Personally, I think kickboards are evil, evil, evil. When I was swimming 20 years ago in high school I didn't see the point, and now that I'm 38 I still don't see the point.
Happily though, I've read in several books and seen on a few video tapes that many coaches have come around to my line of thinking, "Kickboards put you in an unnatural heads-up position, emphasize the least effective part of the stroke (the kick), and keep you from rotating."
Since I see people swim with kickboards every day I know many people disagree with me. But, there's no way they're going to change my mind. Instead - let's vote!
Originally posted by LindsayNB
Most drills (intentionally) sacrifice one aspect of the stroke to isolate another.
I think the argument is that using a kickboard will give you a kick that is different than how you would normally kick during a normal swim. A good drill will have you practice a motion that *will* be coordinated with your full stroke.
Having said that, I like kickboards early in practice. When my lats are tight, holding onto the front of the kickboard helps stretch them.
Originally posted by LindsayNB
Most drills (intentionally) sacrifice one aspect of the stroke to isolate another.
I think the argument is that using a kickboard will give you a kick that is different than how you would normally kick during a normal swim. A good drill will have you practice a motion that *will* be coordinated with your full stroke.
Having said that, I like kickboards early in practice. When my lats are tight, holding onto the front of the kickboard helps stretch them.
