All Strokes - Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen

**Fins Are Recommended!**

**Pull Too Wide/Pull Too Narrow/Pull at Shoulder Width**
To find the optimum width for your hand entry, try a 3-way contrast drill.  Start by entering the hands way too wide.  Really exaggerate this, and notice how it interrupts your rhythm and gives you a choppy stroke.

Then exaggerate in the other direction, by entering the hands right at your centerline.

Notice how this causes your hands to scull out...in...and out again...before they get into the catch and before they create any umph or propulsion.

Finally, try entering the hands on a line just slightly wide of the shoulders. And try entering with the palms flat on the water -- rather than entering thumb first.  Think about pointing your fingers to the corners of the lane.

What you should notice is that the hands go directly into the catch, and that it’s easy to pull directly back with a high-elbow catch.

Try all three ways.  You’ll probably find that entering the hands slightly wider than shoulder width feels the most powerful.

Another way to find your power zone is to do some pop-outs.  In the deep end of the pool, place your hands on the deck and push yourself up so that you’re resting on your palms.  Notice how far apart you placed your hands.

Now try a pop-out with your hands close together...

And one with your hands far apart.

Where did you feel the most power?  If it was with the hands just outside your shoulders, THAT’S your power zone, and that’s how wide your hands should enter when you swim butterfly. 

**Extended Release/Early Release** 
It feels productive to push all the way back, but if the hands get “stuck” at the thighs, it’s actually harder to maintain rhythm and momentum.  When the hands get stuck, it’s hard work to get the arms out and over the water.    Try swimming with this kind of stroke -- where you push all the way back...

...and then try swimming with this kind of stroke, where the hands release early and out to the sides.  Notice how much easier it is to recover the arms...and how much easier it is to maintain your rhythm.

Try both ways:  extended release...

...And short release, maintaining a quick cadence and forward momentum.

**Pause/Don’t Pause at the Top**
Many swimmers like to rest for a bit by letting their hands pause at the top of the stroke. 

The extra rest feels good, but if you get stuck here, it actually takes more work to get started again and to maintain your momentum.  

Try exaggerating the pause -- getting stuck at the top...

And see how it compares to a short pause at the top.  

You may need fins to achieve the short pause, but once you feel what it’s like to maintain your rhythm and momentum...

...it’s easier to get the same feeling when you take off the fins.   Remember:  You don’t want to get stuck at any part of the stroke in butterfly.

**Big Kick/Little Kick**
Many swimmers believe they need a big, whale-type kick to power their butterfly.  

They kick from the knees, they let the feet come way out of the water, and they usually make a big thunking sound when they swim.

The key to fast butterfly is to keep everything small and quick -- including the kick.   

Try swimming butterfly with a big, splashy kick.

Then try swimming with a minimal kick.  Keep your feet IN the water so your kick is nice and quiet.

Try not to bend your knees too much.  And try, instead, to kick from your hips and your core.

See which kind of kick makes your butterfly feel easier and faster.

**Too Much Up and Down/Swim “Flat”**
Undulation is a good thing in butterfly, but too much up-and-down will slow you down and cause you to swim extra distance on every length.

Try a few lengths where you exaggerate your undulation by driving the hands toward the bottom and letting the head come up too high on the breath.  

Then try a few lengths where you swim “flat” -- with no up-and-down movement of the hands or of your body.  Neither style will feel very good.

But if you take the “flat” style of swimming and add just a bit of undulation with your hips and torso, you may find that your butterfly feels easier and and faster.  

Remember:  The key to butterfly is to keep your momentum going, to not get stuck at any point in the stroke, and to send your energy forward rather than up and down.  



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Butterfly - Contrast Drills