dropping time in the 100 butterfly

Hey Ray, there's many ways to improve your 100 fl tell us a little more about you age height weight training now and in the past get someone to video you swimming butterfly fast and put it up on you tube you can find everything I know about swimming faster at Swim Faster Faster Ande's Swimming Tips www.usms.org/.../showthread.php read them and apply them to your training Here's what you need to do improve your: 1) technique learn how to swim fly properly haven't seen you swim, don't know what mistakes you're making but probably many butterfly, starts, turns, streamline & SDK 2) conditioning how often do you train how long do you train what intervals can you hold everyone can be in better shape what's the fastest interval you can hold 5 x 100fr on getting 5 seconds rest after each 100 3) BODY strength is critical for speed lift weights to get stronger improve your shape if you're over weight improve your streamline 4) SDK SDK stands for Streamline Dolphin Kick you can SDK 15 meters or 16 yards of each length if you had a fast SDK you could possibly cover 64 yards of a 100 yard race without taking a stroke do the exercises in Help My SDK is Horrible forums.usms.org/showthread.php 5) SPEED how fast can you swim a 25 fly if you can improve your 25 fly time by 1 second you should be able to drop 4 seconds in 100 www.usms.org/.../showthread.php 6) Equipment what kind of suit did you wear when you went 1:08 wear a faster suit 7) Splitting is all about the effort you expend over your race what was your first 50 what was your 2nd 50 what's the difference 8) Mind Stuff IPS stands for Ideal Performance State if you get in IPS before your swim and stay there while you're swimming Getting psyched Being Fierce determined action oriented mentally tough all that stuff and more matters hope this helps I know you can swim Faster Faster now show us Ande your list: Drills maybe if they lead to real new habits that help you swim faster Stretches if you improve the critical factors, like streamline and toe point Strength Workouts ifyou actually strengthen the muscles that help you swim fly faster Side-breathing vs. regular breathing breathing every other stroke vs. breathing every two strokes irrelevant preferance items that won't make much difference get stronger, faster, in better shape, and use better technique and you'll melt seconds away from your 100 fly times at the moment i have a 1:08 100yd fly. i need to drop that to a 1:05-1:00. I've got motivation, i just need some direction. what I need: Drills (breathing, kicks,turns) Stretches Strength Workouts Opinions on Side-breathing vs. regular breathing and breathing every other stroke vs. breathing every two strokes

If you can concentrate on trying to get your 25yd (from a push-off) to 13 seconds you'll get your 1:00 or 1:02 (if your cardio isn't very good). When your 25 time drops your 100 time will drop more. Your 25 time drops will reflect stroke improvement / efficiency as well. Watch some good flyers (Olympics) if you can. There's always more ways to improve but I think you'll have fun using your 25's as one of those tools.

Here's a thread about training for the 100 fly: forums.usms.org/showthread.php. I breathe every other stroke so as not to seize up unduly from oxygen deprivation. There's a Cavic video on that thread that shows some good strengthening exercises.

I'm actually not a masters, but masters really know the ropes. I'm 15, 120 lbs., and about 5'2". i swim for a high school team (currently a sophomore) and when i was a freshman i sucked with a 1:37. I will try to get a video up tomorrow (i can't do underwater though). At practice i do 14-15 sec 25's, 31-33 sec 50's, and 48-50 sec 75's.

at the moment i have a 1:08 100yd fly. i need to drop that to a 1:05-1:00. I've got motivation, i just need some direction. what I need: Drills (breathing, kicks,turns) Stretches Strength Workouts Opinions on Side-breathing vs. regular breathing and breathing every other stroke vs. breathing every two strokes I use side breathing as a drill to help keep my swimmers' chests and shoulders down so they are not popping out of the water too much. What are you doing right now....can you explain how you swim the fly and we'll go from there....video??

Ray, I am 5"7" and weighed about 145 in high school. I swam about a 1:30 100 fly as a freshman, then about a 1:15 fly as a soph. Then I figured out how to swim the race when I was a junior. This is for 100 yards. For me, the first 50 is not a sprint. It is long and strong. You should be at about 80 percent. Ramp up up for the next 25 and bring it home for the last 25. For me, it never worked going all out. My stroke tightens and I fight the water. I have always swum fastest when I am relaxed and pulling hard. That allows me to take really deep breaths and keep my strokes long and fluid. So, how to mechanically improve? Weights. Be careful here. No more than three times per week. 30-40 minutes a session. 10 -15 reps of light weights that replicate the long pulls i.e. lat machine with arms extended in front and pulling down. Do lunges and squats without weights. Use a medicine ball to get that core steady. Don't try to get bigger muscles. That does not work in swimming. Underwater body dolphin. YOu can make huge improvements off of your time here. Keep that streamline really really tight (hand over hand and tight against the ears) and practice your body dolphin every time you bust a wall. watch how the best in the world do it (Phelps, Lochte and especially Natalie Coughlin) It is NOT A KICK. It is full body involvement. Think of it as cracking a whip that starts at your toes and ends up on the tips of your fingers. In practice, Coughlin does 7 after every wall. Make sure you do two STRONG dolphin kicks for every stroke. Most swimmers crank the kick as their arms are leaving the water but do a half kick for the next dolphin. I alternate up down breathing. I do not breath to the side. You should be able to keep your head low enough going straight ahead. Imagine skimming your chin over the water. Imagine yourself swimming downhill. This image will keep you head moving out and over. Soft hands. Keep that entry nice and soft. Don't hold any tension in your arms or hands as you exit the water and reach forward. Your arms and hands need this point of relaxation before the next pull. You back needs to be flexible. (Yoga is a great way to stretch your back) You don't want to hump over as your stroke forward. Your back should arch backward slightly as you enter the water so that you are moving forward in a pattern that mimics a fish. (Watch Phelps and you will see what I mean) Keep those hips high as well and you will find that you will jot be pulling yourself out of such a deep trough each time. Do some skulling and focus on keeping your hips near the surface. Skulling gives you a good feel for how best to catch the water and good hip position is a must for butterfly, as in any stroke. When you do dolphin kick, do it without a board. Chuck the board. This is a more natural body position and allows you to concentrate on correct full body involvement and body position. Stop thinking of yourself as "sucking" or as a "slow" swimmer. Learn to love the way you swim and the 100 fly. Once I made that decision, I had huge time drops. In one meet I went from a 1:10 to a 1:02. A few months later, I did a 56:00. This happened when I was a Junior. When I finally ditched the negative thoughts, I allowed my body to go faster. This is not up to your parents, your coach, your girlfriend, or your teamates. It is up to you. And, you CAN do it. Go for it. Rob

its a 50 and a stroke. i got a 1:08 off of a pushoff www.youtube.com/watch

Watching your video i noticed a couple of things right away. 1. Your hands and arms should slice through the water. You slap them against the surface of the water taking more time and energy. 2. You don't have a rhythm. You're swimming it but your whole body is not into the rhythm. 3. When you breath your head should break surface but should not go several inches above surface. It should only raise up to grab a small gulp of air and the should quickly retreat back into the water. Hope this helps!:banana:

Hope this helps!:banana: As they say: better late than never!

its a 50 and a stroke. i got a 1:08 off of a pushoff www.youtube.com/watch Raydogg, focus on placing your arms infront of your body rather than slapping the water. Also, you need to work on your turns. Focus on getting as tight and small as possible during the turn and then shoot out quickly. Lastly, like myself you are a short swimmer (i am 5'7) so the best advice I can give you is to really work the turns and the underwater dolphin kick. That's where short swimmers have the advantage and it shortens the race on top of the water.