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.
coachsci.sdsu.edu/.../costill.htm
"Pulling alone produced only 51% of the power that was produced when the whole stroke was tested. Strong kickers were found to gain substantially more than weak or two-beat kickers when kicking was integrated into the stroke. It is erroneous to conclude that kicking contributes 49% of swimming power. Rather, the addition of the kick allows the arms to perform more powerfully. The contribution of the kick and its main function is to maintain body position while developing additional power."
coachsci.sdsu.edu/.../costill.htm
"Pulling alone produced only 51% of the power that was produced when the whole stroke was tested. Strong kickers were found to gain substantially more than weak or two-beat kickers when kicking was integrated into the stroke. It is erroneous to conclude that kicking contributes 49% of swimming power. Rather, the addition of the kick allows the arms to perform more powerfully. The contribution of the kick and its main function is to maintain body position while developing additional power."
