Hi, new to the board, back in the pool about 4 months.
Worked up to doing Mo Chambers workouts, but always substituting for fly in the IM's because I just never learned it.
I've always been a lousy kicker, but I bought a pair of Zoomers and quit using the board, which has helped a bunch. I do dolphins front and side and flutter on my back. I just started to dolphin kick off the flip (without the fins), which has really helped reduce stroke count (10 catchup; 13 -- 14 normally; 15 + is a failed lap). I'm 6'2" and dropped from 200+ when I started down to 190 - 195, which feels great.
Today I tried doing the fly legs in the IM's wearing the Zoomers, and I think there's some hope. Can a 44 year old lousy kicker learn to fly? Is it OK to learn with fins? Are there bad habits to watch out for when learning with or without the fins? Or should I forget about fly and just concentrate on the other three strokes?
I'm having a lot of fun swimming again, love the workouts and chat here, and am not afraid of looking like a complete dweeb.
I tried the head-lead underwater kick drill (arms at your side, body-dolphin kick). My first time, I barely moved, flopped around like a fish on land. (This was very recent! I've been swimming fly for years, but I know my technique is screwed up.) My kick is getting better, as I've tried to coordinate the body movements. Like people say, start the pulse in the chest, and let it "whip" down to the legs.
What also helped was thinking about kicking from the hips, and not the legs. By that, I mean that I was trying to imagine kicking with the lower abdomen, and letting the legs trail behind. (That was the feeling, not what was actually happening.) I am getting better wave motion, less stress on the thighs, *and* a stronger kick.
I tried the head-lead underwater kick drill (arms at your side, body-dolphin kick). My first time, I barely moved, flopped around like a fish on land. (This was very recent! I've been swimming fly for years, but I know my technique is screwed up.) My kick is getting better, as I've tried to coordinate the body movements. Like people say, start the pulse in the chest, and let it "whip" down to the legs.
What also helped was thinking about kicking from the hips, and not the legs. By that, I mean that I was trying to imagine kicking with the lower abdomen, and letting the legs trail behind. (That was the feeling, not what was actually happening.) I am getting better wave motion, less stress on the thighs, *and* a stronger kick.
