I recently taught a butterfly lesson to an old friend who wants to swim a 200 Butterfly . . . and feel good all the way . . . at age 65.

Craig was an active Masters swimmer 20 years ago in his 40s, but mainly swam 50s and 100s of Butterfly. He says the final 25 yds of his 100s — even as a teenager — were always an ordeal. Thus, the idea of attempting a 200 was inconceivable. Admirably, he has set a Kaizen goal of swimming a 200 Fly this year — and to be able to feel nearly as good on his last 25 as on his first.

Though he hasn’t swum Fly in many years, his muscle memory was good and he still has a reasonably good stroke, albeit fatiguing after 5 to 6 strokes. So we focused on energy-saving stroke thoughts, combined with some strategies for building incrementally from a single 25 that feels good all the way to 8 nonstop 25s that feel just as good.

Here are the stroke thoughts I gave him. The idea is to choose just one and swim 1 or more 25s focused only on that thought. Each stroke thought emphasizes sustainability over speed to complete a 200 with minimal (or perhaps manageable) fatigue.

Land

Land on chest and upper arms to travel forward. (If you land on hands and forearms, you’ll dive.) Land gently with least possible splash.

Land with arms wide enough to easily sink between them. Be patient — let gravity sink your chest.

Sink

Streamline as you sink. Hang head between shoulders and point toes. Feel yourself travel forward during streamline.

Hold your streamline and be patient, waiting for buoyancy to return you to the surface.

Try to remain in streamline (i.e. delay beginning the next stroke) a “nanosecond” longer than usual.

Stroking

Just before your head breaks the surface, pull as briefly (and as gently) as possible then immediately relax your arms.

(Dolphins don’t) Kick

Don’t kick!  Just “soften” your knees as you start the pull. That will initiate recovery with no muscular effort.

Focus on using the kick that occurs as you land, to help accelerate your hands forward. Do this kick mainly as a “toe flick.”

Breathe

Chin in water, eyes down as you breathe.

Breathe every stroke. Practice this at a range of speeds. Do it in all races above 50 yds/m. Make it a “sneaky” breath with top of head propelling forward, not up. (Sneaky breath means you imagine someone watching you swim and try to hide your breath from them.)

Practice Tips

1. While familiarizing yourself with these stroke thoughts, focus on only one at a time.

2. Swim mainly 25s, resting 3 to 5 breaths between.

3. Count strokes as a measure of efficiency and to compare the impact of one stroke thought vs another.

It may be a good idea to establish an SPL range of 3 stroke counts. My highest efficiency SPL is 7. My highest speed SPL is 9.

4. You might also  give each 25 a “mojo score” – say from 1 to 5. A 5 would be nearly effortless, feeling like you nailed the particular sensation in your stroke thought, and with your highest efficiency stroke count.

5. Train for the 200, by doing any of the following:

– More 25s at a consistent SPL.

– Same as above, but with a shorter rest interval (fewer breaths)

–  When I can swim, say, 8 x 25 at 7SPL with a rest interval of 3 breaths, I might add in one or two 50s in a pattern like this:

– 3 x 25 – 1 x 50 – 3 x 25

– 2 x 25 – 1 x 50 – 2 x 25 – 1 x 50

– 2 x 50 – 2 x 25 – 1 x 50

This isn’t intended as a single set, but as 3 examples of a “broken” 200, with fewer breaks and more continuous swimming. Add distance only as you can do so with efficiency and sustained ease.  Don’t practice struggle.

When you extend repeat distance to 50s, resume taking 5 breaths rest between and allow for +2 SPL on 2nd 25.

Eventual goal would be 4 x 50 on 3 breaths rest interval at, say, 16 strokes.

Take a peek at the clock now and again, but focus mainly on consistent ease.