Despite the fact that I have been swimming forever (played Div I water polo in college) I never learned to swim butterfly very well (at all). I'm recovering from shoulder surgery (old injury -- torn labrum/stretched capsule) and eager to begin swimming again. When I am as close to 100 percent as possible, is it still possible to learn to become a decent flyer? I'm 46, pretty overweight, and want this comeback to be my last one. (I think the local team must be fed up with me showing up every other year for a few months then disappearing). And I'd like to be somebody who does every stroke, every set, finally.
Any and all advice is welcome.
Cherub
My advice: Go for it, and be patient. I posted a very similar thread starter on 5/24 called Learning to Fly and have been at it ever since. I found the two Hines articles and the body dolphin drill to be the most helpful, and then just started swimming fly as much as my aging body allows. The other drills just never seemed that helpful for me. I used my Zoomers for a few days, but ditched them pretty quickly. They helped me get the idea of the stroke, though.
I'm pretty comfortable at 25 meters now (don't laugh, I was either gagging halfway across or would get to the wall and have nothing left not that long ago), so I started swimming 100 IM's, which are starting to feel pretty strong. But 50's still take a lot out of me, and the technique is a work in progress. I find focusing on looking straight down at the lane line helps me remember to keep my head down and get over the top on the stroke. I try not to ever do the dreaded BS (ButterStruggle), and switch to free as soon as my technique gets too sloppy. My immediate goal is to get to the point I feel I could complete a 200 IM. That goal is a good way off at this point.
I've had some shoulder and now elbow issues along the way, but there's some good info on this forum to deal with those.
I guess I'm doing OK for 2 months of effort (honestly, I couldn't do it at all when I started). It's frustrating some days, but on balance it's fun trying to learn something new. The frustrating part is that I know it's my technique (as opposed to strength or conditioning) that is the problem. If I can swim Mo Chambers workouts reasonably comfortably, I ought to be able to get through 50 meters of fly without feeling like a cardiac event is imminent. I may try and get some coaching fairly soon.
Go for it.
My advice: Go for it, and be patient. I posted a very similar thread starter on 5/24 called Learning to Fly and have been at it ever since. I found the two Hines articles and the body dolphin drill to be the most helpful, and then just started swimming fly as much as my aging body allows. The other drills just never seemed that helpful for me. I used my Zoomers for a few days, but ditched them pretty quickly. They helped me get the idea of the stroke, though.
I'm pretty comfortable at 25 meters now (don't laugh, I was either gagging halfway across or would get to the wall and have nothing left not that long ago), so I started swimming 100 IM's, which are starting to feel pretty strong. But 50's still take a lot out of me, and the technique is a work in progress. I find focusing on looking straight down at the lane line helps me remember to keep my head down and get over the top on the stroke. I try not to ever do the dreaded BS (ButterStruggle), and switch to free as soon as my technique gets too sloppy. My immediate goal is to get to the point I feel I could complete a 200 IM. That goal is a good way off at this point.
I've had some shoulder and now elbow issues along the way, but there's some good info on this forum to deal with those.
I guess I'm doing OK for 2 months of effort (honestly, I couldn't do it at all when I started). It's frustrating some days, but on balance it's fun trying to learn something new. The frustrating part is that I know it's my technique (as opposed to strength or conditioning) that is the problem. If I can swim Mo Chambers workouts reasonably comfortably, I ought to be able to get through 50 meters of fly without feeling like a cardiac event is imminent. I may try and get some coaching fairly soon.
Go for it.
