In Matt Donovan's article from 4-Feb-2019 entitled, "Four ways to make butterfly easier" he mentions when to breath as one of his points. To quote: (CAPS emphasis is mine.)
"Another big mistake that swimmers make is breathing too late. If you see your hands or forearms, you know that the timing of your breath is late. Your breath should be initiated by picking your head up out of the water the instant your hands have ENTERED the water. Your breath should be taken at the surface DURING THE CATCH (the small out-sweep just before the pull) and into the start of the power phase of your stroke. Your head should go back into the water by the time your hands reach the midpoint of the recovery (straight out from your shoulders)."
This seems backwards to me. I thought the butterfly breath happened as the hands are EXITING the water on the way to recovery over the water. I'm confused.
I agree that you shouldn't see tha arms, but the original recommendation seems a little early to me. If you lift your head at the catch it seems like that would prematurely break streamline. I think I lift my head during the power phase of the pull and lower it as my arms are recovering.
Me too. I was thinking about it a bit this morning. When my hands go in, my chest and head are down and my hips are up. My chest and head come up as I begin to pull, and my hips go down. I get the breath by poking my chin forward just a bit so that my mouth clears the water. I do try to get my head back down by the time my hands are by my midsection; but I don't breathe so early that I never see my hands or forearms at all.
I am not a very good flyer, though. I think that good thoracic mobility (front-to-back, not twisting or bending side-to-side) is the key and I don't really have it.
I agree that you shouldn't see tha arms, but the original recommendation seems a little early to me. If you lift your head at the catch it seems like that would prematurely break streamline. I think I lift my head during the power phase of the pull and lower it as my arms are recovering.
Me too. I was thinking about it a bit this morning. When my hands go in, my chest and head are down and my hips are up. My chest and head come up as I begin to pull, and my hips go down. I get the breath by poking my chin forward just a bit so that my mouth clears the water. I do try to get my head back down by the time my hands are by my midsection; but I don't breathe so early that I never see my hands or forearms at all.
I am not a very good flyer, though. I think that good thoracic mobility (front-to-back, not twisting or bending side-to-side) is the key and I don't really have it.
