I have spent the last 20+ years with a 2 beat rotational kick, hip driven freestyle focusing on middle and ultra distance events(half and full iron). Fast twitch kid and ran the 100/200 and 100 hurdles in high school. Now back in the pool I have come to embrace what fast twitch I have left and apparently have a knack for the sprints!
Doing tons of kick work to begin the never ending process of getting a powerful 6 beat kick. It's pretty lame at the moment. Working on keeping my hips a little flatter and using that as my platform for a powerful flutter. My issue is that I seem to lose my balance and downhill feeling that is so ingrained with my 2 beat rotational kick once I focus on the 6 beat flutter. To fully engage my 6 beat it's feels like I need to let my legs sink a little bit which just seems wrong. When I do that I feel all that extra drag build up immediately and it's a momentum killer. I'm used to having my bum slightly breach the water with my hip driven stroke. Not able to do that successfully yet with my 6 beat. Ideas or thoughts on what I might be doing wrong or is this just how the 6 beat feels when amping it up for 50/100?
I was given a suggestion today by a really fast sprinter from a local club team to kind of squeeze my bum a little bit and kick even more compact than I am. Didn't really get the hang of it, but open to idea on what I might want to focus on with this new kick journey I'm on. Thanks.
Didn't Jonty Skinner accomplish his world record 100 free with a two -beat or 2 - beat crossover?
I read the 2 crossover is ideal for lean swimmers that sink easily
I can actually sprint very close to my peak speed using a 2- beat, maybe several 10ths slower for a 25. And I might even try the 2- beat in my next 100 fr race just for fun. Interestingly, I'm slightly faster doing dolphin kick free than with a 6-beat, but 25m is about the limit.
I'm not certain on that, but anything is possible. I'd say this was pretty much true for me until I learned how to use my glutes as a source of power though. Every single swim I get a bit stronger and faster. Knocked down my 50m free best again last night by .8! At the end of the day I will end up with a 6 beat for 100 or less and anything more gets my trusty 2.
Didn't Jonty Skinner accomplish his world record 100 free with a two -beat or 2 - beat crossover?
I read the 2 crossover is ideal for lean swimmers that sink easily
I can actually sprint very close to my peak speed using a 2- beat, maybe several 10ths slower for a 25. And I might even try the 2- beat in my next 100 fr race just for fun. Interestingly, I'm slightly faster doing dolphin kick free than with a 6-beat, but 25m is about the limit.
I'm not certain on that, but anything is possible. I'd say this was pretty much true for me until I learned how to use my glutes as a source of power though. Every single swim I get a bit stronger and faster. Knocked down my 50m free best again last night by .8! At the end of the day I will end up with a 6 beat for 100 or less and anything more gets my trusty 2.
