Help,
When ever I try to do kick board drills, I literally go backwards. And my 7 year old splashes me in the face every time she passes me.
Really, I have had coaches watch and all I get is "point your toes", and laughed at.:blush:
I think I would be a better swimmer if my kick would move me forward instead of fighting my arms.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Parents
Former Member
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
