So my coach told me that i am not bending my knees enough, he said that i should be bending it at 45 degrees, whenever i bend that much i feel as though my hips are sinking and i remember reading that we should not bend our ankles so much.
Also i read that we should point our toes but keep our ankles relaxed. Which gets me to my next question, how do we point our toes but keep our ankles relaxed?? Wouldn't our ankles naturally tense up when we point our toes?
Thanks for the help and i really appreciate it!
So my coach told me that i am not bending my knees enough, he said that i should be bending it at 45 degrees, whenever i bend that much i feel as though my hips are sinking and i remember reading that we should not bend our ankles so much.
Also i read that we should point our toes but keep our ankles relaxed. Which gets me to my next question, how do we point our toes but keep our ankles relaxed?? Wouldn't our ankles naturally tense up when we point our toes?
Thanks for the help and i really appreciate it!
Hi SpeedoRocks. Generally, bending your knees too much during the flutter kick actually causes more resistance and makes your kick less efficient. However, keeping your legs absolutely straight during the kick is also not efficient. You need a relaxed kick, with a slightly bent knee. Your coach is watching you from on the pool deck and may be observing something in your kick that needs to be improved, so you should try to work with him on this issue.
The ability to point your toes while at the same time keeping the ankles relaxed comes with greater flexibility in your ankles. You can try a variety of stretching exercises to develop ankle flexibility - although take care to not push yourself too far. Ankle flexibility also comes with practicing your kick consistently. When you point your toes, only point them as far as you can without stiffening up your feet/ankles. Even if you're not pointing your toes perfectly, you are still on your way to a proper kick.
