Tried an interesting set tonight... did 10 50 frees on 45 seconds without kicking, just pulling.
I've always been a poor freestyle kicker, but I didn't expect the following result... I was going just as fast as I would be WITH a kick for that rate of turnover (35/34s), but with much less effort.
I found myself doing a bit more body rotation, I felt greater connectivity from my arms all the way down to my toes. I also found myself doing a deep straightarm catch (as opposed to my usual high elbow with the elbow withing a couple inches of the surface)... wasn't really trying to do something different, it just happened and I went with it.
Has anyone else had a similar experience when they removed their kick from their freestyle? Does anyone have any idea about how to train my kick so it can contribute more effectively?
I have a hunch that my kick may actually be counterproductive when I get tired, in that it doesn't help me go forward or gives a very poor return for the effort I put in... so maybe learning to freestyle kick in a way that syncs with my body rotation would be a way to start. (Not sure how to do that though, so ideas for learning rotation rhythm would be welcomed too.)
Thanks in advance!
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Really? My underwater dolphin kick is about as fast as my sprint freestyle.
If you're using your legs just for balance, you're missing out on an opportunity to swim faster. Now if there is a physical issue, e.g., inflexible ankles, then that's more of a problem, though you can work on ankle flexibility.
Good point. however, underwater dolphin kick is faster than freestyle kick for a lot of reasons... dolphin kick utilizes the core muscles and you have a larger propulsive "fin" to work with when you're using both feet at once. Dolphining underwater is different than swimming on the surface because you can be torpedo shaped the whole time so you're not morphing into various non-aquadynamic shapes with every stroke... also wave drag underwater is a squared function of speed whereas it's a cubic function on the surface.
Also, I'm assuming that part of the speed comes from pushing off the wall. This isn't dolphin kick from a dead float (feel free to correct me)
I agree that I'm missing out on an opportunity... I just have my doubts its due to weak muscles, I think I might have a connectivity with rotation/timing issue.
Thanks for the phelps video Chris S... I've heard that the best kickers can let their feet flop around and if you trace their toes they make little circles (on the transverse plane)
Really? My underwater dolphin kick is about as fast as my sprint freestyle.
If you're using your legs just for balance, you're missing out on an opportunity to swim faster. Now if there is a physical issue, e.g., inflexible ankles, then that's more of a problem, though you can work on ankle flexibility.
Good point. however, underwater dolphin kick is faster than freestyle kick for a lot of reasons... dolphin kick utilizes the core muscles and you have a larger propulsive "fin" to work with when you're using both feet at once. Dolphining underwater is different than swimming on the surface because you can be torpedo shaped the whole time so you're not morphing into various non-aquadynamic shapes with every stroke... also wave drag underwater is a squared function of speed whereas it's a cubic function on the surface.
Also, I'm assuming that part of the speed comes from pushing off the wall. This isn't dolphin kick from a dead float (feel free to correct me)
I agree that I'm missing out on an opportunity... I just have my doubts its due to weak muscles, I think I might have a connectivity with rotation/timing issue.
Thanks for the phelps video Chris S... I've heard that the best kickers can let their feet flop around and if you trace their toes they make little circles (on the transverse plane)
