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Learn MoreSwim Butterfly in WEST Swimming Technique
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229 students
Swim Butterfly in WEST Swimming Technique
Learn how to swim butterfly like a pro in 4 easy swimming lesson in the pioneering and proven WEST swimming technique!
Created byOri Sela
Last updated 1/2020
English
What you'll learn
- You will learn how to swim Butterfly while protecting your neck and back
- You will improve your swimming technique in every aspect
- You will be introduced to WEST the best swimming technique in the world
Explore related topics
Course content
6 sections • 35 lectures • 43m total length
- WEST Swimming Technique Butterfly - background
The WEST technique was invented more than 20 years ago in order to relax the body and treat neck and back problems, as well as traumatic accidents. Recently, we can see a clear trend in the athletic world of adjusting the swimming technique to one's body shape, physical abilities and even life style. The WEST technique is based on those 3 factors solely, and modified to every individual with personal and specific care.
How WEST technique differs from other swimming techniques:
In just about everything! The fact that the swimming technique is personally adjusted to every individual makes it a whole new and revolutionary approach in the swimming world. In addition to the oblivious health benefits of personalized modified swimming technique, WEST relaxes the joints and the constant tension in the neck, as well as allows better floating and slower muscle lactating. There are some elements which distinguish WEST from other swimming techniques:
1)Swimming with spread fingers- most agree those days that swimming with spread fingers allows better pulling of the water. Moreover, the fact that we make sure we stay relax and loose in all movements above water allows us a greater stroke pulling and therefore less physical effort per stroke, easier swimming and faster moving forward.
2)Shoulder width entering arms point, in contrast to today's common narrow entering arms point- till few years ago the majority of people swam with almost closed and extended arms, resembling stream line position. Millions of dollars were invested over the past few years in hydrodynamics research in order to realize that forward movement with straight and extended arms is not beneficial and even increases unnecessary neck tension. WEST swimming makes it easier on the neck, prevents injuries and allows swimming for a greater distance.
3)We have no doubt that Michael Phelps did not imitate WEST swimming, but surely and slowly the world adapts the main principles of looseness. It might be too slow, not taking into consideration 21st century life style changes. In current era, about 70% of the populations suffer from neck and back problems, as a direct result of our life style. Seems like it is going to take the world an additional 20 years to fully understand WEST benefits, qualities and its contribution to our quality of life. But you guys, new members of WEST swimming class will understand and enjoy its benefits as soon as today.
- About Ori Sela the founder of WEST swimming technique2:17
- Uri Tene lost 40kg and learned how to swim west butterfly - watch his story.1:23
- Tal Marmur swimming butterfly in WEST swimming technique1:23
- Introduction to Butterfly Swimming Technique1:01
In Water World in particular, and WEST swimming in general, we believe in matching the swimming style to the person, according to age, gender, flexibility and elasticity level, pain types and more. In the Butterfly Stroke course we take into account the least common denominator to allow learning the Butterfly swimming style the easiest way possible, while applying minimal pressure to the joints and protecting the neck and lower back.
Is this possible? Absolutely! Try and see how easy it is!
- How to take your workout with you to the pool?0:04
- Workout Set Up0:03
Workout set up:
WEST butterfly curriculum is based on a total of 4 workouts; each one consists of 7 different sets which build up the WEST swimming butterfly technique.
Every workout must be completed at exactly 3 times,if you swim 3 times a week, swim 2 times freestyle in order to loosen your shoulders and one time butterfly, if your train 4 times a week? swim 2 times butterfly and 2 times freestyle. The workout has a descending format and combines freestyle drills and stretching in order to allow maximum muscle looseness and lengthening.
- Watch only if you feel you need to improve your dolphin kick.3:08
- Download or print all 4 workouts before you start0:02
- Workout 1- Read, print and go to the pool0:01
- Video: learn freestyle 9- Number of strokes1:58
- Video learn butterfly 1: Dolphin kick, close to water surface1:16
Instructions
Swim 4*25 dolphin kick, close to water surface until you run out of air, then go freestyle to complete each 25m. 30 sec break between 25's.
