will not use the scissor kick when you do the breaststroke but this will help to strengthen your legs.
This is important for any swimming stroke that you do.
For the breaststroke start each stroke with your body as straight as possible so you make the smallest hole in the water.
To improve your breaststroke gliding techniques lean on your chest just enough to feel like you are gliding downhill.
This will help move your hips so you are ready to rock forward.
This movement will generate the power that you need to drive your stroke.
Keep your head as close as you can to your natural line and looking down and between your arms.
Never pull your arms back when trying to improve your breaststroke gliding technique.
You need to sweep your hands out so they make a Y position.
When your hands are in the Y position, bring your elbows up toward the surface but not past your eye line.
Try using your elbows as a hinge when you do the inwards sweep with your forearms and hands.
If you can do this, you will create the leverage you need to bring your hips forward.
By using your abdominal muscles to bring your hips forward, it will feel like a stomach crunch.
You will be taking the load of pulling from the weaker arm muscles and move it to your stronger torso muscles.
When this is done properly, you will not have to lift your head to breathe.
Your head will automatically come up and out of the water with the rest of your body.
When your head has reached its highest point out of the water, to keep improving your breaststroke gliding techniques remember to keep looking down into the water.
Now you are ready for the dive back into the water.
When you are diving back into the water, keep your arms and hands at full extension.
Finish the dive into the water by returning to the streamlined position, slice into the water inches below the surface and you will avoid more drag.
These tips should help you improve your breaststroke gliding techniques.