Butterfly tip of the week

I just read the Speedo tip of the week about "muscling" the recovery in buttetfly. I'm definitely that guy. I love the butterfly and want to swim faster, but seem to be stuck with the same times over and over. I'm sure my recovery has something to do with it. Any advice out there beyond the speedo tip of the week or is it really a mental thing that I've turned physical?Well many different things can be said about bf recovery. It all comes down to what your actual flaw(s) (if any) are. I'd say that recovery is a lot about timing, especially timing with the head motion. Even when I don't breathe, my head is moving up and down. This ondulation of the head serves the recovery and balance in general. It also better initiates the ondulation. So that would be my number one advice. *Plan* you timing by initiating every phase of it by the head first. Don't hesitate to breathe every cycle to better learn to integrate recovery with head movements. Look at where you're about to breathe before actually breathing and make sure your head reaches the water before the hands/arms (at the end of the recovery).

...I'm sure my recovery has something to do with it. Any advice out there...? If you want free advice, you’ve defiantly come to the right place. It sounds like “muscling” the recovery is a bad thing according to the Speedo tip. I know for sure that it is not how I envision my fly recovery. In fact it was not until I did not feel like I was forcing the recovery that I began to feel like I was really getting proficient in fly, especially on the breath stroke. For me the key in having a relaxed and smooth fly recovery starts with setting my body for the catch/pull. Once I developed a more fluid body motion, the recovery became a whole lot easier, and a lot less of an issue. My easy breaths now come when I get the correct balance of kick/no-kick at the most powerful point of the stroke, as I launch myself forward (and up) for the breath. Opening my chest really wide, and really elongating my body as I set for the pull/kick really helps me drive forward. While the kick at the end of the pull is by far the more powerful kick for me, it often comes when it seems that I’m not really kicking at all, since my whole body is engaged in the movement. (Woo-Hoo! Look at ‘dem abs!) When it all comes together it really does feel as if I’m being launched forward, which makes it relatively easy to get the loft I need for a relaxed recovery, or even a relaxed breath/recovery. I’m still learning however. And I really love doing fly too. It has been quite an education, and a very satisfying challenge too. I think anyone that can to the other three completive strokes can do fly. (One coach I spoke to early in my butterfly practice claimed the ability to do it was genetic.) I don’t focus on speed very often. I’ve found that speed comes naturally with good technique. And while there are some rather tried and true rules for technique, I believe a good technique is ultimately different for each individual and simply needs to be something you are just comfortable with. If you want to get really fast then I reckon you’ll have to do as the Big Dogs do… me, I’m just a porch puppy.

One other thing I remember having done when I was a kid, in preparation for the 200, was to lay on the bed face down and recover forward/backward for about 15min/day. But that's because my coach at the time was threatening to throw a chair on my back during the last 50m of my event, if my fingers had touched the water during the recovery.

I do one-arm drill. I was recently told that it looks too much like freestyle - that my arms look like mountain peeks. I've since tried to flatten my arms out and drag my thumbs on the surface. It feels okay, but a bit like I'm "flopping" my arms. Should it feel like that? Again, thanks for the input.

Thank you Solar Energy and Bud for your advice. Every now and then I'll feel it come together in Fly, but unfortunately the moment is fleeting and I start to overthink the entire stroke and something breaks down. I'll certainly try some things you mentioned. Thanks.

Thank you Solar Energy and Bud for your advice. Every now and then I'll feel it come together in Fly, but unfortunately the moment is fleeting and I start to overthink the entire stroke and something breaks down. I'll certainly try some things you mentioned. Thanks. Do you sometimes perform "1 arm" drill?

Believe it or not, I swam 4x25 today butterfly without any kind of kick. That's all I swam on my easy day today, having swum 3500 yards yesterday. Last time I did butterfly with no kick was at the Savannah Long Course Nationals in 2004! Then it was with legs straight down. Today it was with legs pretty much straight back. Not easily done , but a good drill, I think. Oh, yeah, the first and last 25 were with lightly closed fists.

Hi, Can you give me some advices regarding the arm recovery? Is it OK to recover with the arms slightly bent? Like a kind of double arm front crawl recovery. By bending the arms (roughly when the arms go past the ears), I pierce the water and can initiate an easier and longer glide. If I recover with straight arms, it feels harder on the shoulders and I have the feeling of slaping the water surface. Thanks in advance for any help.

You gotta do what's comfortable, but I like my arms flat, flat, flat skimming the water on the recovery and then chest pressing through the arms. That's much easier on my shoulders. Can you even do a chest press with a double arm free recovery? It sounds hard. If you're slapping the water, maybe your arms aren't relaxed enough on the recovery?

Here's a butterfly tip: Don't do it.