{"id":241,"date":"2020-03-28T03:11:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-28T03:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aquaticglee.com\/?p=241"},"modified":"2023-07-27T04:00:43","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T04:00:43","slug":"butterfly-stroke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aquaticglee.com\/butterfly-stroke\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Swim Butterfly: Technique, Drills & Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The butterfly swimming stroke is a style swum with symmetrical arm movements when facing down. It has the unique butterfly or dolphin kick which pushes the body ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the competitive front, the butterfly is the newest competitive style as it only launched in the year 1933. It is also the most tiring and complicated to learn. Following are details on how to do the fly, technique including, form, arm movement, kick, drills and tips to improve or learn fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technique\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The butterfly stroke is hinged on proper body form mainly the synchronous movements in the arms and the legs. You not only gain speed from the movements in the legs and arms, but the movement of the body as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Butterfly
Michael Phelps Swimming the fly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The starting point\nfor this style is a flat profile with the arms in front of your head and the\nbody straight to the feet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Arm Movements <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The major arm\nmovements for this style are the pull, the push and the recovery phase. The\npull phase entails the arms going over your head, dipping into the water, and\npulling the body forwards in the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The push phase\nentails pushing the palms backwards through the water and, in the process,\npropelling your body forwards. The arms are pushed about a third of the way to\nthe hips for easier recovery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the recovery\nphase, you straighten the elbows then swing the hands forward. As your hands\ncome forward, the upper body should be let to relax and get into the water\nuntil the move is restarted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Leg Movements <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The leg movements in\nthe butterfly stroke determine the movements of the rest of the body to a large\nextent. That\u2019s why you need strong legs to pull it off. For example, the\nshoulders move above the water from the up kick and below the surface from a\ndown kick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To avoid losing the\nwater pressure, the feet are to be kept together throughout the move. In a\nsingle move, there are two kicks; one up and the other one down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amount of force\nyou put on a kick depends largely on your energy reserves. As such, you are at\nan advantage when you have more energy in your feet. This is helped to an\nextent by the body size with bigger bodies offering more power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Breathing Rhythm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Breathing with the\nbutterfly stroke is very difficult yet very important. This is because there is\na very small period in which you can breathe. You have to properly match the\nmovements of the body such that you take a breath once your arms are deep in\nthe water and your head comes out of the water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the short\nperiod of time your head will be above the water, you need to breath through\nthe mouth to catch enough air. If your head stays out of the water too long, or\ngoes too much above the surface of the water, you hinder the recovery phase as\nthe hips become deeper and create drag on your body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many\noptions for when to breath. For most swimmers, the rhythm is to breath in every\nsecond stroke. If you\u2019re really fast, you can catch a breath every stroke.\nThere\u2019s also a rhythm for the swimmer to breath two strokes in a row then go\nwithout taking in air for two consecutive strokes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For short distances,\nyou\u2019re actually better off not breathing to focus on the speed. The aim is to\ntake as little time as possible breathing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Body Movements <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The most dominant\naspect of the butterfly stroke is the fluid and wavy movements of the body. The\ncentral aspect is the core which ensures that the rest of the body is in line\nwith the single line from the head to the feet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As your chest dips\ninto the water, the hips are pushed up and the feet down then up. The end of\nthe move is a fluid back kick which gives you the propulsion needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you get better with this stroke, you\u2019ll experience very little movements up and down. Rather, your body will be moving within a narrow plane with only the arms breaching the parallel lines at the edge of the plane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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