Butterfly Stroke

Although you swim on your chest in the butterfly stroke, which is similar to the breaststroke, you move both of your arms at the same time. It is the fastest style in competitive swimming, but you need to be a master at this style in order to be successful using it in competition.

The butterfly stroke is often called the dolphin kick because the arm and leg movements are synchronized. In the initial position, you have to lie in the water on your breast, with your arms stretched out in front of you and your legs extended backwards. There are three arm movements: push, pull and recovery. From the initial position, let your hands sink down into the water a little with the palms facing outward. Then move your hands out to form a V. This is called catching the water. In this part of the pull movement, you follow a semicircular pattern so that you elbows are higher than your hands. Your hands should be pointing down and toward your body.

Then push your hands backward through the water so that they end at the side of your body. If you only push your arms one-third of the way to your hips, you will find it easier to develop the recovery movement. Swing your arms sideways across the water to the front, still keeping your elbows higher than your shoulders and hands. You have to swing your arms fast to bring them in front of you in the water.

The leg movement for the butterfly stroke involves having your feet pressed close together. There is no actual stipulation in the type of kick you must use. If you wish, you can use the frog kick of the breaststroke or a scissorslike kick in which you move your legs back and forth.

You have to synchronize your breathing with the times your head is out of the water. Your head goes back in the water when your arms come out. When your head is out of the water, you can open your mouth and take in a breath on every other stroke. If you try to take a breath on every stroke, it will slow you down and could cause hyperventilation.