I am slow, and when I mean slow, I mean slow. I can do a 26 sec 50 with fins, but without I come in just under 1:20! I think a big part of it is just taking the fins off and doing a lot of kick sets to learn to feel the water better with my feet. I have a good breaststroke kick so I don't think my problem is an overly weak pair of legs, although they could be in better shape. Also, myankles are fairly flexible as I can point my toes and make my feet bend backwards past an even position with my shins. However, I do think that I need to loosen up my ankles when I kick. I feel like I get more out of my kick for those brief moments when I allow my ankles to snap back and forth with my kick. I think I actually need to relax more to kick faster as weird as that sounds.
I suppose the answer to my question is that I simply need to take of the fins and do kick set after kick set until I learn to feel the water better with my feet and become more efficient.
Parents
Former Member
Wow... just wow. (smacks forehead)
Kicking is important to body position, and propulsion. I'm with Ande on this one.
Don't smack your head to hard, just causes a headache.
I agree that having a streamlined kick will help with body position, but how much propulsion does it really add if you are an average kicker? As masters swimmers, not elite or college or age groupers, with limited amounts of time to train, are we better off focusing on whole stroke swimming sets where our kick training is part of the whole stroke swimming training?
Wouldn't pulling sets(no paddles, just a buoy or ankle strap) improve our swimming at a far greater rate than kicking sets?
I know a lot of swimmers on here are great kickers, Ande, Fort, Chris S. and spend a lot of their races underwater on fly and back, so that does make sense for them to devote the time to kicking only sets but for those of us that are better on top of the water, how much can we really expect to benefit from kicking only sets?
Wow... just wow. (smacks forehead)
Kicking is important to body position, and propulsion. I'm with Ande on this one.
Don't smack your head to hard, just causes a headache.
I agree that having a streamlined kick will help with body position, but how much propulsion does it really add if you are an average kicker? As masters swimmers, not elite or college or age groupers, with limited amounts of time to train, are we better off focusing on whole stroke swimming sets where our kick training is part of the whole stroke swimming training?
Wouldn't pulling sets(no paddles, just a buoy or ankle strap) improve our swimming at a far greater rate than kicking sets?
I know a lot of swimmers on here are great kickers, Ande, Fort, Chris S. and spend a lot of their races underwater on fly and back, so that does make sense for them to devote the time to kicking only sets but for those of us that are better on top of the water, how much can we really expect to benefit from kicking only sets?
