Butterfly Swimming | What is important when swimming butterfly? Which drills can improve your butterfly stroke? How to improve the butterfly kick while swimming? We will give you an in-depth step by step guide for butterfly stroke swimming and even more.

Let’s get the basics sorted. The overall butterfly swimming technique, the butterfly kick, the butterfly stroke and more can be improved by doing the 5 best drills for butterfly swimming. Use these drills as your standard butterfly workout:
1. 3-3-3 (butterfly recovery phase)
2. Surfer butterfly (underwatery part of the butterfly)
3. Dolphin kick on the back (butterfly body movement)
4. Dragon fly (faster pace with freestyle kicks)
5. Flow drill (isolated body movement and kick exercise)

Although it’s also important to understand why the drills are improving your butterfly and understand the butterfly style in general.

Body position: To swim butterfly properly, you need to maintain a horizontal body position with your hips and legs near the surface of the water. Keep your head down and your eyes focused on the bottom of the pool.

Arm movement: The butterfly stroke is characterized by the simultaneous movement of both arms. Start with your arms extended in front of you and move them outward in a sweeping motion, bringing them down to your sides. As your arms reach your hips, bend your elbows and push your hands back towards your hips. Finish the movement with a strong, forceful push.

Leg movement: The leg movement in butterfly is a dolphin kick, where your legs move up and down in unison. To execute the kick, keep your legs together and your toes pointed. Bend your knees slightly and then forcefully kick your legs downward, generating a wave-like motion.

Timing: To swim butterfly properly, you need to coordinate the movement of your arms and legs. As your arms sweep outward, initiate the dolphin kick. When your arms reach your hips, execute the forceful push while completing the dolphin kick. Remember to maintain a continuous, fluid motion throughout the stroke.

Breathing: Breathing is an essential component of swimming butterfly. Unlike freestyle or backstroke, you'll need to coordinate your breathing with the arm movement. Take a breath as your arms sweep outward, and then exhale as you push your arms and legs down.

Like any swimming stroke, mastering the butterfly takes practice. Start with shorter distances and gradually increase the length of your swim as you become more comfortable with the stroke. Record yourself or ask a coach to observe your technique and provide feedback for improvement. You can even ask Watery for feedback and we’ll be happy to help you improve. If you are swimming in competitions be aware of the illegal kick and stroke techniques.

To become the greatest swimmer of all time (or at least try to) you need to master other swimming strokes than just the butterfly. Have a look at our guide on how to improve your freestyle swimming here:    • Freestyle Swimming Drills | Learn Fre...   and also check the 5 best backstroke swimming drills here:    • Backstroke Swimming Drills | Learn Ba...  

Before you go… Have you ever heard about Watery? We hope so - shop all your swimming equipment and swimwear in one place. I’m sure you’ll find something interesting for you: lnk.bio/watery-bio