I decided to get back into swimming after not swimming seriously for 30 years. Right now, I'm trying to figure out where my weaknesses are, time-wise, but my times don't make sense to me. Freestyle and backstroke have always been my fastest strokes. Butterfly has always been my weakest and *** stroke my slowest. I'm not concerned about my *** stroke right now but today, I discovered that my fly kick is significantly faster than my freestyle kick - like by 8 seconds in 25yds. I find this very weird, especially considering that I'm pigeon toed, making it impossible for me to keep my feet together during the fly kick. I would think that at the very least, my freestyle kick would be as fast as my fly, but not slower. Is this normal? I think there's something seriously wrong with my flutter and whatever is wrong, it's not related to drag (I've already ruled out drag).
Generally speaking, the fly kick, especially off the walls, is a more efficient way to swim than the flutter kick - this is why swimmers like Phelps get in the maximum 15 meters of fly kick off of the walls in fly, bk and free or IM races. You yourself have realized the efficiency of the fly kick in your own swimming experience.
Instead of comparing the speed of your fly vs flutter kick, therefore, you might want to focus instead on getting your flutter kick analyzed and determining what you can do to increase your speed and efficiency in that aspect of swimming. As others have mentioned on this thread, you'll need to have a coach take a look at the structure of your flutter kick and provide you with the appropriate drills to improve your kick. We provide this service online at Swimspire (www.swimspire.com/.../). At the same time, you can also work on continuing to develop your fly kick to use off of each wall. This will allow you to get an edge on your competition in your races.
It is an accomplishment in itself to have the determination to seriously get back in the water after many years away, so it is most important to always keep that love for the sport and embrace the challenges! Good luck!
Generally speaking, the fly kick, especially off the walls, is a more efficient way to swim than the flutter kick - this is why swimmers like Phelps get in the maximum 15 meters of fly kick off of the walls in fly, bk and free or IM races. You yourself have realized the efficiency of the fly kick in your own swimming experience.
Instead of comparing the speed of your fly vs flutter kick, therefore, you might want to focus instead on getting your flutter kick analyzed and determining what you can do to increase your speed and efficiency in that aspect of swimming. As others have mentioned on this thread, you'll need to have a coach take a look at the structure of your flutter kick and provide you with the appropriate drills to improve your kick. We provide this service online at Swimspire (www.swimspire.com/.../). At the same time, you can also work on continuing to develop your fly kick to use off of each wall. This will allow you to get an edge on your competition in your races.
It is an accomplishment in itself to have the determination to seriously get back in the water after many years away, so it is most important to always keep that love for the sport and embrace the challenges! Good luck!
