Head Lead Body Dolphin
Head lead body dolphin is the first drill I will explain. It is useful to increase your ability to do the "dolphin kick" (undulating kick) that is one of the main characteristics of the Butterfly stroke. It increases your ability to do the dolphin kick by strengthening the muscles needed for the kick without the distraction of using your arms while swimming.
Steps:
You should not breathe every movement; wait until you finish two or three undulations, then scull, lift your head, take a breath, and resume.
This drill should be used often, even after a good undulation is formed; think of it as a foundation and a maintenance drill.
Steps:
- Push off wall, arms at sides.
- Face should be in the water.
- Push head and chest down into water. Only go down a few inches.
- Let buoyancy lift head and chest back to surface after only a few seconds.
- As soon as chest reaches surface, press hips down a few inches.
- When hips reach the bottom of their few inch descent release pressure (buoyancy should lift them back to surface)
- As hips rise, press chest and hips as in step three
- As hips rise and chest sinks, continue the undulation into the legs, doing a kick. Kick should come mostly from hips. Knees should only bend slightly.
- Repeat from step 3. The transition between steps should be smooth, making the body undulate (like the way this neat robot moves).
You should not breathe every movement; wait until you finish two or three undulations, then scull, lift your head, take a breath, and resume.
This drill should be used often, even after a good undulation is formed; think of it as a foundation and a maintenance drill.
Works Consulted
"Learn To Swim Butterfly: Head-Lead Body Dolphin Swimming Drill." Enjoy-Swimming.com. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.