Help My Flutter Kick is Horrible!

congratulations you have made serious improvements on your flutter kick remember the last thing I wrote in the post about how to improve your kick I swear this WILL WORK you are now proof of that! Blue Horn's times for all out 25 streamline flutter kick 03/25 :20 03/18 :22 03/04 :24 OK here's a few things to add to the mix 1) distance per kick drills concentrate on feeling the water with your feet and shins and going further with each kick don't worry about time, count your kicks 2) fast 50 kicks you are ready to add fast 50 kicks to the mix so now start training and testing 25's and 50's if you're kicking a 50 with no board, take one arm pull into the turn and flip it splitting becomes inportant for 50's and up you need to learn how to kick fast but hold back a little to save some energy for your last 25 3) time to 10ths of a sec start doing your test kicks with a timer on a stop watch 4) short sprint kicks Do a few 10 yard, 12.5 yard and 15 yard all out kicking blasts to improve your all out kicking speed take lots of rest 5) self talk / belief add self talk while you're kicking, just repeat "I'm a fast kicker" the more you believe it the faster you'll kick 6) kick while you swim learn to use your new kick when you sprint freestyle swim so do a few sprint 25's where you concentrate on blasting your legs, stick with a 2 beat for longer stuff 7) streamline dolphin kicking start training and testing sprint streamline dolphin kicking 8) test and train with a board from a push Blue Horn you have made significant improvements on your flutter kick and i believe you have much more are ahead of you I'm proud of you and happy for you. Ande ps anyone else out there want to give this a try? Originally posted by Blue Horn I did my weekly timing and did much better than I thought I could. I had someone time me on the pace clock and did three all out kicks from a dive off the blocks for 25 yards. I went 21, 20 and 20. I didn't think I would hit that number for a while. Better yet in my main kick set I did a 12 x 25 yards all of which were uner 30 except my last two and they were 30 and 31. I has hitting anywhere from 27 to 29 (during the week I have been training at a 25 meter pool which I think has helped too)! When I started three weeks ago, I seriously had a hard time getting down below 40 and by the end my 6th 25 (yards) I was getting closer to 45. I still can't believe what three weeks of following your advice has done for my kick! I just figured it was a breastroker thing and I would always have a horrible flutter kick. Don't get me wrong, I know that I am still snail slow, but the improvement has been far beyond what I thought I could accomplish in this time period. I can't explain how excited I am right now. Thinking back on everything I think the fins really hurt my kick. It was like I couldn't feel the water when I took them off. But I couldn't keep up without them. When I start swimming with the team again, I will just do shorter distances if I have to. I really think that developing a feel for the water with my feet and my shins has been the biggest improvement for me. That and bending my knees. Before, I was trying to keep my legs completly straight and kick with my ankles only. Trust me, that doesn't work. Thanks for all your help Ande. It has really paid off thus far. Hook'em Blue

I did my weekly timing and did much better than I thought I could. I had someone time me on the pace clock and did three all out kicks from a dive off the blocks for 25 yards. I went 21, 20 and 20. I didn't think I would hit that number for a while. Better yet in my main kick set I did a 12 x 25 yards all of which were uner 30 except my last two and they were 30 and 31. I has hitting anywhere from 27 to 29 (during the week I have been training at a 25 meter pool which I think has helped too)! When I started three weeks ago, I seriously had a hard time getting down below 40 and by the end my 6th 25 (yards) I was getting closer to 45. I still can't believe what three weeks of following your advice has done for my kick! I just figured it was a breastroker thing and I would always have a horrible flutter kick. Don't get me wrong, I know that I am still snail slow, but the improvement has been far beyond what I thought I could accomplish in this time period. I can't explain how excited I am right now. Thinking back on everything I think the fins really hurt my kick. It was like I couldn't feel the water when I took them off. But I couldn't keep up without them. When I start swimming with the team again, I will just do shorter distances if I have to. I really think that developing a feel for the water with my feet and my shins has been the biggest improvement for me. That and bending my knees. Before, I was trying to keep my legs completly straight and kick with my ankles only. Trust me, that doesn't work. Thanks for all your help Ande. It has really paid off thus far. Hook'em Blue

any updates?

