Hey, I just did a lap of butterfly!
Ok, 4 lengths, but let's split the difference and call it a lap. ;)
Back when I used to compete, I never did figure out the butterly. It was my only slow stroke. Just never got the rhythm down.
So when I started training again in September, I stuck to the other 3 strokes. Tried fly and didn't remember it at all. Couldn't do it. Not even a single stroke.
Anyway, I'm reading Mastering Swimming and there's a section in there on how to learn fly, starting with pulsing, then pulsing with kicking, then pulsing and kicking with sculling, then adding the complete pull.
In one week, I learned it. Today I did my first full length!
The trick was to find the point where the breath starts. Once I realized that I had to come up when I was both in the power phase of the pull and on a down kick, the rest worked itself out because I had done the exercises that Montgomery and Chambers described, so my body was doing what it should be doing once I found that sweet spot where my pull and kick were coordinated, and it was automatic from there.
Of course, I was splashing like a puppy in a bathtub, and I got tired pretty quick, and got a little cramp in my leg, so I know I need to do some major work on my form before I can incorporate fly into my regular workout, but hey, now I can do the stroke!
Thanks, Jim and Mo!
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Former Member
I've found swimming breastroke arms + dolphin kick with fins to be excellent for learning the body undulation for fly.
Sounds like a good drill. I've recently adjusted my breaststroke to the wave pattern and corrected some timing errors, and I did notice that the arm/breath timing was the same as fly. I'll give it a shot.
I've found swimming breastroke arms + dolphin kick with fins to be excellent for learning the body undulation for fly.
Sounds like a good drill. I've recently adjusted my breaststroke to the wave pattern and corrected some timing errors, and I did notice that the arm/breath timing was the same as fly. I'll give it a shot.
