Dolphin kick off walls - freestyle

5-6 kicks on a 200m free is a lot..... just do 2-3 and get up and get moving. Phelps does that many kicks off the last wall ..... which is very demanding. Phelps did that many kicks not sure he's in shape to do that now but there's no doubt he could regain that ability with a little training

11 kicks to get to 15 meters is pretty good DPK; I need 11-12 usually. Although he's the expert on the 200 free, I'll disagree with AJS in principle. I do 5 kicks off every wall in the 200 free and don't think it hurts me (quite the opposite); I do more than that (usually 7) on the 200 back. Whether it is a good idea or not depends on how well conditioned you are for it and how fast your kick is. It is not something you should do out of the blue, you should test it (extensively) in practice under conditions that mimic your race. One nice thing about masters: you've got some time to test the waters, so to speak. Try upping your kick by 1 for a year and see if it changes anything, for better or worse. Then continue as needed.

Though an old clip and a 100 free, popov just coasted off the wall starting flutter kicks at breakout to win in 96. Maybe conserving his energy since he was even with HallJr for the lead @6:10. www.youtube.com/watch Just thought it was kinda interesting

5-6 kicks on a 200m free is a lot..... just do 2-3 and get up and get moving. Phelps does that many kicks off the last wall ..... which is very demanding.

Hi i counted my dolphin kicks after flip turn and i took 11 dolphin kicks to reach the 15m mark. Is that a good number? those dolphin kick were swift and fast ones. Should i dolphin kick after walls or just flip turn and freestyle? I am aiming for 5-6 dolphin kicks for a 200m freestyle race. Also is there any advantage for dolphin kicking off walls instead of just transitioning to normal freestyle? You counted your dolphin kicks after flip turn and took 11 dolphin kicks to reach the 15m mark. Is that a good number? Maybe, it's all a matter of SPEED, FATIGUE, and the need to breathe. those dolphin kickS were swift and fast ones. Should i dolphin kick after walls or just flip turn and freestyle? It depends, you should do what helps you do the fastest overall time in your race I"ve written a lot about SDKing in Swim Faster Faster and recommend you experiment with different kick counts, test and time Come up with a kick count strategy for each race. also test your times for SFK (streamline flutter kick) I am aiming for 5-6 dolphin kicks for a 200m freestyle race. that's a lot and difficult to do on your 6th, 7th & 8th length Also is there any advantage for dolphin kicking off walls instead of just transitioning to normal freestyle? Possibly, which is why I suggest test your SDK vs your SFK and figure out what works best. Some swimmers SFK faster than they SDK

Hi i counted my dolphin kicks after flip turn and i took 11 dolphin kicks to reach the 15m mark. Is that a good number? those dolphin kick were swift and fast ones. Should i dolphin kick after walls or just flip turn and freestyle? I am aiming for 5-6 dolphin kicks for a 200m freestyle race. Also is there any advantage for dolphin kicking off walls instead of just transitioning to normal freestyle? Hi SpeedoRocks, Lately, dolphin kick has become the better option off of the walls during races. However,from what I saw in your freestyle video (forums.usms.org/showthread.php, you need to work more on improving the efficiency of your dolphin kick before you can try for 5-6 kicks out of each wall in a 200m freestyle race. For now, I would suggest not worrying so much about how many dolphin kicks you take out of each wall, as much as I would concentrate on how efficient your dolphin kicks are (however many or few they may be). In the video, you are taking 2 dolphin kicks off of the wall - I think given your level, 5-6 kicks at this point would be more of a disadvantage than a benefit. If you continue to improve the strength and speed of your dolphin kick, you can try taking more kicks during practice. Its better to experiment and work on technique issues in practice than in a race. Bringing any new element into a race without trying it in practice first throws in the additional variable of uncertainty.

That is impressive. I would blow apart with that much time underwater on a 200 free ..... :-) I was lucky to witness this impressive perspective of UW capacity last year (both 2 bk and free scm). He would disappear then pop up 15M down at the other end for the brief 10m swim before doing it again. Easy to loose sight of where he was at each point in time. He is a human porpoise

...He is a human porpoise I believe it was ande who coined the phrase, "hung in the lung" to describe Chris.

I was lucky to witness this impressive perspective of UW capacity last year (both 2 bk and free scm). He would disappear then pop up 15M down at the other end for the brief 10m swim before doing it again. Thanks for the praise, however exaggerated; it sure would be nice to go 15m in 5 dolphin kicks (instead of 11-12)! But realize that John is the real expert here in the 200 free, though too modest (and out of shape) to admit it. I just dabble. He is right to think about the effect that early kicking does on the last 50, which is painful enough as it is. The bottom line is that the "proper" number of kicks is going to vary from person to person based on how good a kicker you are and your conditioning level (and habits in practice). I think it is a good idea to experiment and see what works best, and also to revisit the issue if you work hard on improving your underwater kicking and conditioning. I seem to remember someone in another kicking-related thread claiming that kickers are made, not born. While certainly one can always improve any aspect of swimming, I would have to disagree with that statement (putting aside false modesty: I was a better kicker at 8 years old than some ever get to be). Some people are natural-born kickers and others aren't. For example, if your ankles can't hyperextend a lot then I wouldn't worry too much about dolphin kicking and just get up to the surface and start swimming.

I was a better kicker at 8 years old than some As for my UW speed I'm not much of a kicker there but I'll still practice and try to improve, then (like you mentioned) experiment to see what might work best though.