The pullout after start and turn is the fastest phase in breaststroke. How to combine underwater pull, dolphin kick and breakout legally into one flowing move.
Straight talk for the ambitious: the pullout after start and every turn is the fastest metre of your breaststroke race – faster than any surface stroke, because underwater there's no wave drag. Botch the pullout and you give away seconds over a 100 m race.
The legal sequence: from streamline one deep arm pull to the thighs, one dolphin kick (anywhere during the pull) and one breaststroke kick that carries you up to the breakout. The head must break the surface before the hands reach the widest point of the second stroke.
The pullout isn't a transition, it's a discipline of its own. This guide builds it block by block – plus the turn with a correct two-hand touch, without which the best pullout is worthless.
Do the quick maths on why it pays: a 100 m race in a 25 m pool has one start and three turns – that's four pullouts. Gain just two tenths at each and that's almost a second, without a single extra surface stroke. Few other areas repay training time so directly in personal-best time.
### 1. Streamline push-off Push off deep and streamlined: arms extended overhead, one hand over the other, biceps by the ears, body one line. This start position is the fastest posture in all of swimming – hold it until the push-off speed slightly drops.
### 2. The pullout to the thighs Pull with both hands in one powerful, deep pull to the thighs – unlike the surface pull, this one goes far back. Then draw the hands forward close to the body back into the stretch.
### 3. The one dolphin kick Exactly one dolphin kick is allowed – place it where it delivers the most drive: usually toward the end of the arm pull, as the hands shoot back. The kick comes from the body wave (hip → knee → foot), not from the knees alone.
### 4. Breakout and first kick After returning the arms comes the first breaststroke kick, which carries you diagonally up to the surface (breakout). Timing is everything: the head breaks the surface before the hands reach the widest point of the first surface stroke – otherwise it's illegal.
### 5. The turn with a two-hand touch Touch the wall with both hands at the same time, tuck the knees, rotate the body sideways to the wall, plant the feet and push off back into streamline. The next pullout starts straight out of the turn.
The pullout means holding your breath underwater – never push the underwater phase to your limit. Prolonged breath-holding, especially after hyperventilation, can cause shallow-water blackout (hypoxic loss of consciousness). It's life-threatening and happens without warning.
Practise long underwater phases only rested, supervised and never combined with deliberate hyperventilation. When in doubt, surface a touch earlier – no training gain is worth a blackout risk.
Find your breakout point via speed, not feel: surface exactly when your underwater speed has dropped to your race pace – not a second earlier, not later.
Measure it in training with underwater video: the ideal breakout is where the curve of your speed crosses your surface race pace. Hit that point and you gain a piece of the lane at every wall.
### How many pulls and kicks are allowed in the pullout? After start and turn, one complete arm pull to the thighs, one dolphin kick and one breaststroke kick are allowed. The head must break the surface before the hands reach the widest point of the second stroke. Always check your federation's current rules.
### Is a dolphin kick allowed in breaststroke? Yes – but only a single one and only during the pullout after start and turn. In the normal surface cycle the dolphin kick is forbidden and leads to disqualification. The one allowed kick is a big speed gain if it's cleanly timed.
### When should I surface from the pullout? When your underwater speed has dropped to your surface race pace – then you're faster on top than below. Surfacing too early wastes the fast underwater speed, too late lets you fall below race pace. The ideal point is measurable via video and speed.
### Why is the two-hand touch so important? Because the rules for breaststroke (and butterfly) require a simultaneous touch with both hands. A one-handed or offset touch leads to disqualification. Drill the touch until it stays automatically clean even under race pace and fatigue.
### How much faster is the underwater pullout? Significantly – underwater there's no wave drag, which brakes hard at the surface, and the streamline is the lowest-drag posture there is. That's why the pullout is the fastest phase in a breaststroke race and one of the biggest time levers a competitive swimmer has.
Adductor Power: Strength Training for the Whip Kick