Main Emphasis
We want to use the neck as little as possible as long with elevating and lowering the pelvis.
Procedure
Stand up, take a breath and start a dolphin motion at medium pace on the water surface. Our head dives to about 30 cm below the water surface followed by our body, when the head is up the pelvis is down and vice versa. This way, our legs are dragged with a slight flexion that helps advancing in the water.
Exercise objective
The purpose of this West swimming exercise is to produce gentle wave movements without kicking our legs and allow the pelvic movement to produce advancement while the rest of the body is kept loose. A strong legs kick when the head is up, pelvis is down and legs are up, arches the back too much for those who aren’t flexible. This is why moving the legs strongly at this stage can cause unnecessary strain to the lower back and even injure the back and neck. This exercise is also the basic step in the butterfly stroke.
- Video of learn butterfly4: Underwater kicking + stream line with fins.1:36
Instructions
Swim 4*25 underwater kicking + stream line with fins. If you run out of air, go up take one breath and dive back in 0.5m beneath water surface. 45 sec rest between 25's.
Main Emphasis
It's very important to keep your stream line w straight arms, keeping in mind pelvic movement (up and down).
Procedure
Dolphin motion, arms in arrow using fins
We place our arms in an arrow position, upper palm is placed on the lower back hand, and maintain a straight arrow as much as our flexibility allows us. If we are flexible, we will keep our head between our arms and if we are less flexible, we will place our arms below our head while keeping our elbows straight and locked throughout the movement. We do the dolphin motion at medium to high pace and let our body go up and down using the fins to aid the up and down pelvic motion until we run out of air. Our arms are kept in an arrow position throughout the movement.
At this point, we can probably dive through the entire length of a 25 m pool, but if for any reason we ran out of air, we flip on our back as we did in the previous exercises without working our neck, take a breath and dive back in the water.
Exercise objective
To teach us the correct way to leave the wall, how to control the arrow depth relative to the head and how to let the arms lead the movement, instead of the head or neck. Loosening the head when our arms are in arrow position, will lead us to the next exercises without any pressure on our neck or back.
- Video learn butterfly 2: Dolphin with a gentle shoulder shake with fins1:36
Instructions
20 dolphin kick with shoulder shake up+ standing up. You dolphin kick till you run out of air, then stand up gently, as well as standing up next to each wall.
Main Emphasis
On every down- way kick shake up your shoulders twice, trying to relax the shoulders and neck. Do not use your neck while standing up by the wall.
Procedure
Dolphin with a gentle shoulder shake + flipping & standing with fins
We dolphin swim underwater, in an up and down pelvic motion at about 1/2 m deep underwater. Unlike the regular dolphin motion some of you may know, here we loosen the neck and let our head lead the movement. We use the body to lower the head down, but when going up we try not to work with our legs, but instead slowly shake our shoulders twice. Once we run out of air, we exhale through our nose, flip on our back without working our neck, take a big breath of air and go back to the dolphin motion and shoulders shake, until the end of the pool.
Exercise objective
To produce a dolphin motion, while loosening the neck and back in order to achieve a loose pelvis. The shaking movement will allow you to practice the dolphin motion for a longer period of time, so you can strengthen your abdominal muscles, flex the pelvis and learn West technique butterfly stroke faster and without unnecessary pain.
At this stage it is important not to try to stand with the fins when the head is facing forward, which might produce unnecessary pressure to the back and neck and undo the loosening we've achieved, but instead flip on our back before standing.
- Stretching 1- Hand on chest1:08
- Stretching 2- Hand behind the back holding the wall.1:07
- Stretching 4- Fin stretch1:13
- Workout 2- Read, print & go to the pool with a big smile0:05
Every workout should be practiced 3 times before going on to the next workout, even if you think 2 is enough.
