Stuck in reverse or my kick sucks

mostly people that run and bike a lot have this phenomenon. Work on your ankle flexibility. Ever seen a swimmer's ankle flexibility? there is a reason we are normally not good runners :bolt:

Wear a pair of pink groovy flower power swim briefs, yellow fins, orange goggles, and flower power swim cap. Don't forget the white framed sunglasses to and from the pool. You should be able to get a lane all to your self, and not worry about those laughing tadpoles. Your doing fine, it takes some practice that's all. Look good doing it, and embarasse the little ones from wanting to share the lane with you.

The "point your toes" advice is probably correct. The only backwards kickers I've had in practices are not pointing the whole time - they inadvertently flex their foot on the downkick (which serves to hold them in place or make them go backwards). You might try working with fins or Zoomers for awhile to increase your ankle flexibility so you can really point your toes. You'll get better eventually!

Help, Any suggestions? Thanks You are bicycle kicking, as the other poster described, you are dorsiflexing as you kick when really there isn't much dorsiflexion during that phase. Another way to think about it is that your feet are moving as if you are trying to kick away from you with the bottoms of your feet like a donkey kick. However you think about it, it isn't working. The cure is to get the biggest fins you can find and do your kicking (and swimming) with those for a while. The big fins will MAKE your feet move in the proper way and hopefully imprint the correct motion. If all you have are zoomers or other swimmer's fins that is OK, but scuba fins are better, even cheap imitation scuba fins from wal mart or target are better than zoomers in this specific instance.

I want to thank everyone who has responded with feed back. I really appreciate the advice. Looking for a pair of pink groovy flower power swim briefs, yellow fins, orange goggles, and flower power swim cap. Have the white framed sunglasses. Also, as a scuba instructor and under water fanatic, I have some of the best, longest, most expensive free diving fins made. (Advante's) But I think as most of you replied, all it takes is flexibility, practice and time. Also, I have noticed that if I keep my head under the water, I can't hear everyone laughing. My poor son has joined the swim team at the local pool and has my kicking ability with the kick board. I have also learned that I can just drag my legs and have them fresh for the the bike.... Wrong Way Ron

Dear Wrong Way Ron, I used to be a backwards kicker, too. I progressed to being a stay-in-the-same-place kicker and now (proudly) am a can-advance-forward-ever-so-slowly kicker. Be warned it takes time. Not days, not weeks, not even months, but rather years! Perseverance is essential and ankle flexibility is the key. Can you sit like this? If you can't hold that pose for at least ten minutes, I would say that your ankles are not flexible enough. Ankle flexibility is something you need to work on daily. Google ankle flexibility exercises for some ideas on where to start and no matter which set of exercises you decide to use, you need to find a way to incorporate it into your daily routine. I spend half an hour a day sitting on my ankles like in the first link above when I check my mail or surf the net. I put my laptop on the coffee table in the sitting room and then kneel down while I use it. Kick with a board in practice. As Andy always advises, time yourself and aim to improve your times. Use fins as others have suggested. I, personally, don't use fins but that is only because they are not allowed at the pool I train at, but a lot of people swear by them. Most importantly, you need to find a way to incorporate kicking into your full stroke. After all that is what your ultimate aim is. Be aware of that kick every time you swim freestyle. Recently, there have been quite a few threads dealing with kicking. Don't have time to search for them now (my half hour is almost up and my ankles are hurting), but maybe someone else could point them out. Work at it! Syd

Dear Wrong Way Ron, I used to be a backwards kicker, too. I progressed to being a stay-in-the-same-place kicker and now (proudly) am a can-advance-forward-ever-so-slowly kicker. Be warned it takes time. Not days, not weeks, not even months, but rather years! Perseverance is essential and ankle flexibility is the key. Can you sit like this? If you can't hold that pose for at least ten minutes, I would say that your ankles are not flexible enough. Ankle flexibility is something you need to work on daily. Google ankle flexibility exercises for some ideas on where to start and no matter which set of exercises you decide to use, you need to find a way to incorporate it into your daily routine. I spend half an hour a day sitting on my ankles like in the first link above when I check my mail or surf the net. I put my laptop on the coffee table in the sitting room and then kneel down while I use it. Kick with a board in practice. As Andy always advises, time yourself and aim to improve your times. Use fins as others have suggested. I, personally, don't use fins but that is only because they are not allowed at the pool I train at, but a lot of people swear by them. Most importantly, you need to find a way to incorporate kicking into your full stroke. After all that is what your ultimate aim is. Be aware of that kick every time you swim freestyle. Recently, there have been quite a few threads dealing with kicking. Don't have time to search for them now (my half hour is almost up and my ankles are hurting), but maybe someone else could point them out. Work at it! Syd Thanks Syd, I can sit like that for about 2 minutes, that's it. Funny, it hurts more in my thighs than ankles. Anyway, I have something to look forward to, pain. Thanks for the reply, and keep kicking, forward if the gods are with us.... Ron