Master the Butterfly Stroke: Essential Tips

Welcome to The Stoiclete! Your go-to spot for athletic insights and inspiration. Every Monday, we're here to help you level up your game by answering questions from you and other athletes about athletic performance. Learn from different sports and get the edge on your competitors in 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can sign up for the weekly email here.

Here’s what we got for you in today’s edition:

• Discover how Michael Phelps mastered the butterfly stroke with targeted muscle training.

• Learn which muscles to focus on for a powerful, explosive butterfly stroke.

• Get a practical workout routine to enhance your swimming performance.

In Our Mailbox

Welcome to 'In Our Inbox' where we answer your questions on athletic performance. Have you got a question? Send it our way - your question could be featured next! Let’s dive into today’s situation:

The butterfly stroke; a swimming technique that helped the great American swimmer Michael Phelps earn a significant portion of his 28 Olympic medals. He achieved this with fantastic technique but also by training the right muscles. It is a swimming stroke that can rightly be called a full body workout.

On Your Mark

The butterfly stroke is a movement that involves the entire body. The lower body, upper body, and abdominal muscles work together to generate as much forward force as possible.

This swimming stroke is therefore the second fastest stroke in swimming. The fact that all muscles in the body are used makes it difficult to prioritize the most important muscles. However, specific parts of the stroke can be targeted with specific exercises.

The reader who submitted today's question wants to develop more explosiveness in her upper body. The butterfly stroke consists of a pull phase, push phase, and recovery phase.

The illustration shows that the swimmer first brings their arms out of the water and then moves the arms from back to front. In this part of the stroke, the swimmer essentially pulls themselves forward.

During the pull phase, the muscles in the upper body are most engaged. In this phase, the arm muscles, shoulder muscles, chest muscles, and certainly the back muscles play an important role.

The back muscles, particularly the lats, are responsible for the pulling motion of the arms. The shoulder muscles are crucial for moving your arms over your head during strokes.

The biceps and forearms keep your arms stable to push water away as effectively as possible. The abdominal muscles, as in many sports, are also important in swimming for stabilizing the body.

Additionally, these muscles work together with the leg muscles to push away as much water as possible during the push phase. This phase is known as the dolphin kick and is essential for generating speed.

Get Set

Now that the pull movement of the butterfly stroke has been analyzed, we delve deeper into the role of the muscles and the best way to train them. The role of the lats (latissimus dorsi) and chest muscle (pectoralis major) is to bring the arms back to the body from the front.

The most progress can be made when you also train these muscles in this role. Therefore, the training should mainly consist of pull movements where the muscles are trained individually but also together.

The reader who asked the question wants to improve her explosiveness in the pull phase. When improving explosiveness, plyometric exercises are the first choice. Plyometric training focuses on short and intense efforts.

During these efforts, the fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are responsible for speed and explosiveness, are engaged. In the pull phase of the butterfly stroke, the role of multiple muscles is to ensure stability.

This includes the wrists, arm muscles, shoulder muscles, back muscles, and abdominal muscles. The shoulders (deltoids) provide stability but also help bring the arms back to the front. Training for stability is complicated as a sole focus but can be combined with regular strength training. Strengthening the stability muscles can, for example, be easily achieved by training with free weights.

Go

Here’s a practical training routine focusing on the key muscles used during the pull phase.

1. Lat Pulldowns

• Equipment: Lat pulldown machine

• Reps: 3 sets of 12-15 reps

• Description: Sit at the machine, grip the bar wider than shoulder-width, pull the bar down to your chest while squeezing your shoulder blades together, then slowly return to the starting position.

2. Dumbbell Chest Press

• Equipment: Dumbbells and a bench

• Reps: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

• Description: Lie on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand, press the weights upwards until your arms are fully extended, then lower them back to chest level.

3. Dumbbell Shoulder Press

• Equipment: Dumbbells

• Reps: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

• Description: Sit or stand with a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, press the weights upward until your arms are fully extended, then lower them back to shoulder height.

5. Bicep Curls

• Equipment: Dumbbells or barbell

• Reps: 3 sets of 12-15 reps

• Description: Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, curl the weights towards your shoulders by bending your elbows, then lower them back to the starting position.

6. Wrist Flexor and Extensor Exercises

• Equipment: Dumbbells

• Reps: 3 sets of 15-20 reps

• Description: For flexors, sit and rest your forearms on your thighs with palms facing up, curl the dumbbells towards your body. For extensors, repeat with palms facing down.

Around The Stadium

• Butterfly Technique Tips: Brief instructional video on improving butterfly stroke technique.

• Dryland Training Exercise: Effective dryland training exercises for butterfly swimmers.

• Butterfly Stroke Guide: Comprehensive guide to mastering the butterfly stroke.

• Swimmer Muscle Breakdown: Analysis of muscle groups used in different swimming strokes.

• Butterfly Muscle Use: Detailed look at major muscle groups used in the butterfly stroke.

• Master Butterfly Freestyle: Techniques and tips for mastering freestyle and butterfly strokes.

• Upper Body Strength: Tips and exercises for building upper body strength for swimming.

• Beginner Plyometrics Exercises: Three plyometric exercises suitable for beginners to boost speed and jumping height.

DISCLAIMER: None of the content provided in this newsletter constitutes medical, training, or performance advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not intended to be a substitute for professional guidance or personalized coaching. Please be mindful of your limitations and perform exercises at your own risk.