Butterfly isn't easy. But it doesn't have to be as much work as you think. The biggest problem for most people is breathing and recovery of the arms. You feel you have to climb out of the water for that precious air, which means you put so much effort into breathing and recovery that you have nothing left for the actions that move you forward.

Your problem is more common than you think. Even world-class swimmers like Jenny Thompson are looking for ways to make breathing and recovery easier in the butterfly. Thanks to her constant exploration, you can improve your stroke, too.

"Jenny actually is a freestyler," said Richard Quick, the head coach of the women's team at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, Thompson's alma mater. "But her butterfly technique has freed her up to improve her freestyle."

Thompson's butterfly is a "forward-balancing, forward-attacking fly, not a 'push-back' fly," says technique-coach Bill Boomer. Here are four technical aspects of this approach.
 

Breathe "inside" your body motion. Don't breathe as if you're "chasing" air with your head. If you jut out your chin, you break the line of your stroke and generate less power. Keep your head as close as possible to its natural position during and after your breath (s. pictures below).
 

Move your energy forward. Pay more attention to catapulting your hands to the front and directing momentum forward during your recovery instead of pushing water toward your feet.
 

Anchor and unlead early. "We get Jenny to anchor her 'paddles' early so she can whip her body over the anchors," says Boomer. "As soon as her center of mass passes over the anchors, she flares out into a ballistic recovery." Use your hands to hold on to the water as far in front of your body as possible; as soon as your body moves over your hands, release the water and whip your hands out and over your body again.
 

Develop force and tempo in your core swim faster by moving your torso more powerfully and quickly, not by pulling or kicking harder. You have to get the feeling that the legs are trailing, not kicking.
 

Easy ways to learn
Drill it in
Learn or improve through drills, not by trying to bully your way through more laps. The most important skill of butterfly is "learning to undulate your body," says Boomer.

Of all the strokes, butterfly is by far the most difficult to swim in whole-stroke, but the drills are among the most simple.

Learn to undulate by floating in a balanced position with your arms at your sides and pulsing your chest gently and rhythmically to create a body "wave" that ripples down to your legs. Wearing fins can help your legs pick up the signals more readily, but never kick. This drill helps you stay relaxed and supple, so you don't waste energy. Once you can undulate in a relaxed and rhythmic manner, shift your attention to breathing. Breathe inside the line of the drill and avoid jutting your chin. This is easier if you breathe only once every five or six pulses. Once you feel comfortable and fluent, try the same action with your arms extended and streamlined. The arms should stay extended in front of you, don't move them up and down.
 
 

Stay low
The butterfly recovery is difficult, but it's manageable if you learn to sweep your arms forward without trying to climb out for a breath. When you swim whole-stroke for the first time, do just three to four non-breathing strokes, then do one of the drills for the rest of the lap. Then start again from the other end of the pool with three non-breathers, and think of these tips given by Richard Quick:
Keep your shoulders near the surface and your head in line with your spine as you channel all your energy toward the end of the pool.
 

Land forward, not down, as you complete each recovery.
 

Anchor your hands early, then sweep them in toward your chin. As soon as your torso moves forward over your hands, karate-chop them to the outside to help catapult them forward again.
 

Sweep your arms forward, leading with the front of your wrist. Relax your hands and arms as they fly forward.
 

Once you can swim four to five smooth, long, forward-attacking strokes, add breathing. Breathe with your body, not your head. Keep your head looking down slightly throughout the breath, just as in breaststroke.
Practice trying to "hide" your breath. Imagine someone watching you as you swim. Try to breathe so it would be hard for them to see you take the breath.

When you start learning to breathe with your body, rather than with your head, just add one breath to those short segments of four to five strokes. Then add another. You want to be able to breathe every stroke with no loss of balance. "If you breathe correctly, you should be able to breathe anytime you want," says Quick. "That will help you finish races better."

Don't feel as if you have to plow through a set of 10 x 100s to prove your strength of character and toughness. Thompson does most of her butterfly training in 20-yard repeats in a diving tank. Once you get your butterfly into decent shape, keep practising with those half-laps of whole-stroke, followed by a halflap of drill. Swim only as long as you can execute a balanced, long stroke: no butterstruggle but fly!

1 Breathing starts, keep head low in line with your spine, look down not up. Ballistic recovery of arms is initiated with outsweep during pushing.

2 Breathing, keep head low in line with your spine, look down not up. Ballistic recovery of arms is initiated with outsweep during pushing.

3 Forward sweep of your arms is initiated, leading with the front of your wrist. Keep your shoulders near the surface and your head in line with your spine.

4 Sweep your arms forward, leading with the front of your wrist. Relax your hands and arms as they fly forward. Breathing is almost finshed.

5 Channel all your energy toward the end of the pool.

6 Pulse with your chest begins in this phase of the stroke, in order to initiate the body wave.

7 Reach out forward not downward.

8 Your buttocks come clear of the water.

9 Reach out forward not downward.

10 Your buttocks come clear of the water, your head and arms are close to the surface. Head and arms are close to the surface. The pulse with your chest is at its lowest point. There is no kick; the motion of the legs is part of the whiplike body undulation.

11 Anchor with outsweep-downsweep motion of your arms.

12 High elbow position during armpull.

13 There is no kick; the motion of the legs is part of the whiplike body undulation.

14 As soon as your torso moves forward over your hands, karate-chop them to the outside to help catapult them forward again.