Do distance swimmers spend less time w/kicking workouts

This is what I think is wrong, though. I don't think being an excellent kicker is a "cherry on top" kind of thing, I think it gives a strong advantage over a weak kicker in most events. *Certainly* that's true in my chosen events; admittedly, probably less of an advantage in distance events. I agree with your correction. It should probably read ....whether it is kicking, drill, or sets that emphasize technique which may in the near term be much more difficult and accumulate less yardage, but will make the difference for those that care to go 1/100th of a second faster. Something like that. Not just kicking and certainly not saying it's the cherry on top. In fact, it's the cherry that kicks off more fruit, heh heh. Bad joke. I always think of kick improvement as the triple bang (or more!). You get faster by better kick alone. Then your body is ever so slightly better aligned, so you have less resistance. Then, because you are better aligned and have less resistance, you can more fully activate your arms and then your arms are actually "stronger" without lifting any more weight or doing more yardarge! Last, with a better kick & core, you use K&C to kick, balance, and breath rather than your arms, at least incrementally more, so that also frees up your arms to do more of just one thing - pulling you through the water rather than balance & breathing. It's like getting stronger arms just by improving your kick!

I don't think it's specifically a NO Kick! mentality, it's more a Must Get In 3000 in 1 Hour! Mentality....So the workouts have tended to become more swim/pull in nature. Kicking simply takes up a lot of time. Same for drills and other sets that focus on stroke improvement. Totally agree. And I'll admit when I'm writing my own workouts and have to squeeze them into an hour I rarely kick more than about 500 yards.

...using kick sets at times for recovery... At times? How about, "at all times for recovery."

Totally agree. And I'll admit when I'm writing my own workouts and have to squeeze them into an hour I rarely kick more than about 500 yards. Stay away from Mesas the nexct two weeks! Interesting timing of this thread as this week we started a two week "kicking" boot camp! Goal is to average about 1000yds per workout....that 10 minute kick for distance set went over real well with our Tri's by the way! BUT...I will say that the majority of those folks who train with us have accepted the fact that we train all 4 strokes and kick...a lot...and maybe the biggest issue for them is I never tally yardage!!

The answer is: "It depends." How do you define "Distance?" What are your goals? What events are you preparing for? How important are they to you? How often do you train? times per week How much time do you spend in the pool when you train? minutes per day All distance swimmers can benefit from an efficient and effective kick. The further your swim event is, the less intense your kick should be. If you're going to use a muscle, and move a limb, it might as well contribute to your forward motion. Elite distance swimmers need a powerful kick. They need great technique, conditioning and ability. Almost all elite swimmers 6 beat kick 200's most 6 beat 400's many on 800's and some on 1500's Every single one of them 6 beat kick the last 200, 150, 100 or 50 of their races. Most do kick sets everyday. Watch those youtubes Paul shared. Whether master distance swimmers should do kick sets or not? it depends on your abilities, goals, and training. If I was training for the 400, 500, 800, 1000, 1500 or 1650, and wanted to get as good as I could, when it comes to kicking I definitely would. I would also get in the habit of 6 beat kicking the last 100 of fast far swims. How bad do you wanna to be good?

t...and maybe the biggest issue for them is I never tally yardage!! I agree with this. Fortunately most coaches have moved away from doing yardage simply for yardage sake.

To ignore or downplay the importance of training utilizing the bodies largest muscle groups is a mistake-IMHO. Word. (disclaimer, I'm an advocate of Grant Hackett's coach who felt that regardless of the distance "everything was about speed") Double Word.

So to me, downplaying "competition" in the video was the right call. Agreed. There is more to masters swimming that competition.

Swimming fast at meets, or placing well, seem to take a back seat. What is wrong with that attitude?

Seems to me like since shiny suits, maybe before, in elite swimming there's no real 'distance' swimming. At least in the mens' events. Even the 1500 is at best middle distance and there is a lot of power involved, including the kick. The 200 is basically a long sprint, and the 400 not far off.