Advanced one arm butterfly (butterfly drill) [video]

Another butterfly drill that will help you improve your stroke rhythm, the pull and push of the arm stroke, and focus on getting the chest down in a more sustainable manner than the full stroke. From a head leading position, do butterfly with one arm only, while the other arm remains at your side. Breathing should be made during the pull and push phase and not during recovery. 

This drill is quite advanced and should be teached to beginners.

Body wave (butterfly drill) [video]

This drill is part of a butterfly drills series that will help you learn how your body should move during butterfly swimming. The other drills of this series, that I will try to describe in another post, are bowing, dipping, dolphin dives, weight shifting, deep to shallow dolphin, and back dolphin.

From a head leading float position, dip the head, then chest and flow this action down to your hips and feet to create fluid wave, and forward motion emphasizing the action high in the body. An advanced version of this drill is with your hands leading.

Butterfly drills for beginners

A few drills that will help you learn the basics of butterfly or improve it if you are not a beginner. You can do this drills with fins on at first.

1. Dolphin drill

Purpose: To feel the body action of the butterfly stroke while at the surface.

Procedure: Push off the wall on your front side aling the surface, keeping your hands down by your sides and looking down at the bottom of the pool. Just the back of your head will break the surface. Use your head to start the body action, push downward with the forehead to start the whiplike action of the kick. Keep the head angle changing, but primarly look down. As you push your forehead down, allow the hips to come up. Then, allow your heels to slide above the surface, and begin to kick down. Your head will become to come back up to break the surface as you kick down. Break the surface with your head and repeat. You will break the surface in the following pattern: head, shoulders, hips and heels. Keep the motion fluid.

Focus: Be sure to keep your head moving at all times. Look dow at the black line on the bottom of the pool. Remember to move with your forehead first. Develop a steady rhythm.