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Are you wondering if your butterfly arms are letting your stroke down? Discover what you need to do to get them in sync with the rest of your swimming stroke.
Butterfly arms are a continuous simultaneous movement that require assistance from the undulating body movement. Correct arm technique keeps the leg kick and body movement balanced.
FREE EBOOK: all of the technique tips here can be found in my 'Butterfly Stroke Technique' book, along with a couple of bonus drills to help you perfect some essential parts of the stroke.
Don't miss out! Click here to grab a FREE copy of my book.
The action of the arms is similar to that of front crawl as the arms pull long through the water towards the hips and recover over the water surface. The underwater catch, down sweep and upsweep parts draw a typical keyhole shape through its movement path.
The two most common mistakes made when it comes to butterfly arms are:
The arm technique is sometimes compared to front crawl when it is taught to beginners in its most basic form. This it due to the long sweep and the recovery over the water surface. This is where the similarities end and this comparison can sometimes be taken literally, resulting in an almost double front crawl arm action with an excessive elbow bend.
The most common mistake made amongst slightly more advanced butterfly swimmers is a wide hand entry. The hands should enter the water inline with the shoulders. If the entry is wide of the shoulder line then this will result in a weak and inefficient arm pull.
Simply walking though shallow water of about shoulder depth practicing the arm action in slow motion will help to establish a full sweep and an inline hand entry.
You have learnt all about the arm action - great! My book 'How To Swim Butterfly' will give you everything you need to take your butterfly technique to the next level.
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