I have two questions.
1)When someone refers to 2 beat or 6 beat for a kick, is that per stroke or is that per two strokes (left arm, then right arm)?
2)It may just be me, but it seems impossible to count my kicks if I am trying to keep track of how many are in one stroke. It's like when people can pat their head while rubbing their stomach in circles...Is there another way to count the "beats" or do you have to be some citizen of waterworld?
Let’s not say it’s impossible to do 4, 5 or 8 beat kick. However, only 2 and 6 (10 or 14 would also work, but not many would want to sustain this) give you the symmetry of the hand entering and the opposite leg down kicking.
As I mentioned before, with a 2-beat kick your right leg kicks down as your left hand enters the water, followed by the left leg kicking down while the right hand enters the water. A 6-beat is right leg kicks down as your left hand enters the water, then kick left, right, followed by the left leg kicking down while the right hand enters the water, then kick right, left. Then back to the beginning.
A 4-beat kick would be right leg kicks down as your left hand enters the water, then kick left, followed by the right leg kicking down while the right hand enters the water, then kick left. Then back to the beginning. This ends up with a right leg kick with both left hand entry and right hand entry. The same would hold true for an 8-beat kick. Again, it’s not impossible, it’s just not balanced.
While swimming can get real technical, the timing of your kick should get to where it is as natural as swinging your arms as you walk or run. And how often when running or walking do you have to concentrate on swinging the left arm forward when your right leg is coming forward?
Rob, are you saying that swimmers either kick a 2 beat or 6 beat and nothing else (for example, 4 beat or 8 beat) because it's just not possible due to the balance thing you are referring to?
I didn't think of it that way, but that's true.
My intention was to figure out for myself what the ideal beat would be because a couple of my friends and I are on a triathlon schedule for the next 4 years, where the first one is only a 1/4 mile ocean swim, to the last, I believe a 2.4 mile ocean swim.
I was going to experiment between several beats to see what is ideal to conserve energy without negating speed, but since there are only two I have to worry about, 2 and 6 beat, it is a lot easier to figure out.
Hey Rob,
I just hit the pool and for some reason, I can't get my kick to slow down to two beats. If I don't use my arms, and just kick, I can do it (well, what I think would be two beats), but if I add my arms into it, I can't coordinate it? My brain just tells my brain to kick as fast as I can.
Is there a drill or something you can recommend?
Thanks.
1) It is per two strokes (left arm, then right arm).
2) In a typical 2-beat kick your right leg kicks down as your left hand enters the water, followed by the left leg kicking down while the right hand enters the water. If you do more kicking than this 1-kick per arm, then you are most likely doing a 6-beat. Any other number less than 10 won’t allow for the left leg-right arm; right leg-left arm pattern, which is important in maintaining balance in your stroke.
Originally posted by gull80
That used to be the case, but not anymore. Lars Jensen, silver medalist in the 1500, uses a six beat kick. In fact, the American coaches decided the distance swimmers would need a six beat kick to compete with Hackett in Athens.
One has to keep in mind of course whether one is willing to undertake as much training as someone like Lars, and also that Lars wasn't competing in a triathlon.
This is not to say triathletes shouldn't use a six beat kick, but that one can't conclude that they should based on what works for an 18(?) year old olympic swimmer with a swim training schedule far beyond what may be practical for a typical triathlete.
Lars had a six beat kick already, but others (like Chris Thompson) switched from a two beat kick. Bill Rose believes it improves balance. The key, he says, is kicking enough to improve balance but not so much that you expend a lot of energy. His workouts include at least 30% kicking.
