I usually do some kicking every w/o, sometimes with fins and sometimes without. I considered myself a decent kicker. However, I recently added kicking with a board. To my great annoyance I am pretty lame with the board. I began carefully observing swimmers who are good board kickers. They appear to be kicking in an unnatural position. They are high in the water and some seem to be lying on the board.Does this really help ones kicking when part of the full stroke? I prefer kicking with a front snorkel. Is this not more like the real free kick when integrated into the full stroke?
I began using a kick board for all of my kicking about 2 years ago and I've had some real improvement in my kick over this period of time. While the board does place you in a position that is not at all like swimming, I don't think it matters. The whole point of kicking, for me, is to work on building leg strength and endurance. As an added benefit, I find that using a kick board during a portion of my warm up helps to stretch out my arms and shoulders far more quickly than slow and easy swimming would.
I too like using a board but ran into some neck pain earlier this year as a result of the added strain the board can put on the neck. As a result I have tried mixing up my kick sets and despite still using the board I will from time to time use my snorkel and kick in a streamline position, and also started kicking on my back.
I began using a kick board for all of my kicking about 2 years ago and I've had some real improvement in my kick over this period of time. While the board does place you in a position that is not at all like swimming, I don't think it matters. The whole point of kicking, for me, is to work on building leg strength and endurance. As an added benefit, I find that using a kick board during a portion of my warm up helps to stretch out my arms and shoulders far more quickly than slow and easy swimming would.
I too like using a board but ran into some neck pain earlier this year as a result of the added strain the board can put on the neck. As a result I have tried mixing up my kick sets and despite still using the board I will from time to time use my snorkel and kick in a streamline position, and also started kicking on my back.
