Last Updated on February 8, 2024 by admin
In this article, we will provide advice, drills, hacks and tips on common competitive butterfly faults and how to fix them.
Introduction
Swimming butterfly can be physically demanding, especially for younger or inexperienced swimmers.
- Many find butterfly difficult to coach or teach, which can often lead to butterfly being swum and taught the least.
- To master butterfly requires a combination of coordination, timing and technique.
- By breaking down the stroke into bite-sized drills, it can be coached and taught correctly without becoming too physically demanding.
Butterfly should only be performed at the intensity and distance where swimmers can maintain a good technique and high stroke rate.
- It is often counter-productive to get swimmers to perform butterfly when they are fatigued.
- As this may ingrain poor technique into the swimmer’s muscle memory* and establish longer-term stroke faults.
- This can be very difficult to eradicate.
(*muscle memory – the ability to reproduce a movement without conscious thought. Acquired as a result of frequent repetition of that movement)
Butterfly should be coached over short distances until the swimmer has adapted to its physical and technical demands.
- Many coaches have their swimmers use swim fins for approximately half of their butterfly drills.
- Believing this helps them to attain the correct technique.
- For many swimmers, using swim fins can give them the confidence to perform the drills correctly.
Related article on an overview of the butterfly stroke
We have produced a related article on an overview of the butterfly stroke. You can view it by clicking this link: an overview of the butterfly stroke
Common competitive butterfly faults
Body position
The swimmer’s body should undulate throughout the stroke.
- The crown of the swimmer’s head should initiate the swimmer’s body’s undulation as it varies its position during the stroke.
- It should be just under the surface during the propulsion phases of the arm stroke, this forces their hips to rise.
- The swimmer’s chin should be on the surface whilst breathing, this forces their hips to lower.
- The head should be followed by the chest, hips, legs and feet to complete the undulation sequence.
- Two of the most common butterfly faults are under-undulation and over-undulation
Under undulation
Insufficient undulation results in the swimmer failing to engage their larger chest, core, buttock and upper leg muscles.
- Resulting in the swimmer using just the muscles in their arms and lower legs.
- This leads to an ineffective stroke which can often lead to the swimmer becoming fatigued very quickly.
Over-undulation
- Over-undulation results in the swimmer performing a slower, deeper and ineffective stroke, again which can often lead to the swimmer becoming fatigued very quickly.
Head Position
The two most common faults concerning the swimmer’s head position are,
- Not driving their head forward and just under the surface to initiate their body undulation.
- Leading to an ineffective stroke (see above)
- And raising their head too high while breathing.
- This lowers their hips and restricts their body’s undulation.
- This causes extra drag and resistance, leading to the swimmer becoming quickly fatigued.
- They should adopt a low head position looking down at the bottom of the pool, during the arm stroke’s propulsive phase.
- When breathing their head should be as low as possible with the swimmer’s chin on the surface.
Common competitive butterfly faults: Corrective Drills
Layout drill
How to perform this drill: The swimmer should start this drill by assuming a prone position (lying face down on their front)
- They should push off from the wall at the end of the pool in a streamlined position.
- The swimmer should then perform a full butterfly arm stroke to assist them in performing a shallow surface dive, approximately 0.5m (1 ½ feet) under the surface.
- This should be initiated by them pressing down with the crown of their head, followed by their shoulders and chest.
- This action should force the swimmer’s hips up, which should bring the legs down, which should enable them to force their legs down with a pronounced kicking action.
- Once they have performed the surface dive, they should stop all movements and rise naturally to the surface.
- They should repeat this drill for one length/lap of the pool (25m).
- We recommend that swimmers use fins when first performing this drill.
Vertical butterfly kicking
How to perform this drill: The swimmer should start this drill in a vertical position, in water deep enough so they cannot touch the bottom).
- They should sink in the water and position themselves with their feet on the pool bottom.
- The swimmer should then adopt a squat position with their hands down by their sides.
- They should then drive up through their legs and perform vigorous vertical butterfly kicking, to shoot through the water to the surface.
- The swimmer should perform a shallow ‘wave’ butterfly kicking action, by undulating their body from their head to their toes.
- Swimmers should ensure that they perform this drill without excessive knee bend.
- The swimmer should also ensure they are performing trickle breathing, to help them complete this drill (see the chapter on breathing technique).
Breathing
As stated above, when breathing the swimmer’s head should be kept as low as possible with their chin on the surface.
- Inexperienced or younger swimmers should use a 1-stroke breathing pattern (breathing every stroke)
- However, many experienced competitive butterfly swimmers use a 2-stroke breathing pattern to enable their body to remain flatter during the non-breathing phase of the stroke.
