Learning Fly

[cybug]

How does one start out learning Fly?
Have read lots of do's and don'ts but nothing to help on where to start! Can anyone give me some tips please.

[Conrad Cawley]

Get a pair of fins, (not short fins, but nice floppy ones).Start dolphin kicking on front. back, side and upright (treading water) with arms by sides, arms extended and with one arm by side and one arm extended. Progress to full stroke but do only 3/4/5 strokes no breathing. Watch videos and read up on fly swimming.
Back in the pool work on breathing, best way is to do short distances (10m - 15m) breathing every stroke. Progress to 25m swims (still wearing fins) breathing every 2 strokes. Try to get into the habit of not breathing on the first 3 strokes. Watch more fly footage. Don't think of fly as hard work, it is actaully an easy stroke to swim, it just takes PPP = Practice, Practice and more Practice. When it comes to training on fly it is far better to do short distances of quality rather than trying to do long distances (when stroke breaks down) of rubbish. Watch other swimmers swimming fly and watch their hips. Now try without fins. Remember to keep the distances short.....not that you need reminding.

[cybug]

Hi Conrad

Thanks for your reply. I have ordered a video from Amazon "Swimming strokes" and a book "Swimming coaching" so that should give me a start. There is some useful information on the web but mainly aimed at intermediate + fly swimmers.
Unfortunately I have seen no one at our gym swimming fly but I have recorded the recent swimming champs so hopefully i can study that. Fins next :-)

Thanks again and I'll pass on any feedback from the video/books that I come across in case they may help others in my position.

Regards

Chris

[crawler]

Hi cybug and welcome.
Can I add that one of the best things would be to seek out a masters club in your area. Not sure which clubs in Dorset have masters sections but perhaps Bournemouth Dolphins or Ferndown would be a good place to start.
From your profile I would add that there are plenty of "born again swimmers" out there.
Pls let me know if you have any probs finding a club.:idea:

[mammamedley]

It would be worth finding a good teacher who has some coaching experience. Not many masters clubs have coaches available for stroke work unfortunately.
From my experience do not progress to using your arms until you have a good strong fly undulating kick. You need to build up the muscles in your 'core' before using the arms. Using fins to start with is great - if you are working hard you will certainly feel the 'core' muscles getting worked. Don't be surprised if you get a tummy ache!
When progressing to arms do not rely on your fins as they can sometimes make the timing of the stroke go wrong!
Some swimming pools do not let you use fins in a public session - so beware!
Good luck!