Hi all,
It's so funny--sometimes I see people at the pool who really go at it with the kickboard...and then other people wouldn't touch one if their life depended upon it.
I'll admit, I don't use one--mainly becuase I'm impatient, feel like I'm not going anywhere, and am a purist to a fault sometimes.
But, if you think that it's worthwhile, I would incoporate it, all for the sake of improvement.
The great questions are:
Will training with a kickboard make me a better, faster, super awesome swimmer?
And, if you train with one--why? Or, why not?
Thanks everybody (you know you're my outlet!)
JoAnne -aka, Jerrycat ;)
Parents
Former Member
Joanne,
Just a technical point: although most coaches do use kickboards in some fashion or another, there is a minority view that they are not beneficial. The reasoning is pretty similar to what Victoria described. These folks feel that isolating a muscle group provides less benefit to you than what you lose by learning to kick in an unnatural position.
I personally use a kick board very sparingly. I would NOT recommend one to a runner/biker trying to become a triathlete. Several reasons: (1) since these folks tend to train leg muscle groups that are antagonistic to muscle groups they use for kicking (or so my college coach told me) they are probably not going to ever become great kickers, and they may mess up their legs for the other training they do. (2) they will need their legs for the other two portions of the race, and they should learn to swim without relying on kicking for too much propulsion. Most important of all, (3) the reason most runners can't kick worth a darn (and may even go backwards when they try) has little to do with weak kicking muscles. Their problem is that their ankles are so inflexible, they can't point their toes very much or for very long, and every time they kick down with their foot perpendicular to their leg, it's like dropping an anchor off of their backsides. To fix the flexibility, they do not need a kickboard to help them kick harder; they need a set of swim fins to help them point their toes, and loosen up their ankles. (And incidentally, fins can make slow drilling to work on pollishing their stroke mechanics a whole lot easier.)
I do not know if you fit in that category, but it is food for thought.
Matt
Joanne,
Just a technical point: although most coaches do use kickboards in some fashion or another, there is a minority view that they are not beneficial. The reasoning is pretty similar to what Victoria described. These folks feel that isolating a muscle group provides less benefit to you than what you lose by learning to kick in an unnatural position.
I personally use a kick board very sparingly. I would NOT recommend one to a runner/biker trying to become a triathlete. Several reasons: (1) since these folks tend to train leg muscle groups that are antagonistic to muscle groups they use for kicking (or so my college coach told me) they are probably not going to ever become great kickers, and they may mess up their legs for the other training they do. (2) they will need their legs for the other two portions of the race, and they should learn to swim without relying on kicking for too much propulsion. Most important of all, (3) the reason most runners can't kick worth a darn (and may even go backwards when they try) has little to do with weak kicking muscles. Their problem is that their ankles are so inflexible, they can't point their toes very much or for very long, and every time they kick down with their foot perpendicular to their leg, it's like dropping an anchor off of their backsides. To fix the flexibility, they do not need a kickboard to help them kick harder; they need a set of swim fins to help them point their toes, and loosen up their ankles. (And incidentally, fins can make slow drilling to work on pollishing their stroke mechanics a whole lot easier.)
I do not know if you fit in that category, but it is food for thought.
Matt
