As a kid my father and my coach always wanted me to swim the fly but I always resisted. Only once was I ever persuaded to swim the 100m fly. I went out hell for leather in the first 50 and even turned in front but the wheels came off in the second 50, in a bad way, and I ended up limping in the last 25m swimming one arm butterfly! I never tried again!
Now after a 20 odd year abscence from swimming I find myself actually wanting to swim fly and enjoying it when I do. It's a beautiful feeling when the fly is executed well: smooth, rhythmic and exhilarating. When you hit the zone in fly it is an even better feeling than hitting the zone in crawl. It is an addictive feeling.
How did I get into fly? Well it has only been recently really, but I started to do a set of 25m at the end of every practice. I started off really slowly: 10 times 25m at 30 sec's alternating fly and crawl. Slowly I have built that up to 40 times 25m at 30sec and more recently I have been adding a set of 10 times 50 fly at 90sec. Next I plan to cut the repeat interval down to at least a minute on the 50's and then add some 100's. I can't wait to try the 100's but I don't want to try before I am really ready for them.
I always laugh when I see SwimStud's "Fly: Just say no!" because that is exactly how I felt but I have to say now, a practice without fly is a a practice without my 'fix'!
Anyone else have a similar experience?
Syd
Parents
Former Member
I learned butterfly at age 44, it was one of my fitness goals for 2003. The inspiration was a woman who started doing it in the next lane one day. I think she must have been an exceptionally good swimmer, because I haven't seen too many people since who did it that well.
I'm a T.I. geek, so a lot of the learning came from their dvds and books. I figure if I could learn, anyone can! The hardest part was getting the hang of the body dolphin drill without the fins on. Once I nailed that part, the rest came a little easier. Using fist gloves has helped with the arm stroke a lot, I tended to drop my hands too much before trying them. I'll probably never be fast enough to be competitive, but it's a fun stroke to do and I enjoy it.
I learned butterfly at age 44, it was one of my fitness goals for 2003. The inspiration was a woman who started doing it in the next lane one day. I think she must have been an exceptionally good swimmer, because I haven't seen too many people since who did it that well.
I'm a T.I. geek, so a lot of the learning came from their dvds and books. I figure if I could learn, anyone can! The hardest part was getting the hang of the body dolphin drill without the fins on. Once I nailed that part, the rest came a little easier. Using fist gloves has helped with the arm stroke a lot, I tended to drop my hands too much before trying them. I'll probably never be fast enough to be competitive, but it's a fun stroke to do and I enjoy it.
