The Butterfly Lane

Butterfly, beautiful to watch, difficult to train. We SDK off every wall. We're most likely to smack hands with each other and those beside us. Fly's fun to sprint but no fun when the piano comes down What did you do in practice today? the breastroke lane The Middle Distance Lane The Backstroke Lane The Butterfly Lane The SDK Lane The Taper Lane The Distance Lane The IM Lane The Sprint Free Lane The Pool Deck
  • No Goggles!!! Remember those days! I noticed that, too! Made my eyes hurt just watching.
  • When she is swimming fly, it looks as though she circles her arms back into the water, instead of trying to stretch for the wall each time. I have been told to "reach for the wall, like a finish" on each stroke. Her stroke appears to let the arms just fall back into the water, gracefully, but not to reach. When I "reach for the wall," it seems to introduce an undesirable pause into my stroke. I like the little rest, but I don't think my times do.
  • I breathe to the right side when I do fly, it helps me keep chin & chest down.
  • Time to get back in shape for the upcoming S C season.
  • Time to get back in shape for the upcoming S C season. OK then here is a fun little fly kicking drill we do. Put an elastic cord across the lanes beyond the backstroke flags on the close end and at the flags on the far end. Kick out under water fly under the cord, when you get to the other end Kick under water, do a turn under water and kick out under the cord. Finish under first cord kicking under water to wall. 8 times 10-15 sec rest. The person I have been training fly with for the past year has cut 1 second off her turn and I credit it to this drill directly. Cheers and enjoy the air when you get it! Charlie life is short... Swim Fly!
  • Speaking of fly turns, check out Nick D'arcy in lane 3 in this video: YouTube- 200 Butterfly - 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships On his first and third turns, he does not appear to breathe, and on top of that, he takes more SDK's than most of the other guys in that final. (His second turn isn't shown in the video but he probably didn't breathe then either.) Impressive!
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Mintenko also did not breathe on his turns: YouTube- Fly - Mintenko turn Also, check out his amazing dolphin kick: YouTube- Fly - Mintenko legs
  • Speaking of fly turns, check out Nick D'arcy in lane 3 in this video: YouTube- 200 Butterfly - 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships On his first and third turns, he does not appear to breathe, and on top of that, he takes more SDK's than most of the other guys in that final. (His second turn isn't shown in the video but he probably didn't breathe then either.) Impressive! Seems very weird to breathe every stroke, then not breathe on the wall. I can't really see how it is any faster, but impressive lung capacity either way. I'm sure he wouldn't do it if it wasn't timed as being faster for him.
  • To me, not breathing off the turn means not taking a breath on your breakout stroke. Not breathing on the turn means doing what D'arcy did. And please note that "impressive" doesn't mean "I think I'll try that!"
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Impressive, indeed. Until I watched the video, I didn't know what you meant by not breathing on the turns. I thought maybe you meant not breathing on the first stroke after the turn. It hadn't occurred to me that you could skip the breath while executing the turn. Even now that it has occurred to me, I'm sure I will never use that trick.