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?
...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.Good kickers will not be lying on the board and most aren’t high in the water. About a minute into the linked video is an example of a good kick position. www.youtube.com/watch
Kicking with a board is faster and lets you talk to your friends.
On some teams/clubs/etc they will have "social kick sets". They never made a lot of sense to me, as I could never keep up with my teammates, no matter how "socially" they were kicking. In the past year or two, I've dispensed with the board altogether. I like it because it puts my body in a more correct/streamlined position. I'm also somewhat antisocial when swimming, so it gives me a good excuse to have my head in the water and not chit chat. ;)
The only assistive device I use in workouts is a board for the breaststoke kick. Kicking with a board is definitely faster (increased floatation and more oxygen). I feel that using a board actually simulates the breaststoke kick better than no board, because the board replaces the floatation one would normally get from the pull. Also I love all that oxygen :)
Is this not more like the real free kick when integrated into the full stroke?
Yes. Kicking with a board is faster and lets you talk to your friends. Otherwise it is inferior IMHO.
Yes. Kicking with a board is faster and lets you talk to your friends. Otherwise it is inferior IMHO.
I definitely am slower when kicking with a board.
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.