- Learn buttefly 6: One hand butterfly using fins1:18
Instructions
Swim 4*50 butterfly/ freestlye one arm pulling, breathing forward every stroke, alternating the arms, and having the non pulling arm extended forward and straight.
Main Emphasis
Very important: every time you end the pulling stroke cyle, the head should come out to take a breath, and when the arms go back to stream line, dive in with your head 0.5m underneath water surface.
Procedure
This exercise is similar to the previous one. We dive with our arms in an arrow position using fins, our head is about 1/2 m deep under water, only this time once we started floating and our palms have reached about 20 cm below the water surface, we start pulling with one arm till we end the pull with our hand reaching our thigh, at which point our head should be above water. We breathe the moment we take our head out, recover our arm over the water and while throwing the arm forward, go back to the arrow position and dive back down to the right depth.
Exercise objective
To use the pull in perfect timing in order to lift the head above the water to breathe, without straining our shoulder or neck.
This exercise is an excellent preparation for the butterfly stroke and is very good for butterfly swimmers who suffer shoulder pains or freestyle swimmers who use force when swimming and are not loose enough.
- Learn butterfly 7: Butterfly pull using fins without breathing1:27
Instructions
Swim 4*100 with fins. 1st 25 butterfly pulling no breathing. 2nd 25 butterfly pulling with breathing every stroke.
50 loose and easy freestyle, up to 12 strokes per lap.
Main Emphasis
It is very important to allow the body to come up once you finish every stroke and breathing, but not too much, meaning your chin should stay at water surface height and not above it. Many swimmers swim breaststroke pulling which places lots of pressure on the back and neck. We will try to finish each stroke with our hand facing the sky next to out thigh.Procedure
We dive with our head about 1/2 m deep under water, and contrary to "Arm Butterfly" where we glide in an arrow, here we glide with almost no legwork with our arms straight and open wider than our shoulders width. If we are less flexible, we will open our arms even wider. Once our arms have reached about 20cm below the water surface, we start pulling with both arms till our palms reach our outer thigh, the body rise up and the head is nearly out of the water. Just before the head exits the water, we dive back down to a head depth of about 1/2 m and wait for the glide.
Exercise objective
To prepare us for the pull and strengthen specific muscles without the neck strain resulting from lifting the arms and keeping the head above water. In this exercise we do not practice catching water or pulling, but simply move our arms from the front end to the back.
This exercise is excellent for swimmers who suffer shoulder pains; it strengthens the muscles surrounding the shoulders with the arms remaining under water.
- Learn butterfly 8: Butterfly pull using fins with breathing1:24
Instructions
Swim 4*100 with fins. 1st 25 butterfly pulling no breathing. 2nd 25 butterfly pulling with breathing every stroke.
50 loose and easy freestyle, up to 12 strokes per lap.
Main Emphasis
It is very important to allow the body to come up once you finish every stroke and breathing, but not too much, meaning your chin should stay at water surface height and not above it. Many swimmers swim breaststroke pulling which places lots of pressure on the back and neck. We will try to finish each stroke with our hand facing the sky next to out thigh.Procedure
We dive with our head about 1/2 m deep under water, and contrary to "Arm Butterfly" where we glide in an arrow, here we glide with almost no legwork with our arms straight and open wider than our shoulders width. If we are less flexible, we will open our arms even wider. Once our arms have reached about 20cm below the water surface, we start pulling with both arms till our palms reach our outer thigh, the body rise up and the head is nearly out of the water. Just before the head exits the water, we dive back down to a head depth of about 1/2 m and wait for the glide.
Exercise objective
To prepare us for the pull and strengthen specific muscles without the neck strain resulting from lifting the arms and keeping the head above water. In this exercise we do not practice catching water or pulling, but simply move our arms from the front end to the back.
This exercise is excellent for swimmers who suffer shoulder pains; it strengthens the muscles surrounding the shoulders with the arms remaining under water.
