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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to the OP: perhaps when you hooked your ankles you also tightened your core to hold that position. That would explain the increased power to your stroke (with a tight core you pull against the entire lever of your body, instead of just the shoulders /upper torso). Ideally when you swim free - you have a tight core that sustains a good position AND you kick to add propulsion (in this, timing is quite important, to sync up the power portion of your pull with your tightest/strongest position to pull against - which is definitely affected by your leg position/kick timing).
@Fortress... I totally agree that kicking is important, I am just looking for ways to get my kick to be propulsive as in my current stroke it appears to be counterproductive. Do you have any favorite drills/specific suggestions for working on kick timing?
I am wary of just focusing on kicking with more force or at a hire tempo... if I'm out of sync with my body rotation, then strengthening/going faster won't increase connectivity, I'll be going faster but continuing with poor form.
On the note of dolphin kick, I heard that Michael Klim switched to dolphin kick in the last 10 meters of his 100 free leg on the 4 x 100 relay in either Sydney or Athens, I forgot, If someone knows where I could find a clip of that race it would be fantastic. I heard he did it to maintain inertia by keeping his body line tight as he tired.
@Chris, I looked at your picture again... I haven't seen any freestyle kickers with that degree of knee flexion when they kick freestyle. (Then again I haven't been examining too many still frames of swimmers, so it might happen somewhere!) If the foot isn't oriented backwards I don't know how that foot is pushing you forwards.... as I understand it you go forwards by pushing in the opposite direction from which you want to go. Kicking straight down ought to lift your body up, so I see the legs as a hip-raising/balance tool if one can't get the foot oriented somewhat backwards... (toes pointing somewhat towards the water surface when you're on you're stomach)
@Sarah, thanks for your input! I actually didn't "cross" my feet directly over one another because I tried that on the first lap and found it left me unbalanced and unable to rotate properly. I had my right toe gently pushing against my left toe, my legs were isometrically contracted. But that's a great point... presumably the back of my body was more tapered than when I do my usual kick. I already think about kicking in a tunnel where my feet don't go too deep, but maybe that tunnel isn't narrow enough.... I'll think about kicking in a "tighter circle" tomorrow and see if that changes anything.
To the strong/coordinated kickers out there.. what do you do to coordinate your kicking with your pulling? Are some kicks stronger/of a bigger amplitude than others? (even if you don't consider yourself a strong kicker I'd love to hear your ideas.)
(IE is your strongest kick happening at the beginning, middle, or end of the pull? Do you have "sync points" where you match up your top and bottom halfs, IE you start your rotation to the left with a right downbeat while your left arm is recovering? Or think of flexing your core during the middle of your pull?)
to the OP: perhaps when you hooked your ankles you also tightened your core to hold that position. That would explain the increased power to your stroke (with a tight core you pull against the entire lever of your body, instead of just the shoulders /upper torso). Ideally when you swim free - you have a tight core that sustains a good position AND you kick to add propulsion (in this, timing is quite important, to sync up the power portion of your pull with your tightest/strongest position to pull against - which is definitely affected by your leg position/kick timing).
@Fortress... I totally agree that kicking is important, I am just looking for ways to get my kick to be propulsive as in my current stroke it appears to be counterproductive. Do you have any favorite drills/specific suggestions for working on kick timing?
I am wary of just focusing on kicking with more force or at a hire tempo... if I'm out of sync with my body rotation, then strengthening/going faster won't increase connectivity, I'll be going faster but continuing with poor form.
On the note of dolphin kick, I heard that Michael Klim switched to dolphin kick in the last 10 meters of his 100 free leg on the 4 x 100 relay in either Sydney or Athens, I forgot, If someone knows where I could find a clip of that race it would be fantastic. I heard he did it to maintain inertia by keeping his body line tight as he tired.
@Chris, I looked at your picture again... I haven't seen any freestyle kickers with that degree of knee flexion when they kick freestyle. (Then again I haven't been examining too many still frames of swimmers, so it might happen somewhere!) If the foot isn't oriented backwards I don't know how that foot is pushing you forwards.... as I understand it you go forwards by pushing in the opposite direction from which you want to go. Kicking straight down ought to lift your body up, so I see the legs as a hip-raising/balance tool if one can't get the foot oriented somewhat backwards... (toes pointing somewhat towards the water surface when you're on you're stomach)
@Sarah, thanks for your input! I actually didn't "cross" my feet directly over one another because I tried that on the first lap and found it left me unbalanced and unable to rotate properly. I had my right toe gently pushing against my left toe, my legs were isometrically contracted. But that's a great point... presumably the back of my body was more tapered than when I do my usual kick. I already think about kicking in a tunnel where my feet don't go too deep, but maybe that tunnel isn't narrow enough.... I'll think about kicking in a "tighter circle" tomorrow and see if that changes anything.
To the strong/coordinated kickers out there.. what do you do to coordinate your kicking with your pulling? Are some kicks stronger/of a bigger amplitude than others? (even if you don't consider yourself a strong kicker I'd love to hear your ideas.)
(IE is your strongest kick happening at the beginning, middle, or end of the pull? Do you have "sync points" where you match up your top and bottom halfs, IE you start your rotation to the left with a right downbeat while your left arm is recovering? Or think of flexing your core during the middle of your pull?)
