Butterfly

When rowing movements are performed out of time and irregularly, their effectiveness drops sharply; if the moments for the stroke with the hands and the kick with the feet are chosen incorrectly, the forces are applied in opposite directions. To coordinate the movements, just remember that your hips should rise as your hands sink into the water. The resistance of the "T" zone is directed against the action of the force that pulls us under water ("T-zone" is formed by the intersection of the longitudinal axis of the body with a conditional line connecting the armpits). We will use the counteraction of these forces for balancing. Under natural conditions, the body and hips move relative to each other in the same way that a child's swing balances around a central point. The resistance of the "T-zone" will make it easier to lift the hips at the moment when the hands are immersed in the water. The body always rushes after the head. Remember that the head has a certain mass, and, accordingly, inertia. If you try to raise your head too high (to inhale), your body will immediately try to follow it in an attempt to make an air flight. But the intelligent application of this energy, like counteracting the T-zone, will help maintain balance. Starting the stroke with your hands, immerse your hands in the water in front of you shoulder-width apart or at a slightly greater distance from each other. A very wide "capture" literally holds less water, and a very narrow one requires a significant amount of energy. During the stroke, what is called a catastrophic "elbow drop" can occur. It is very likely that the elbows will drop down and be below the hands (and well below the surface of the water) at the beginning of the pull-up phase when the arms are far from the body. Focus on keeping the elbows "out" and keeping near the surface, above the hands. This will allow you to make a vigorous stroke with all the muscles of your arms instead of a sluggish and inefficient stroke with your elbows. The blow in the butterfly is not performed in the knee joint and not in the ankle joint. If you have seen how dolphins soar above the water and whales swim, you probably noticed that they move with the help of a single and indivisible wave-like movement that starts in the head area, reaches the tail through the whole body and ends with a powerful blow. Similar to this is the real butterfly. Imagine that the punch starts from the chest, and this will help you maintain the right balance. Mastering butterfly, always remember two rules. The first is to build the rowing movement in the correct sequence, namely: Balance Body position, taking into account the position of the head and chest Movement of the hips Arm stroke movement To learn how to maintain the correct body position, you can try some training exercises such as swimming with one hand and combination styles (several in-flight strokes and a quick switch to breaststroke). The second rule is take your time and be consistent. If you have just started to master the butterfly, limit yourself to a couple of strokes in shallow water. As you acquire and consolidate the skills of rowing movements, gradually increase the distance, each time by the same amount. And very soon you will be surprised to find that people call you a born swimmer. Tip 1 The hands should enter the water shoulder-width apart, with the palms facing outward rather than down. Lean forward with your chest at the moment when the brushes go under the water. This movement will help lift your hips and create the effect of "floating downhill". Tip 2 There is one breath per cycle. This breathing helps to keep the body in the correct position and prevents the legs from sinking, in which you would have to swim "uphill". When inhaling, do not raise your neck, but simply slightly bend your shoulders and, as it were, lean on them, continuing to look into the water. Tip 3 When returning, the arms should be straightened, but relaxed. This will allow you to maintain the right rhythm, efficiency and length of the cycle and prevent the rowing movements from becoming more frequent. Tip 4 Two stop hits per cycle. The value of the blow is great, which falls on that part of the cycle when the hands come out of the water (palms inward). You must combine the impulses generated by pushing with your hands and quickly hitting with your feet in order to get your hands out of the water and carry them over the water in the return phase. The second stop hit occurs at the moment when the hands are immersed in water. Tip 5 The head should be immersed in water a moment before the brushes are immersed. The neck should be relaxed during all phases of the arm movement cycle. Practice kicking in a side, stomach, or back position. Combining starting positions helps to develop different aspects of stop kicking technique. Practice kicking with or without a board, with or without fins. This exercise strengthens the leg muscles for a dolphin kick. Useful for different types of swimming: for breaststroke, freestyle and butterfly style. In the deep pool, take up an upright position and fix your position (you should not move forward or backward). For the butterfly, perform continuous and synchronized kicks with both feet back and forth. The exercise teaches you to keep the rhythm when swimming in the style of a dolphin. After each arm stroke, pause, extend your arms in front of you and perform four kicks. One stroke, one breath. The exercise gives rest to the hands and helps to develop the correct rhythm of breathing. A