Can someone explain to me the differences in the Kicking Rhythms? I feel that my kick is not consistent and is really holding me back. I feel like w the pull buoy I can swim all day but once I add in the kick I tire a lot quicker. Maybe this is common for everyone.
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That's a tough one too. My coach and I both like a 6 beat for me. I'm 6'1" and fairly proportionate limb wise and a 6 beat gives me my best rhythm and keeps any pauses/gliding out of my stroke. A 2 beat feels nice for sure, but at my height/limb length to sync up to a 2 beat gets me a to very slow stroke rate which I don't want. My best times, given appropriate fitness, come with mid 60's stroke rate for say a 200. There is a woman at theMasters group who uses a 2 beat, punchy stroke rate incredibly well, but she is about 5'4". Huge difference b/c her all day normal stroke rate never drops under 90. Now some might say 'why not just ramp up the stroke rate and let the kick do what it does?'. For me it's all about making sure the stroke and kick are in harmony. So, when I want to speed up my pace I rotate my body faster. The way I rotate my body faster is to create more torque in the core and I do that by speeding up my kick. Make sense? If you just start pulling harder and ignore what's going on from the core down then you are most likely losing that connection 'down there'.
A 4 beat can work for sure if you can get the rhythm down. A 6 is just what works for me at all stroke rates and doesn't require me to be 'on' that day to make it work. From stroke 1 the rhythm is there.
I will say I had an epic kick fail at practice last night though I was disappointed in myself. Got sloppy mentally and let myself slide back into old habits. No soup for me!
That's a tough one too. My coach and I both like a 6 beat for me. I'm 6'1" and fairly proportionate limb wise and a 6 beat gives me my best rhythm and keeps any pauses/gliding out of my stroke. A 2 beat feels nice for sure, but at my height/limb length to sync up to a 2 beat gets me a to very slow stroke rate which I don't want. My best times, given appropriate fitness, come with mid 60's stroke rate for say a 200. There is a woman at theMasters group who uses a 2 beat, punchy stroke rate incredibly well, but she is about 5'4". Huge difference b/c her all day normal stroke rate never drops under 90. Now some might say 'why not just ramp up the stroke rate and let the kick do what it does?'. For me it's all about making sure the stroke and kick are in harmony. So, when I want to speed up my pace I rotate my body faster. The way I rotate my body faster is to create more torque in the core and I do that by speeding up my kick. Make sense? If you just start pulling harder and ignore what's going on from the core down then you are most likely losing that connection 'down there'.
A 4 beat can work for sure if you can get the rhythm down. A 6 is just what works for me at all stroke rates and doesn't require me to be 'on' that day to make it work. From stroke 1 the rhythm is there.
I will say I had an epic kick fail at practice last night though I was disappointed in myself. Got sloppy mentally and let myself slide back into old habits. No soup for me!
