Fast breaststroke is reliant on mastering tempo. Here’s how overspeed training, tempo tools, and strength work can help you crank up stroke tempo for breaststrokers.
Breaststroke is one of the hardest strokes to master in the pool. The timing, the coordination, and the internal hip, knee and ankle rotation which is wholly unlike anything else we do in the water.
Tempo is another huge factor when it comes to elite breaststroke. The tempo breaststrokers use is all over the place:
- The men’s 100m breaststroke champion in Paris, Nicolo Martinenghi, held an average stroke rate of 55.8 on his way to gold. Adam Peaty, winning silver, had a tempo of 55.6.
- Contrast this with the 200m breaststroke winner, Leon Marchand, who used a tempo of just 39.2. Bronze medalist Caspar Corbeau’s tempo was even lower—an ultra-efficient 34.2.
Between the two gold medalists, tempo dropped by almost 30%.
Which means it’s essential for breaststroke specialists to be able to master tempo. Crank it up for the sprints, focus on efficiency in the longer race.
So how do you actually crank up the tempo without turning into a sloppy windmill under the water?
One study provides a clue. Let’s dive in and take a lookie-loo.
A Fresh Look at Firing Up Breaststroke Tempo
A study out of the University of Taipei by Lee et al. (2025) took eighteen national-level breaststroke and medley specialists and had them do a series of different warm-ups.
The goal was to see the impact of each warm-up on a 50m breaststroke all-out from the blocks. Researchers measured time and speed but also looked at how stroke kinematics like tempo and distance per stroke changed with each type of warm-up.
The four warm-ups included:
- A standard swim warm-up. 1,400m long, with several short burst sprints at the end.
- 700m warm-up + 2x20m speed-assist sprints for overspeed
- 700m warm-up + 2x20m sprints with paddles
- 700m warm-up +2×3 barbell back squats at 85% of 1R
With the warm-up under their belt (or Speedo, in our case), swimmers did a 50m breaststroke for time after each warm-up.
See also: 6 Breaststroke Drills for a Faster and More Efficient Breaststroke
For the breaststroke specialists in the group (it was a mix of medley and breaststroke swimmers), the speed-assist warm-up led to faster times on the clock—35.31s versus 35.67s with the traditional warm-up.
The key kinematic factor that separated the warm-ups was a sharp increase in stroke frequency (0.78 Hz à 0.88 Hz), even though stroke length decreased slightly (1.61m à 1.47m).
In other words, fast 50m times came down to taking faster strokes—shorter length but higher rate—to hit higher velocities.
Overspeed Training = Neural Priming for Tempo
Overspeed training is a popular tool with sprinters and swim programs. The idea is that swimmers experience faster-than-usual speeds that teach the nervous system how to move at ultra speeds in the water.
The idea goes like this:
Show the body what’s possible = faster regular swimming.
The studies with overspeed training (Girold et al., 2006, etc.) have suggested it can be more effective than regular sprint training (but not as effective as resisted sprinting).
And one of the constant themes of overspeed training is that it teaches swimmers how to move their hands faster in the water. The short burst of neuromuscular overclocking—as evidenced by this study—helps swimmers fire motor units at higher rates.
If you are the kind of breaststroker that struggles to hit those higher tempos, short bursts of speed-assist sprints can help activate the body to fire faster.
Note: There is one thing swimmers should keep in mind with overspeed training. When you’re being pulled through the water, you’re not actually pushing harder. The hands are just moving quickly to keep up with the flow, not necessarily exerting force or even catching that much water.
How to Train for a Faster Breaststroke Tempo
Alrighty breaststrokers, here are a few ways to train your body and brain to handle higher stroke rates without losing rhythm or power.
1. Incorporate overspeed sets
Lasso some resistance tubing to the starting block, walk down the length of the pool until there is significant tension, and jump into the water and sprint breaststroke back to the wall. Get a teammate to pull you as the tubing slackens to maintain the speed-assist boost.
Add 2-4 assisted sprints before a sprint-centric main set or on race day at the tail end of your meet warm-up.
2. Use the Tempo Trainer
The FINIS Tempo Trainer PRO is one of the most essential types of swim gear for the serious swimmer. And it’s perfect for conditioning higher tempos. Set the desired tempo and hold on for dear life, trying to hold water as you hit those red-lining tempos.
Try your target tempo with light resistance (small drag chute, DragSox) to make race pace tempo feel easier.
The Tempo Trainer is an awesome addition to your tempo-training work, allowing you to test out higher-than-race-pace tempos and build an inner metronome you can rely on during competition.
3. Don’t skip leg day at the gym
The squat warm-up from the study (2×3 reps at 85% of 1RM) worked better for medley specialists. It boosted leg-drive power, improving efficiency in swimmers who rely more on glide than max tempo.
Add barbell back squats, targeting maximum strength, to your regular dryland workouts.
Balancing leg-drive power and a mastery of tempo will give you a better range of tempos to choose from on race day, whether it’s a 50m breast on a relay or a 400m individual medley final.
The Bottom Line
Sprint breaststroke is reliant on tempo to move at elite speeds. Training your body to reach those high tempos and then to sustain it all the way to the wall.
Tube-assisted sprints are a short-term way that swimmers can squeeze more tempo and speed from their breaststroke during high intensity efforts. Use them during training and competition to get that neural activation flicked on.
Combine the speed-assist training with a Tempo Trainer and strong leg work in the gym and you’ll have the tools to hit and hold tempo when it matters most.
Happy swimming!
