I like over acentuating the motion on 1 arm fly. This is great for getting the butt into butterfly and also loosening your back muscles up if you are stiff in the lower back.
I don't know any drills and I can't wait to see what gets posted.
I try to press my chest down when I butterfly. That action usually causes the hips to rise.
Many people simply CAN'T perform this type of mid-section undulation because of the dysfunctional core activation patterns caused by years of sitting at desks and in cars (often with crummy posture). It all comes down to the ability to tilt the pelvis anteriorly and posteriorly. If someone is having trouble with this skill in the water, we need to screen it on land first. If you can't do it on land with unlimited oxygen and without physiolgical duress, I don't think a butterfly set is going to improve things! Fortunately, this skill is very trainable and will improve not only performance but also general health for many with back issues.
Here's an example of an exercise that is valuable both as a screening tool and as a learning device. A good cue/mantra when performing is to "Arch the back, flatten the back, arch the back, flatten the back...." Upon conclusion, always return to neutral from an arched position since we want to achieve neutral by engaging the abdominals, not by releasing them.
YouTube- Pelvic tilt
I try to press my chest down when I butterfly. That action usually causes the hips to rise.
The cue of pressing the chest down has a very sound anatomical basis, but does require some details to be fully effective. A big key is to actually press the chest down and not simply lower the entire front end of the body, as the latter results in a series of dives rather than efficient butterfly strokes.
In terms of the anatomy, if you look at someone with a rounded upper back and caved chest, they usually have an excessively flat lower back with too much posterior pelvic tilt. Now if you pull the shoulders back and extend the chest forward, the pelvic tilt in the anterior direction will happen automatically (with the butt going out and back, which would be up if we were prone as in swimming), in large part because many of the upper body postural muscles have insertion points in the hip and pelvic region. Just as with focusing on the pelvis, you can save yourself some frustration if you first look at whether you have this postural skill on land without the stress of the water.
The chest responds especially well to manual therapy. Great if you have access to a skilled manual therapist, but you can also achieve good results with the use of "ghetto" implements like tennis balls or foam rollers to restore lost mobility in the pectoralis major and minor (especially the latter). Again, a lot of people think they are pressing the chest down when in reality they are just diving with each stroke. Often the chest is immobile because we tell it to be immobile 20+ hours a day in crappy posture.
In terms of the anatomy, if you look at someone with a rounded upper back and caved chest, they usually have an excessively flat lower back with too much posterior pelvic tilt.
And this seems to be a very common swimming physique.
Nothing will sink your hips and prevent them rising up like breathing late will.
Sort of strange it took this long before someone mentioned breathing! I agree, and would also add that how one breathes, in addition to when, is very important. Most people lift their head straight up and way too high out of the water. Ideally you should lift the head just enough so the chin clears the water and think about thrusting the chin forward rather than lifting the head. Michael Phelps does this so well he's able to breathe every stroke without dropping his hips.
Does anyone have a good drill to help me get my butt to ride up high in butterfly? Jon
I don't have a drill but I can give you a couple focus points that I use that you can think of while doing one arm fly or full fly.
Nothing will sink your hips and prevent them rising up like breathing late will. Get someone to watch you do several strokes without breathing and see if your hips are higher, if so it is likely a breath timing issue. Try to breath during the final third of the pull (i.e. the push phase) and have your face back in the water before your hands recover, if you see your hands recovering you are likely breathing too late.
Try thinking about throwing your arms forward and stretching out toward the end of the pool, with the right timing your chest will drop into the water rather than you pressing the chest down. When you are really extended out toward the end of the pool it seems to raise the hips and you should find that the kick is more effective at popping your hips up.
Well, that's my experience anyway.
