The Butterfly Swim is a expert-friendly bodyweight strength exercise that targets the lats, middle back and chest, with the shoulders, abdominals, triceps and traps working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesLats, Middle Back, Chest
Secondary musclesShoulders, Abs, Triceps, Traps
EquipmentBodyweight
LevelExpert
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Butterfly Swim
Start prone with your body long and both arms extended in front of you.
Press both hands out and down together, keeping the elbows high.
Drive both arms back past your hips to finish the pull.
Sweep both arms over the water simultaneously into the next entry.
Beat both legs together in a dolphin kick timed to the entry and the finish.
Breathe forward once every second or third cycle as the arms clear the water.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Loads back, chest and shoulders through the widest range of the four strokes.
Demands whole-body timing between the arm pull, kick and body wave.
Delivers the highest intensity of the competitive strokes for short efforts.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Lifting the head high to breathe, which sinks the hips and stalls the recovery.
Pulling with the arms only, so the body wave and kick stop contributing.
Mistiming the second kick, which leaves the arms to drag the body through the entry.
Swimming long sets while fatigued, exactly when shoulder mechanics start to break down.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Butterfly Swim, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
