Set Of The Week: Aerobic Butterfly

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Welcome to Swimming World’s Set Of The Week! This week’s set is an aerobic butterfly set meant to work on consistent stroke tempo and strong underwaters. This is a great set to use with an IM or butterfly group in age group, high school, or college swimming! Take a look below and see the set and read about it below:

Two Rounds:

4 x 50 fly drill on 1:10

#1: 3 Right Arm, 3 Left Arm, 3 Double Arm

#2: 2 Right Arm, 2 Left Arm, 2 Double Arm

#3: 1 Right Arm, 1 Left Arm, 1 Double Arm

#4: swim moderate w/ high hips emphasizing chest press

***Put on fins

10 x 50’s fly w/ fins breakout to 15 mtrs; maintain stroke tempo on :50

***Take off fins

1 x 150 as fly focusing on tempo, walls, and hips on 2:30

This set begins with a drill set that progresses through a basic single arm sequence. As swimmers from 3 strokes of each to 2 strokes to 1 stroke, their tempo should naturally increase as they find the feel in their stroke and move toward full stroke butterfly. During this drill, the focus should be on pressing forward with the chest at the end of each stroke cycle and using the whole body to move through the water, utilizing their core, hips, and legs to slide forward on each stroke.

Following the 4 x 50’s of drill, take a short break to let your swimmers put on fins (short fins may be most appropriate). Using fins on the 50’s gives your swimmers a chance to practice a large volume of butterfly without sacrificing their technique, giving them an opportunity to work on consistent underwaters and tempo in their stroke. Following the 10 x 50’s, take short break to remove the fin’s and then go into a single 150 of full stroke butterfly. This should be where your athletes put together all of the technical aspects of the stroke they were working on above. Focus should be on consistent underwaters with a whole body stroke that has consistent high hips, tempo, and chest press.

While this may seem like a lot of butterfly for some of your swimmers, in the end the set is designed to be manageable and teach your athletes how to consistently swim proper butterfly. You can modify this set by using fins on only one of the rounds of 10 x 50’s, or by getting rid of them all together. For younger swimmers, it may be appropriate to use fins for the entire set, or just complete one round This definitely makes the set more challenging but could be appropriate depending on the training group. In any form, this set is meant to take away apprehension about finishing a 200 butterfly or “dying” on the first 100 of a 400 IM by giving you athletes confidence in their ability to perform a technically consistent stroke even when fatigue sets in. Happy swimming!

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Niles Keeran

8 years ago

Not for this free sprinter and backstroker, no thanks!!

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Debbie Smart

8 years ago

Love Butterfly ! I