- Some senior butterfly swimmers use a 3-stroke breathing pattern or only breathe for a certain number of breaths per length/lap.
- One of the most common butterfly breathing faults is an inconsistent breathing pattern
- Which interrupts the rhythm and flow of the stroke.
- Whatever breathing pattern you adopt, you should practice this in training
- To ensure it can be sustained and is the most effective for you during competition.
Timing
Another common butterfly breathing fault includes the timing of the swimmer’s breath.
- Some inexperienced or younger swimmers breathe after their arms have exited the water.
- This results in it becoming difficult for the swimmer to lift their chin out of the water to breathe.
- This in turn results in the swimmer’s head still being up when they should be driving their head under the surface to initiate their body’s undulation.
- The head being raised late also restricts the swimmer from fully extending their arms into the catch position, leading to a short and ineffective stroke.
Fix by breathing earlier
- Swimmers should learn to breathe earlier, by raising their chin, as their arms begin the catch
- This will help raise the swimmer’s body out of the water,
- Enabling them to tuck and drive their head back in the water, as their hands exit the water, to initiate their body’s undulation.
- This will allow the swimmer to perform a fully extended stroke.
Stroke speed
Swimming butterfly slowly makes it more difficult for the swimmer to maintain a high body position in the water, making their body undulation ineffective (see body position above)
- During training, butterfly should be swum at a pace that enables a swimmer to maintain a high body position, great technique and a consistent pace.
- This may require the training distance to be reduced.
- It may also require that up to 50% of a swimmer’s butterfly training is conducted while wearing swim fins.
Kicking with bent knees
Many swimmers try and force their butterfly leg kick.
- Resulting in them kicking with too much of a knee bend.
- Which engages their smaller calf muscles and increases drag
- Swimmers should practice driving their leg kick from their hips as a part of their body’s undulation during the stroke.
- This will help to engage the swimmer’s larger buttock and upper leg muscles, making their kick more powerful and effective, with only a slight knee bend.
Corrective drills
Butterfly kicking supine hands in pockets
How to perform this drill: The swimmer should start this drill with a push and glide from the wall at the end of the pool.
- They should be in a supine position (on their back), on the surface of the water.
- Their arms and hands should be by their sides (hands in pockets)
- The swimmer should perform a shallow ‘wave’ butterfly kicking action, by undulating their body from their head, chest, hips and legs through to their toes.
- Swimmers should ensure that they perform this drill without any excessive knee bend.
- Younger and inexperienced swimmers may find it useful to use fins when first learning this drill.
Common Competitive Butterfly Faults: Takeaways
In this article, we will provide advice, drills, hacks and tips on common competitive butterfly faults and how to fix them.
Swimming butterfly can be physically demanding, especially for younger or inexperienced swimmers.
- Many find butterfly difficult to coach or teach, which can often lead to butterfly being swum and taught the least.
- To master butterfly requires a combination of coordination, timing and technique.
- By breaking down the stroke into bite-sized drills, it can be coached and taught correctly without becoming too physically demanding.
Related publication: BUTTERFLY Competitive Swimming Drills
We have published a related publication: This publication provides coaches, teachers and swimmers with over 65 tried and tested competitive butterfly drills and progressions. For further details and ordering information please use the following link: BUTTERFLY Competitive Swimming Drills
Swimming resource library
We have provided a swimming resource library.
- This contains links to all of our publications and blog articles.
- Now with an easy-to-use index.
- To access any article simply click on the attached page link: swimming resource library
Swimming Publications
EatSleepSwimCoach produces a growing range of publications on a wide range of swimming subjects.
- These include competitive swimming drill publications for backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
- Which are now available in both Amazon Kindle and paperback formats.
For information regarding our portfolio please follow the Swimming publications link on our website https://eatsleepswimcoach.com/publications/
Recommended swimming equipment
We have provided a recommended swimming equipment page.
- It contains the swimming equipment that we and our swimmers use and recommend.
- You can access this page by clicking on the following link: recommended swimming equipment.
The Competitive Swimming Exchange – Facebook Group
We are members of the Competitive Swimming Exchange.
- This is a competitive swimming Facebook group to help exchange ideas and information to collectively improve the sport we love.
- It’s an international group for all swimmers, coaches, teachers, masters, triathletes and swimming parents.
- In fact, it’s for all those who are interested in competitive swimming, either in the pool or in open water
For more information about joining this group please use the following link: The Competitive Swimming Exchange