I have been trying to incorporate the butterfly kick off the start and turns with my backstroke. I get 2 -4 kicks in before I come to the surface. My question is: how much faster is the butterfly kick than the flutter kick? Or do you have to have a strong fly kick to gain any benefit? ** years ago we were very content with a quick flutter to the surface (and I'm not anywhere near as fast now!)
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Former Member
I don't think it is obvious which is better in general. At the best levels of backstroke you see swimmers, such as Coughlin, that use every yard available for dolphin kick, and others that just try to get to the surface so they can swim.
I have experimented with it, since I am an OK backstroker and an OK butterflyer, and a good kicker, and I am hoping that the underwater butterfly kick can help me. But, I have been timed to the far flags across the pool with kicking the full 15 meters, and swimming most of it, and the times are pretty much the same. My second to next step to improving my swimming, after increasing my yardage, is to work in my 'core' strength (a trendy word), and streamlining, to make the kick faster. If you work on it I think it can help, but it does require significant training. Compare the hours you put into swimming, and the hours someone like Coughlin puts into it, and decide if it is worth it for you. Most important, don't do it in your next race if it is slower -- get timed in workout!
Right now I limit the 15 meters of underwater kick to the 50's. I run out of air if I do it in races of longer distances. At the last nationals, I was one of the very few that kicked underwater past the flags. With that in mind, I am still experimenting; perhaps it will be my magic bullet.;)
I don't think it is obvious which is better in general. At the best levels of backstroke you see swimmers, such as Coughlin, that use every yard available for dolphin kick, and others that just try to get to the surface so they can swim.
I have experimented with it, since I am an OK backstroker and an OK butterflyer, and a good kicker, and I am hoping that the underwater butterfly kick can help me. But, I have been timed to the far flags across the pool with kicking the full 15 meters, and swimming most of it, and the times are pretty much the same. My second to next step to improving my swimming, after increasing my yardage, is to work in my 'core' strength (a trendy word), and streamlining, to make the kick faster. If you work on it I think it can help, but it does require significant training. Compare the hours you put into swimming, and the hours someone like Coughlin puts into it, and decide if it is worth it for you. Most important, don't do it in your next race if it is slower -- get timed in workout!
Right now I limit the 15 meters of underwater kick to the 50's. I run out of air if I do it in races of longer distances. At the last nationals, I was one of the very few that kicked underwater past the flags. With that in mind, I am still experimenting; perhaps it will be my magic bullet.;)
