I'm something of a newbie to masters, though I've been swimming a long time. I have no kick, zero, nada. I have tried at masters swim workouts, but if I attempt to move down the lane using kick only, I float absolutely still in the water. If I kick a lot, I get cramps in feet and calfs. What to do???
What will it take for me to actually move forward on kicking-only, and how much does it really matter?
I was a hardcore runner for 45 years before taking up swimming this year. Did all of that running guarantee my current "kicking" situation?
Not being able to see you swim, I'm guessing your issue is ankle flexibility and the cause is your 45 years of heavy running. I'm almost certain you are strong enough to be a competent kicker, that's most likely not the issue. If you work on ankle flexibility and being able to comfortably point your toes continuously, your kick should improve pretty rapidly. I can't really think of any negative to working on this, so regardless of how much % it will make your swimming better, it's worth working on.
What will it take for me to actually move forward on kicking-only, and how much does it really matter?
I was a hardcore runner for 45 years before taking up swimming this year. Did all of that running guarantee my current "kicking" situation?
Not being able to see you swim, I'm guessing your issue is ankle flexibility and the cause is your 45 years of heavy running. I'm almost certain you are strong enough to be a competent kicker, that's most likely not the issue. If you work on ankle flexibility and being able to comfortably point your toes continuously, your kick should improve pretty rapidly. I can't really think of any negative to working on this, so regardless of how much % it will make your swimming better, it's worth working on.
