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.......................
I'm not an expert kicker by any stretch but it looks like you are over-kicking. What I mean is you are kicking more air than water. Perhaps the legs a bit closer to the water would be more effective.
I'm not a sprinter so if I'm wrong maybe this response will stimulate a good discussion.
Being the guy who is always searching for the swimming holy grail and buys a lot of videos, I've learned that kicking air actually works well for some swimmers. I saw a Go Swim video with Roland Schoeman where he specifically gets his feet way out of water so he can not only get great foot speed going back into the water but he wants to carry air into the water with his foot. It was a lot like Geo's streamline kick. I would guess that it works well for the swimmer with great whipping action but might not work so well for the mere mortals among us. It's kind of like the Ian Thorpe stroke. If I had my head up like that and my body on an incline it would be disastrous for my speed. With his kick it works well.
Geo, it was tough to comment on your kick with the stroke because you only took like 2 strokes. That said, it's not at all surprising why your feet and hips would drop a little. When you stroke with your arms there is a good chance you get some downward pressure with your arms at the beginning of the stroke. That lifts your torso and drops the hips. I'd have to see underwater footage, but I'll bet that's why. There's really nothing wrong with that, very few swimmers get nothing but backward pressure from the very beginning of the catch and pull. Those that do are olympian caliber.
The other thing I would keep in mind is that the high kick may be a result of their speed rather than the cause of speed. These guys are going so fast and ride so high in the water. They are also very good at tilting their pelvis up.
Anyhow, if I were you I wouldn't concentrate too hard on your kick technique (outside of making sure your foot is plantar flexed), just kick a lot to increase your strength and flexibility with minor tweaks here and there to see how it affects your speed. You will eventually find what works best for you.
I'm not an expert kicker by any stretch but it looks like you are over-kicking. What I mean is you are kicking more air than water. Perhaps the legs a bit closer to the water would be more effective.
I'm not a sprinter so if I'm wrong maybe this response will stimulate a good discussion.
Being the guy who is always searching for the swimming holy grail and buys a lot of videos, I've learned that kicking air actually works well for some swimmers. I saw a Go Swim video with Roland Schoeman where he specifically gets his feet way out of water so he can not only get great foot speed going back into the water but he wants to carry air into the water with his foot. It was a lot like Geo's streamline kick. I would guess that it works well for the swimmer with great whipping action but might not work so well for the mere mortals among us. It's kind of like the Ian Thorpe stroke. If I had my head up like that and my body on an incline it would be disastrous for my speed. With his kick it works well.
Geo, it was tough to comment on your kick with the stroke because you only took like 2 strokes. That said, it's not at all surprising why your feet and hips would drop a little. When you stroke with your arms there is a good chance you get some downward pressure with your arms at the beginning of the stroke. That lifts your torso and drops the hips. I'd have to see underwater footage, but I'll bet that's why. There's really nothing wrong with that, very few swimmers get nothing but backward pressure from the very beginning of the catch and pull. Those that do are olympian caliber.
The other thing I would keep in mind is that the high kick may be a result of their speed rather than the cause of speed. These guys are going so fast and ride so high in the water. They are also very good at tilting their pelvis up.
Anyhow, if I were you I wouldn't concentrate too hard on your kick technique (outside of making sure your foot is plantar flexed), just kick a lot to increase your strength and flexibility with minor tweaks here and there to see how it affects your speed. You will eventually find what works best for you.