great helper in mastering the butterfly style can be the one-handed flight exercise. We stretch one hand in front of us (it is inactive), and the second we make rowing movements; we inhale on the side of the working hand. We keep the rhythm and make two kicks for one stroke: the first - at the moment the hand enters the water, the second - at the moment of exit. An alternative is the "1-arm flight" variant, in which the inactive arm is pressed against the body. The exercise forces you to link together the end of the stroke and the return phase. The swimmer has a feeling that he is "throwing out" his arm. Three strokes with the left hand, then three with the right and three full cycles. Great warm-up exercise. Increases the coordination of rowing movements. Perform kicking movements with your feet in fins and enjoy how easily and naturally your body rises above the water. Make sure that the hands enter the water before the shoulder girdle. The exercise helps confused fliers to learn the feeling of correct stroke and competent immersion. In the middle of the underwater part of the stroke, lift your chin to inhale. Hold your hands at the final point of the underwater phase, inhale and return your hands underwater, making a stop kick. Hands are always in the water. The exercise teaches you to breathe in time and helps to systematize movements. Breaking away from the side of the pool, do four strokes in butterfly style, then swim as you like. Do not breathe during these four strokes and try to make these strokes as long as possible. At the final stage, the hands practically touch the lower abdomen. The exercise improves the efficiency of strokes, especially the ability to perform the final part of the underwater phase of the stroke. Such information about the work of the legs when swimming with a butterfly will help to master this difficult science. One cycle of arm strokes must be followed by two foot strikes, which perform different but very important functions. The downward movement of the feet during the first strike occurs at the moment when the hands are immersed in water. This movement of the legs helps to bring the hips closer to the surface and gives the body the acceleration to move forward even before the arms enter the catch phase. The reverse movement of the feet upwards allows the body to be given an elongated, streamlined position, which reduces the resistance in the phase when the hands make an accelerating movement underwater. The duration of the first blow is longer than the second. The second blow is performed at the moment when the arms complete the phase of the accelerating movement and begin to rise up to the return phase. Compared to the first impact, during the second impact of the feet, there is a more accentuated movement in the knee joints. The second blow gives the body an acceleration that allows the shoulder girdle to move forward and rise above the water throughout the return phase. Unlike freestyle and backstroke, which use rotation of the body along the axis and rotation of the shoulders, the butterfly relies heavily on this acceleration, which raises the shoulders above the water. At the same time, the second blow supports the hips, preventing them from falling down. Many novice swimmers make the same mistake when mastering the butterfly: they perform both kicks with their feet before the start of the stroke with their hands, in the style of “hit-hit-pull-up”. In this case, the swimmer extends his arms forward after entering the water and remains in this position until the end of the second stroke, and uses the completion of the second stroke as an additional impulse to start the underwater phase of the stroke. As a result, when the swimmer completes the pull-up, they don't get the boost they need to lift their shoulders and head for inspiration. Accordingly, the swimmer has to bend his back, raise his head and feet - and all these actions must be performed simultaneously. In addition, this choice of timing for the second strike leads to the absence of momentum for translational acceleration during the carrying of hands over the water. Butterfly makes the body swing in a certain rhythm. Whatever style you swim, the body always moves with the head. When swimming crawl or backstroke, you must keep your head level while the body rotates along its axis. This minimizes lateral and vertical deflections, which inevitably reduce speed. In the butterfly, a slight nod of the chin causes a wave-like vibration that is transmitted to the torso, covers the hips and reaches the tips of the toes. Having this undulating motion means that the hips can start the next hit while the shin and feet are still completing the previous hit. A common mistake made by beginners is not adequately working the hips when hitting with the knees and feet. In this case, there is a tendency to excessive bending of the legs at the knee joints and too high position of the feet, which does not benefit the cause at all. As a result, the thigh remains in a horizontal position, and the foot strike is directed strictly back. But with the second stop, the body must also receive acceleration to move up, and with this version of the execution of the strike, this is impossible. When mastering the butterfly, you should pay more attention to the timing, the coordination of the two foot strikes and the cycle of the hands, and think less about the strength of these two strikes. The "feel" of engaging the hips and the smooth "rolling of the strokes" will help you learn the deep rhythm of this stroke.