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
So, what we have here is a question on three aspects of freestyle stroke: kick, arms, and the balance of the two. All three of these questions, in your specific example, can be answered in one word: overemphasis. Let me explain. First, with regard to kicking, you have to keep in mind your desire to maximize streamline position and reduce drag, the proportional downward force on your body as you elevate a body part above the surface, and the desire to efficiently utilize energy in a manner that makes it most available for productive actions. With these in mind, it should be clear that your legs should move in limited range to help maintain streamline, and should minimize, to the degree possiblea the amount of time your legs spend above the surface, so as to not waste energy on unproductive air manipulation and tire the body out from counteracting additional and unnecesary downward force. Yes, some breakage of the surface is inevitable, but should not be encouraged. Arm recovery, similarly, is best achieved by keeping arms low to the water. Raising the arms higher than needed will generate excess downward force and be additional unnecessary energy expenditure. Also, if you think of your body as a seesaw, upward lift of the upper torso will serve to sink the lower body and vice versa. So, moderation of kick and arm recovery is key.
So, what we have here is a question on three aspects of freestyle stroke: kick, arms, and the balance of the two. All three of these questions, in your specific example, can be answered in one word: overemphasis. Let me explain. First, with regard to kicking, you have to keep in mind your desire to maximize streamline position and reduce drag, the proportional downward force on your body as you elevate a body part above the surface, and the desire to efficiently utilize energy in a manner that makes it most available for productive actions. With these in mind, it should be clear that your legs should move in limited range to help maintain streamline, and should minimize, to the degree possiblea the amount of time your legs spend above the surface, so as to not waste energy on unproductive air manipulation and tire the body out from counteracting additional and unnecesary downward force. Yes, some breakage of the surface is inevitable, but should not be encouraged. Arm recovery, similarly, is best achieved by keeping arms low to the water. Raising the arms higher than needed will generate excess downward force and be additional unnecessary energy expenditure. Also, if you think of your body as a seesaw, upward lift of the upper torso will serve to sink the lower body and vice versa. So, moderation of kick and arm recovery is key.
