I've been swimming all my life, but never proper strokes. Recently I've begun learning the correct strokes but I'm having trouble with my crawl stroke. I watch other swimmers go back and forth flip turning as they come to end. I can't do more than 50 yards before I'm completely out of breath. I know I'm in better shape than that because I can swim breaststroke back and forth just fine, so I assume I'm not breathing correctly. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can breathe better and how to have enough air after the flip turn to continue?
Also, I feel like I don't go anywhere when I kick unless I have fins (I have the blue zoomers). Any suggestions for improving the crawl kick? I kick across the pool, but I go v e r y slow.
Feeling a little discouraged... :(
Thanks for any advice you guys have got!
Lisa
Parents
Former Member
Lisa:
Using a kickboard puts you in a very "uphill" position - much like swimming unbalanced. So you'll be using at least some of that kick to keep your hips up. Worse, you'll be reinforcing the HABIT of hip-lift kicking rather than propulsive kicking.
In our program we only use kickboards to prop the doors open. ALL of our kicking is done with no board. This teaches and reinforces propulsive kicking rather than hip-lift kicking.
gmgdc:
The FIRST thing to do in fixing your kick is FIX THE BALANCE. Only then will kicking options be practical.
Then, lose the kickboard. Do vertical kicking and lots of side-glide kicking (but only if it is well-balanced - hip AT the surface, not below it, not even a bit). Both help to teach your neuromuscular system what it means to kick in a straight line rather than uphill.
With no styro virus AND no kickboard in your toy bag, your life will be simpler now. :)
Also consider that kicking for motorboat-style propulsion costs WAY more energy than getting that propulsion from transmitting core body rotation to propulsion through your arms. The MOST effective use of your legs will always be to initiate body roll. That's the way to transmit leg efforts into the greatest amount of propulsion. Flutter kicking for motorboat-style propulsion will always yield less GO per calorie expended.So whether or not, and how much, to kick should be weighed against how much energy you can afford to use for the particular task at hand. The Bottom Up Swimming series of articles on my http://.h2oustonswims.org site goes into greater detail on this.
Lisa:
Using a kickboard puts you in a very "uphill" position - much like swimming unbalanced. So you'll be using at least some of that kick to keep your hips up. Worse, you'll be reinforcing the HABIT of hip-lift kicking rather than propulsive kicking.
In our program we only use kickboards to prop the doors open. ALL of our kicking is done with no board. This teaches and reinforces propulsive kicking rather than hip-lift kicking.
gmgdc:
The FIRST thing to do in fixing your kick is FIX THE BALANCE. Only then will kicking options be practical.
Then, lose the kickboard. Do vertical kicking and lots of side-glide kicking (but only if it is well-balanced - hip AT the surface, not below it, not even a bit). Both help to teach your neuromuscular system what it means to kick in a straight line rather than uphill.
With no styro virus AND no kickboard in your toy bag, your life will be simpler now. :)
Also consider that kicking for motorboat-style propulsion costs WAY more energy than getting that propulsion from transmitting core body rotation to propulsion through your arms. The MOST effective use of your legs will always be to initiate body roll. That's the way to transmit leg efforts into the greatest amount of propulsion. Flutter kicking for motorboat-style propulsion will always yield less GO per calorie expended.So whether or not, and how much, to kick should be weighed against how much energy you can afford to use for the particular task at hand. The Bottom Up Swimming series of articles on my http://.h2oustonswims.org site goes into greater detail on this.
