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 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
Is it just me or does this lady have the weirdest cut on her suit? That cant be comfortable can it?
As with any tool, a kickboard has its advantages and disadvantages. If you have an excellent kicking technique and simply want to strengthen your leg muscles, the board can be a useful tool to accomplish this.
However, as some have mentioned, the board tends to put more strain on the shoulders, especially if you have an inefficient kick and lean on the board more for support. Keeping your arms in the stretched-out position for long periods of time is a strain in itself.
Kicking with a snorkel can also be a great drill, so long as you have a coach watching to make sure you are kicking properly (kicking from the hips, as opposed to the knees for example).
Whether its a kickboard or a snorkel, those tools alone will not serve to improve your kicking technique or efficiency. All drills should be practiced in moderation. Improving your kick requires a combination of a variety of kicking drills (like kick at side) which serve to improve conditioning and strengthen other areas of the body, such as your core. Swimming is a total-body strengthening exercise in which both the upper and lower body work in tandem to get you through the water. As such, variety in your workouts is key to improving overall, whether it is your kick or any other aspect of your swimming.
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.
Most of the board kickers I see use the standard size blue hard foam board. However I also see some using a smaller, arrow shaped board made of harder material. Is there a reason for this other than personal preference?
Our coach has us using the smallest boards available - usually kids boards or the triangular ones. His theory is that the smaller boards put less strain on the shoulders, I guess because you're not pushing as much surface area down with your arms as you hold it. I'd never heard this before.
Most of the board kickers I see use the standard size blue hard foam board. However I also see some using a smaller, arrow shaped board made of harder material. Is there a reason for this other than personal preference?
Some of those boards double as pull buoys.