- Take your heart rate8:38
Instructions
Swim 4*100 easy freestyle with no fins. 45 sec break between 100's.
Main Emphasis
Take your heart rate when you finish the set and keep it between 20-22 in 10 sec. - Stretching exercises after swimming - stretch 100:58
- Workout 3- Read, print & go to the pool with a big smile0:07
Every workout should be practiced exactly 3 times before going on to the next workout, even if you think 2 is enough.
- workout 3 you have 4 new videos (7 videos to watch)0:04
- Learn butterfly 9: . Long, nice and easy butterfly1:41
Instructions
Swim 4*25 butterfly with fins. Long, nice and easy butterfly with a 3 sec glide every stroke, but instead of closing your arms, keep them a bit wider than shoulder width.
Main Emphasis
Make sure you dive 0.5m below water surface and start pulling as soon as your arms reach water level (about 20 cm below water level).
Procedure
Having learned the glide, the wave, how to protect the neck and shoulders and use our muscles instead of the lower back and neck, we can move on to the full butterfly style. We start with a slow butterfly swim. We dive forward with our arms a bit wider than our shoulders width, to a head depth of about 1/2 m. Once our palms have reached about 20 cm below the water surface, we start a relatively fast pull while lifting our head to breathe, as we did in the "Butterfly Pull" exercise, only this time, instead of stopping when our thumb reach our thigh, we recover our arms over the water and enter them into the water again open slightly wider than our shoulders width.
Having practiced with fins, we recommend you try swimming without fins. You should know that the transition to swimming without fins can be difficult and frustrating at first, but it's a part of the process and after some practice it all becomes looser and easier.
Exercise objective
To produce the butterfly motion as part of the wave and without straining the shoulders. The slow and deep motion also enable us to swim a greater distance in butterfly and this is why the long butterfly style fits those who are familiar with the style and wish to swim in a long, slow and effortless way.
- Stretching exercises after swimming - stretch 31:27
- Stretching exercises after swimming - stretch 70:57
- Stretching exercises after swimming - stretch 61:24
- Workout 4- Read, print & go to the pool with a big smile.0:07
Every workout should be practiced exactly 3 times before going on to the next workout, even if you think 2 is enough.
- Learn butterfly 10 - full butterfly swim1:44
- Stretching exercises after swimming - stretch 51:04
- Stretching exercises after swimming - stretch 81:04
- Stretching exercises after swimming - stretch 90:52
- How was your course? Send me a message or a video if possible to get feedback.0:12
Requirements
- Goggles, fins, swimming suit, plastic sheet and the workout print out. You can also watch the workout via Yodmi application right in you smartphone or tablet.
Description
You are about to become a WEST swimmer. This means you will learn the right way for you to swim, according to your own body and not for someone elses.
The West swimming technique was developed by a large team of swimmers, physical therapists and hydro-therapists working to rehabilitate thousands of people recovering from a stroke, a disc herniation or a car accident, with the purpose of matching the swimming style that is right for you, so you can swim correctly, without any pains, advance faster in the water, improve metabolism, heart functioning and more...
The training program is customized especially for you according to your flexibility, elasticity, gender, strength, buoyancy, swimming ability, pain level, physical fitness and so on.
There are 10 different training sessions; each must be performed three times. So if you work out three times a week, you will finish the program within three months and if you work out twice a week, it will take you four months and so on (working out twice a week or less is not recommended, because it wouldn’t be efficient and might cause you to quit the program. You may of course work out 4 - 5 times a week but not 6).
Who this course is for:
- WEST butterfly swimming class is suitable for those who are capable of completing 20 continuous freestyle laps (with no breaks), not suffering from any major neck, shoulder or back pains. If you do, it is strongly recommended to start with a freestyle class and then take the butterfly class.
- The class is suitable for immature and professional swimmers who swim at least twice a week, on a regular basis.
- WEST technique works for every age, as long as it is carried out properly, along with performing stretching, following workout instructions and watching every video at least twice.