How To Swim Butterfly: Head-Lead Body Dolphin Drill

This is the first drill in the progression of swimming drills to learn swim butterfly. It is a core drill that teaches how to properly do the body undulation and dolphin kick.

Because the arms and hands are not used in the drill, the swimmer must learn to properly undulate the body to progress in the water.

Swimming Drill Video

Drill Instructions

• Lie flat in the water in a prone position, for example after having pushed off the wall.
• The arms are kept relaxed at the sides of the body.
• The legs are kept close together.
• The face is submerged.
• To initiate the body undulation, press the head and chest a few inches down in the water, then release.
• As the head and chest are released, the buoyancy of the lungs will bring the chest back to the water surface.
• When the chest comes up, press the hips a few inches down in the water.
• When the chest is highest and the hips lowest, start again to press the chest in the water, the hips should come back to the water surface.
• As the hips rise, the body undulation travels down the legs and the feet kick down in a relaxed fashion.
• Progress down the pool in this fashion, alternatively pressing and releasing the chest and the hips, so that the body executes a wave-like undulation.

Breathing

At first, do the drills without breathing by doing a few body undulations, then pausing and taking your breath, then starting again. Later on, integrate breathing by rising the head further up to allow for a quick inhale.

Try to keep the inhale integrated with the body undulation. Later on, when you swim butterfly, you will need to fit in breathing seamlessly with the body undulation.

Some additional tips

• If you have trouble to initiate the body undulation, don't be afraid to use swim fins to learn the correct motions. Then try to progressively wane yourself from the fins.
• When you press the head down in the water, extend your nose to the front, then return the nose to a neutral position as you release the head to the water surface.

• The body undulation in the butterfly stroke is a difficult skill to master. It is however essential to have mastered it to be able to properly swim butterfly. Allow yourself a few swim sessions to master the drill.
• Check out this additional page with body undulation and dolphin kick drills if you still have trouble learning this swimming technique.

Related Pages

• How to Learn to Swim the Butterfly Stroke: Overview
• Next Drill: Hand-Lead Body Dolphin