Guys, I seem to kick pretty fast without a board but when I swim at max speed or close to that speed I can't seem to kick like that. My legs drop in the water. I can't kick out of the water which I believe is very much essential to sprinting fast. I believe you guys can help my with this problem. Here's a video of me kicking at a moderate pace without board. I used two strokes in the end and you can see that as soon as I started to stroke my legs dropped :
Kicking 25m without board at moderate speed. - YouTube
So what is the solution to this problem ? HOW can I connect that without board kick with my full stroke swimming which I believe will make me a lot faster sprinter. Thanx in advance to you all.......................
Parents
Former Member
Hi Geo,
I watched that video, but the strokes at the end are just too short to see anything - but remember, I'm blind in one eye and cannot see out of the other! :D I also think that you drop your kick in that video right at the end 'cause you're anticipating the wall.
I watched your Easy freestyle swimming 25 meter vid. It looked really nice to me. I'm not really sure you have a problem there. You swam with what appears to be a 6 beat kick. Continue with the easy stroke and start throwing in slightly faster sets. Pay attention as you pick up the stroke rate that you are maintaining your kick. Work into sprints as your skills progress, but always come back and do the slow easy for stroke reinforcement.
Another exercise might be freight train...It's an exercise where you start out with the easy pace and then accelerate trying to be at a full sprint at the end. This can be done accelerating over 25m, 50m, 100m or even 200m. Again, be aware of your stroke and try not to fall into bad habits as you accelerate. If you think you finish and have dropped your kick, then pull back the pace a little and finish at a medium fast instead of full sprint. Build stroke awareness and muscle memory.
Rather than kicking face down as you did in the video, try a kick exercise on your side. Kick the length of the pool, left side down, left arm extended, right arm at your side - use rotational breathing. Return length on your right side. Maybe 100m, 30 sec rest, repeat. Set of 3 or so.
A stroke exercise is a 6 kick switch. This can be done freestyle and backstroke. 1-arm full stroke while kicking 6 beats, good body rotation and pull the other arm. (keeping head stable - don't swing head side to side) This can also be combined with a full catch up arm stroke - though I don't do the full catch up arm stroke much. I find it harder on my shoulders and I'm a sprinter so I race with more of a kayak stroke and high stroke rate.
Last, and certainly not least, find a team and a coach. Someone that is there that can watch and make suggestions and give compliments real time!
Cheers,
PT
Hi Geo,
I watched that video, but the strokes at the end are just too short to see anything - but remember, I'm blind in one eye and cannot see out of the other! :D I also think that you drop your kick in that video right at the end 'cause you're anticipating the wall.
I watched your Easy freestyle swimming 25 meter vid. It looked really nice to me. I'm not really sure you have a problem there. You swam with what appears to be a 6 beat kick. Continue with the easy stroke and start throwing in slightly faster sets. Pay attention as you pick up the stroke rate that you are maintaining your kick. Work into sprints as your skills progress, but always come back and do the slow easy for stroke reinforcement.
Another exercise might be freight train...It's an exercise where you start out with the easy pace and then accelerate trying to be at a full sprint at the end. This can be done accelerating over 25m, 50m, 100m or even 200m. Again, be aware of your stroke and try not to fall into bad habits as you accelerate. If you think you finish and have dropped your kick, then pull back the pace a little and finish at a medium fast instead of full sprint. Build stroke awareness and muscle memory.
Rather than kicking face down as you did in the video, try a kick exercise on your side. Kick the length of the pool, left side down, left arm extended, right arm at your side - use rotational breathing. Return length on your right side. Maybe 100m, 30 sec rest, repeat. Set of 3 or so.
A stroke exercise is a 6 kick switch. This can be done freestyle and backstroke. 1-arm full stroke while kicking 6 beats, good body rotation and pull the other arm. (keeping head stable - don't swing head side to side) This can also be combined with a full catch up arm stroke - though I don't do the full catch up arm stroke much. I find it harder on my shoulders and I'm a sprinter so I race with more of a kayak stroke and high stroke rate.
Last, and certainly not least, find a team and a coach. Someone that is there that can watch and make suggestions and give compliments real time!
Cheers,
PT
