new at butterfly, quick question on workouts

Poolrat: SDK is the acronym for "streamline dolphin kick." Underwater dolphin kicking is key for all your starts and turns. (If you happen to not be super tall as well, it's better to go as far as you can underwater, if you're efficient at it.) I think it also just helps to build core strength and give you the undulating feel of fly. I think it would help on any length of fly, maybe even more on the long ones where you want to take fewer strokes cuz you're just getting tired. I do quite a lot of it as well as race pace fly and kicking fly on my back as Bud was describing, and I went a 28.8 in SCY last May. Underwater SDKs also gives you that extra liter of oxygen so you're not breathing as much in the 50. Good luck getting under 30!!

Thanks, Leslie. I will do some underwater 25's next time I swim by myself. I'll probably skip the fins though... I'll just go as far as possible underwater and then surface and do easy free. Thus avoiding the ugliness of my at-the-surface kick. I bet it's core strength weakness that's a big part of my issue. In which case... gotta just suck it up and do some more dolphin kicking. :p I have nothing against fin wearers, but I avoid them (fins, not the fin-wearers, LOL) because I have such a crappy kick that if I wear fins after about half a length I start kicking from knees down only. The sensation of being able to point my toe is just too much of a temptation! As for your 100 IM, I'd take a 1:06 - even with your splits! My best is only a 1:13... out in 37, back in 36... yep, gotta love that backstroke!

Thanks. I've been doing dolphin on the start and turns on my backstroke and just this year added it to my free. I hope it helps me improve in the sprints. I've only seen improvement in my 200 & 500 free in the past 18 months.

This may seem a little counterintuitive, but for drill I prefer pulling fly with a buoy to using fins . . . the buoy keeps the hips up in more or less the desired position, and doesn't affect the kick dramatically. To me, it feels more like the real thing than swimming it with fins, and you can break the stroke down and think a bit because your hips aren't heading to the bottom on each cycle. Doesn't seem to unduly stress the shoulders, either.

Bill: That is a very interesting suggestion I never thought of that. I always assumed that any sort of pulling was hazardous for the shoulders... Poolrat: It could be that your sprints aren't improving cause you're not doing any speedwork in practice? If you just do long stuff in practice, it's tough to do fast sprints in meets. And its hard to be really good at both the sprints and distance stuff. Just a thought. There was a recent thread on improving your sprinting from a few weeks ago that you might want to look at. It was loaded with good advice from talented swimmers in the know. I've only been at this masters thing for about 16 months now, so I think you'll keep improving too.

AquaFeisty: Yep, you're loving the backstroke and I'm loving the breaststroke. Doing the SDKs without fins is just as good, maybe better and then doing easy free. Try to keep increasing how far you get. I'ts funny, though, when I wear fins, I don't kick from my knees down. I tend to suck in my stomach straighten my legs and use my core. (In fact, a friend of mine from NC taught me the "suck in the stomach" drill to help keep your body in a more streamlined position.) I guess everyone is different. I know a lot of people who dislike fins (not because of their egos) but they just don't the way fins make them feel. Those same people seem to like paddles though... Glad you're staying away from those shoulder killing things!

Leslie, you're right about paddles/fins! :-) I have those same feelings! Aquafeisty: there are a couple of drills you can do to make that transition smoother. One way is to use a kickboard, but stretch your arms out all the way to hold it. This will mean you have to hold your head up to breathe. You can first start out with as many kicks as you can take with your head down, feeling the undulation and motion, then when you bring your head up to breathe, take a forward breath to simulate bfly swimming. As your body gets more used to the motions, start using a kick similiar to what you'd use when swimming bfly. Two or three beats, breathe, two or three beats, breathe. Another drill is 6:1 Butterfly. You could start with fins, or go without. Take one butterfly pull, followed by six strong kicks. Anyway, those are just a few drills I like to do. I also like Leslie's suggestion - underwater bfly kick is great for expanding your lungs and building muscles. Hope that helps. :)

WOW!!!!!!! put the fins on and man, crazy difference. I was " flyin". Unbelievable. This will be a big help in training. I could stay right on the surface and I was moving in huge chunks. Calfs cramped up later in the workout. Great for underwater SDK sets. I can't see how fins won't make someone faster as long as they come off frequently to imprint proper race mechanics. I am using the red zoomers which are very small. Any bigger and my ankles would explode.

rtodd: That's so excellent! I get cramps sometimes too. It's muscle overload. The zoomers are good for not becoming an addict. But the longer fins are actually good for building ankle strength and flexibility. keep at it. Have fun.

SwimmerLisa and, ummm, "Allison", Thanks for the dolphin kick tips. I will definitely try the 6 kicks - one pull thing. And yeah, the 25's of SDK will be good. I know I can SDK a lot faster than I can flutterkick underwater (like coming out of a flipturn)... Now I just need to remember to do it in a 50 free, too!