It’s impressive to see a butterfly swimmer gracefully glide across the water. It would be best to have the power and coordination to master the butterfly stroke technique. Combining these elements and creating a sound mechanical stroke will make you feel like your body is flying through the water.
Amateur swimmers can find the butterfly challenging to master. Today, we will give you tips and drills to help you learn how to swim the butterfly stroke. To help you understand the movements of your body, we’ll first break down each component of the butterfly stroke. Next, we will give you a set of drills for the butterfly stroke that you can use in your next training session.
Butterfly Technique Tips
Good technique is essential for any swimming stroke. For the butterfly stroke, it is important to practice the correct procedure for each stroke. You can master the butterfly stroke with consistent training.
Let’s look at the basics of the butterfly stroke. Let’s examine the proper body position, arm pull, kicking, and breathing patterns.
GOOD BODY POINT
As with all swimming strokes, keeping your body close to the water’s surface is essential. The most important thing to remember is to keep your hips above the water. Your hips will drop, and your legs will drag through the water. Your stroke will be smoother if closer to the water’s surface.
Your head is the next area of your body to be aware of. Your head should be in a neutral position. Swimming a butterfly is not a good idea if you look up; it can create resistance and slow down your speed. If your head is too high in the water, you will most likely feel your hips drop.
Your body moves in an undulating fashion when you swim butterfly. Your body will be moving in an up-and-down motion through the water. It is essential to keep your eyes on the future. Amateur swimmers need to avoid trying to move too fast in butterfly strokes. Instead, consider your undulation motion as a way to propel yourself forward in the water.
A PERFECT ARM PULL
There are three phases to the butterfly arm pull: recovery phase, catch stage and pull phase. The catch phase involves your hands entering the water and preparing your body to pull hard. You harness power and speed to propel you forward. The recovery phase starts when you get out of the water, and ends when you take your next stroke. Let’s take a look at the tips that will help you get through each phase.
The catch phase is the first. Your hands should be slightly wider than your shoulder when you enter the water. Your palms should be facing the bottom of the pool. After your hands are in the water, bend your elbows and position your arms for the pull phase.
You will now begin the pull phase. To pull efficiently, you should pull towards your hips. Do not pull away from your body, or go straight down towards the bottom of the pool. An old technique, which is inefficient, is to pull away from your body and then move back towards your hips in an “S-arm movement”. You can raise your body too high from the water, and this can cause little forward motion.
Focus on a steady and strong pull through your hips to get the fastest speed. It was found in a study that swimmers use different forces during the butterfly stroke. The pull imbalance can cause a loss of efficiency. Try to concentrate on pulling with both your arms.
The recovery phase is the final phase. The recovery phase is where your pinky finger should be. As they go through the recovery phase, keep your arms straight and close to the surface of water. You should ensure that your arms have enough momentum to get through the recovery phase and back to the catch phase. To avoid muscle fatigue, keep your back and shoulders as relaxed as you can during the recovery phase.
A SPECIAL BUTTERFLY KICK
The dolphin kick is the kick used for butterfly. This kick is also used in the freestyle underwater phase. This kick requires that you keep your feet and legs side-by-side throughout. Your toes should point straight up.
Two kicks are required for the butterfly stroke. You will do the first kick to generate enough forward momentum for your recovery phase. The second kick is used to add momentum to your catch phase, before you start the pull.
The butterfly kick is a strong, downward motion that allows you to move water with your feet and legs. To create more forward drive, kick up.
A GREAT BREATHING TOOL
improve your lung capacity, you can try to breathe once every two to three strokes.
Breathing less often allows you to breathe easier and helps reduce drag. You can also determine how often you need to breathe based on the distance you swim.
- You might find it beneficial to take in less air if you swim 50-100 meters. This allows you to focus on hydrodynamics while your head is down.
- You might find it beneficial to take in more oxygen if you swim 200m.
When taking a deep breath, the most important thing to avoid is raising your head above the water. Keep in mind what we said about body positioning. If your head is too high out of water, your hips and speed will decrease.
Think about tilting your head slightly so that you can breathe. While you are breathing, try looking at the bottom of your pool. When your body is at the top of the water, you will take in your breath.
How to Turn during Butterfly
There are different rules for each stroke. You can turn at the wall or streamline after pushing off. The butterfly turn is very similar to the breaststroke, where the swimmer must touch both the edge and the water with both of their hands before turning. During your underwater phase, you will perform a butterfly kick (also known as a Dolphin kick).
Let’s look at the turn and simplify it more so that you can be efficient at the walls.
ACE YOU TURNS
It’s a great way for you to improve your swimming time by working towards faster turn. At the end of your recovery phase, your arms should be extended to reach the wall. Place both your hands on the wall simultaneously. Next, place both your hands on the wall and tuck your legs under your arms. Start to rotate your feet and place your feet against the wall. To begin the underwater portion of your swim, push off the wall.
GLIDE THRU YOUR STREAMLINES
Swimming underwater is the fastest portion of your entire lap. You can swim underwater at a speed of up to ten times the speed you do on land. This position can be achieved by stretching your arms in front of your head, one hand on top. Keep your head neutral and cover your ears with your biceps. Once you have pushed off the wall, and achieved this position, you can use the dolphin kick underwater to propel yourself.
Beginners Swim Set
For beginners, the butterfly stroke can be difficult. We have provided some drills to help you learn the stroke. These drills should be completed as part of a complete swimming set. Let’s first take a look at how the exercise is organized before we get to the list.
To get your body ready for swimming, first do a warm-up. Before getting in the pool, stretch out and warm up. To get warm, swim at least 300m of freestyle.
Next, you will do butterfly drill work. This involves swimming 2x25m at a time with four different drills. Total drill work will take you to 200 meters. Take a look at the videos to see the correct form. Although some drills may seem strange at first, once you combine them, you will be amazed at the difference they make to your stroke.
Once the drills have ended, you will move on to the main part of the set. You’ll be swimming 12x50m of one butterfly lap, followed by a freestyle lap. This is the main part of the set. Focus on the integration of all drill elements into a complete butterfly stroke.
