Butterfly Swim
Simultaneous double-arm swimming timed to a dolphin kick, with the body undulating around the hips through every cycle.
How to do it
- Start prone with your body long and both arms extended in front of you.
- Press both hands out and down together, keeping the elbows high.
- Drive both arms back past your hips to finish the pull.
- Sweep both arms over the water simultaneously into the next entry.
- Beat both legs together in a dolphin kick timed to the entry and the finish.
- Breathe forward once every second or third cycle as the arms clear the water.
Key technique cue
Keep the breath low — don't lift the head, ride the body wave.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Lifting the head high to breathe, which sinks the hips and stalls the recovery.
- ✕ Pulling with the arms only, so the body wave and kick stop contributing.
- ✕ Mistiming the second kick, which leaves the arms to drag the body through the entry.
- ✕ Swimming long sets while fatigued, exactly when shoulder mechanics start to break down.
Benefits
- ✓ Loads back, chest and shoulders through the widest range of the four strokes.
- ✓ Demands whole-body timing between the arm pull, kick and body wave.
- ✓ Delivers the highest intensity of the competitive strokes for short efforts.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 -
Step 2 You are here - Butterfly Swim
- Backstroke Swim
- Breaststroke Swim
- Freestyle Swim
- Swim laps
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Step 3
About the exercise
Butterfly moves both arms together: they enter overhead, pull through under the body and recover over the surface while the legs beat as one in a dolphin kick. Electromyographic analysis of twelve shoulder muscles found pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi generating the power through the pull, deltoids and rotator cuff controlling entry and recovery, and serratus anterior and subscapularis staying active throughout, so shoulder load runs continuously through the stroke cycle. The body teeter-totters around the hips, so the trunk works continuously to hold the rhythm.
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