The Butterfly Lane

We did some fly work in practice this morning (I usually pick backstroke whenever we do stroke, so this time my coach forced it on me!). We started with kicking and added stuff in from there. I think I finally figured out how to get two kicks into my stroke cycle (yeah, I know...I should have figured this out long ago! :blush:). Anyway, when it came time to add fly into the main set, my arms were so tired that I could barely do 25 before having to drill or drown. Ugh. I had been feeling so good in the drills. I guess it's just conditioning? I only swim 3 days a week because that is when the pool is available to me, so I'm not sure how much conditioning I'll be able to build up in that time. Thoughts? I don't think 3 days a week will do it. I can really feel it when I take two days off in a row; something I try to avoid whenever possible. There is one thing I always do when training fly, though: Breathe every stroke. Like Michael Phelps, I NEED AIR! If I breathe every other stroke, I'm toast after 50 yards; I just can't do it with my 51 year old lungs. :drowning: Another thing I do when my arms get really tired and heavy is only pull to my waist, rather than all the way through. I then push them out to the side at my waist to get them out of the water for the recovery. Whether this advice is correct or not, it works for me. :2cents:

We did some fly work in practice this morning (I usually pick backstroke whenever we do stroke, so this time my coach forced it on me!). We started with kicking and added stuff in from there. I think I finally figured out how to get two kicks into my stroke cycle (yeah, I know...I should have figured this out long ago! :blush:). Anyway, when it came time to add fly into the main set, my arms were so tired that I could barely do 25 before having to drill or drown. Ugh. I had been feeling so good in the drills. I guess it's just conditioning? I only swim 3 days a week because that is when the pool is available to me, so I'm not sure how much conditioning I'll be able to build up in that time. Thoughts?

We did some fly work in practice this morning (I usually pick backstroke whenever we do stroke, so this time my coach forced it on me!). We started with kicking and added stuff in from there. I think I finally figured out how to get two kicks into my stroke cycle (yeah, I know...I should have figured this out long ago! :blush:). Anyway, when it came time to add fly into the main set, my arms were so tired that I could barely do 25 before having to drill or drown. Ugh. I had been feeling so good in the drills. I guess it's just conditioning? I only swim 3 days a week because that is when the pool is available to me, so I'm not sure how much conditioning I'll be able to build up in that time. Thoughts? I have trouble with that too - I really have to think about it!

Success today. I did 50 meters Fly this morning.. twice! Never could I do that before. I literally heard everything I've been reading om here in my head!!! And..I didn't die. Hmm. Maybe I will get to that 200 before December. Feeling very hopeful. I did feel comfortable knowing I COULD breathe every stroke instead of every other but for the life of me, I could figure out how to get into that rhythm! So...every other it was... Way to go, Sis! :applaud: So, next time, it will be three times, right? Just keep trying, even if you can't quite make the third one and have to change strokes mid-length. As for the breathing rhythm, the same thing happened to me. It actually seemed harder at first. But, once I got the hang of breathing every stroke, it became the easier way for me. Here is the key: When you breathe, do NOT lift your head and look forward. Lead with the top of your head and lift just enough to get air, keeping your chin in the water. Continue to look at the bottom of the pool when you take a breath. I try to never stop looking at that black stripe... By doing this, your neck will stay more relaxed and you will keep better form. Good luck! :cheerleader:

That was what I was afraid of. I guess I can try to get up at 4 for a 6 AM practice an hour away on Saturdays, but we'll see. I'm a full time student and I work, so Saturday mornings are kind of sacred. ;) I also have discovered the awfulness of short-axis strokes on a full stomach. Blech! It just mixes everything up in there. I did some fly and IM this morning and I completed a legal 200 IM for the first time in probably 10 years. 2:53 from a push. I think the 100 fly is in sight. :applaud:Awesome on that 200 IM; especially since that was your first one in ten years! As for swimming anything on a full stomach, it's :eek: for me!

While more practices are better, you can definitely still improve your fly a lot only doing 3 practices a week. It sounds like you don't practice fly every often, so just adding some fly each practice could make a big improvement. Totally agree with this. Even ending every practice with 10x25 fly or something is a good start. I believe there's not much point in continuing to swim fly past the point where your technique deteriorates.

While more practices are better, you can definitely still improve your fly a lot only doing 3 practices a week. It sounds like you don't practice fly every often, so just adding some fly each practice could make a big improvement. I swam a 200m fly in a meet last year after only training 3x a week. Yeah, SuperChloe is a student which I'm guessing means she is young; at least a lot younger than me (51)! And, you probably are, too; right? At my age, I don't believe I could achieve that kind of improvement swimming just three days per week. :cane:

Success today. I did 50 meters Fly this morning.. twice! Never could I do that before. I literally heard everything I've been reading om here in my head!!! And..I didn't die. Hmm. Maybe I will get to that 200 before December. Feeling very hopeful. I did feel comfortable knowing I COULD breathe every stroke instead of every other but for the life of me, I could figure out how to get into that rhythm! So...every other it was...

I don't think 3 days a week will do it. I can really feel it when I take two days off in a row; something I try to avoid whenever possible. There is one thing I always do when training fly, though: Breathe every stroke. Like Michael Phelps, I NEED AIR! If I breathe every other stroke, I'm toast after 50 yards; I just can't do it with my 51 year old lungs. :drowning: Another thing I do when my arms get really tired and heavy is only pull to my waist, rather than all the way through. I then push them out to the side at my waist to get them out of the water for the recovery. Whether this advice is correct or not, it works for me. :2cents: That was what I was afraid of. I guess I can try to get up at 4 for a 6 AM practice an hour away on Saturdays, but we'll see. I'm a full time student and I work, so Saturday mornings are kind of sacred. ;) I also have discovered the awfulness of short-axis strokes on a full stomach. Blech! It just mixes everything up in there. I did some fly and IM this morning and I completed a legal 200 IM for the first time in probably 10 years. 2:53 from a push. I think the 100 fly is in sight.

Way to go, Sis! :applaud: So, next time, it will be three times, right? Just keep trying, even if you can't quite make the third one and have to change strokes mid-length. As for the breathing rhythm, the same thing happened to me. It actually seemed harder at first. But, once I got the hang of breathing every stroke, it became the easier way for me. Here is the key: When you breathe, do NOT lift your head and look forward. Lead with the top of your head and lift just enough to get air, keeping your chin in the water. Continue to look at the bottom of the pool when you take a breath. I try to never stop looking at that black stripe... By doing this, your neck will stay more relaxed and you will keep better form. Good luck! :cheerleader: I was having the same problem with the breathing every stroke thing, so I'll give your method a try on Thursday. (And yes, you're right about my age, I'm 23, 24 next month.) And good for you, SissSwim! It's a great feeling to accomplish some butterfly!