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!
@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.
I don't really consider myself a freestyler, so I don't spend much training time on "syncing" or "connectivity" of my kick, whatever that means. (You might consult the TI forum for that.) However, one drill that may be beneficial is sets of 25s "overkick free." On these, you sustain a very strong kick. You start out with a slow turnover and gradually increase turnover by 25s while maintaining the same kick.
@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.
I don't really consider myself a freestyler, so I don't spend much training time on "syncing" or "connectivity" of my kick, whatever that means. (You might consult the TI forum for that.) However, one drill that may be beneficial is sets of 25s "overkick free." On these, you sustain a very strong kick. You start out with a slow turnover and gradually increase turnover by 25s while maintaining the same kick.