LJ, So how are you doing? Have you been trying the workout? Ande, I hear you meet Coach Barton. He has put me over in my own lane until I get back into shape again (after the latest baby was born 6 months ago I have not been able to hit the pool regularly until recently) and develop a better kick. This Wed. I kicked a 250 with a centermount snorkel and without a board and held around 35 second per 25. Although, I really started fading on that last 50. Today I did 5 x 25 coming in on the 27 to 29 and leaving on one minute. Then I did 10 x 50 on 2 minute intervals coming in at 1:05 and under except for two intervals where I came in around 1:07. The one thing I noticed is that I feel more streamlined in my hips (if that makes any sense) and I have a tighter but easier kick. I think most of it is just learning to feel the water. Next week I make work in a set of 75s. Hook'em Blue

I don't think it's necessary, you might be like jeff, try sitting on your feet in a hot bath or rock on your feet when you watch TV also you'll kick faster if you consistently train you'll kick faster when you lose weight also work on SDK, streamline dolphin kicking ande Originally posted by Blue Horn Ande, What do you think about trying the rack? I noticed that my left foot is not near as flexible as my right and that I don't get as much push out of my left leg kick. In fact, I will drift to the left if I am not paying attention. I was thinking about doing some stretches for my feet and ankles to help my kick. What do you think?

any updates? are you continuing with the sprint kick training? ande

I just finished up with a long trial (out of town), so I am just now getting back into my work-out routine. Yesterday, I did a 4 x 50 (yards) kick set with a board (for the first time without fins) on 1:15, holding a 1:06 (coach timed). I was supposed to do 6 sets, but I am just way too out of shape after a month off for trial. I couldn't believe that I was holding those times. I would have never thought I could kick that fast (relatively speaking of course). Now I just have to get this ten pounds of trial weight off of my gut. Thanks again for all of your support and encouragement. It really has helped. Hook'em Blue

Ande, What do you think about trying the rack? I noticed that my left foot is not near as flexible as my right and that I don't get as much push out of my left leg kick. In fact, I will drift to the left if I am not paying attention. I was thinking about doing some stretches for my feet and ankles to help my kick. What do you think?

Originally posted by ande OK here's a few things to add to the mix 1) distance per kick drills concentrate on feeling the water with your feet and shins and going further with each kick don't worry about time, count your kicks 2) fast 50 kicks you are ready to add fast 50 kicks to the mix so now start training and testing 25's and 50's if you're kicking a 50 with no board, take one arm pull into the turn and flip it splitting becomes inportant for 50's and up you need to learn how to kick fast but hold back a little to save some energy for your last 25 3) time to 10ths of a sec start doing your test kicks with a timer on a stop watch 4) short sprint kicks Do a few 10 yard, 12.5 yard and 15 yard all out kicking blasts to improve your all out kicking speed take lots of rest 5) self talk / belief add self talk while you're kicking, just repeat "I'm a fast kicker" the more you believe it the faster you'll kick 6) kick while you swim learn to use your new kick when you sprint freestyle swim so do a few sprint 25's where you concentrate on blasting your legs, stick with a 2 beat for longer stuff 7) streamline dolphin kicking start training and testing sprint streamline dolphin kicking 8) test and train with a board from a push I have been incorporating some of these points this week and last week. I have been focusing on distance per kick (150 SCM for warm up!), sprinting with a 6 beat kick and developing a stronger two beat kick at longer distances. I have also been doing SDK and breastroke kicking. I am very happy that I am actually getting some push out of my kick even when I do longer distances with a two beat kick. Better yet, I am finally starting to develop a rythm for a 6 beat kick (or at least something more than 2) on short distances. It has really made a difference in my swimming. I am really looking forward to seeing were I am at by the end of the summer.

Hey Ande, I did a 300 LCM flutter kick set! I really didn't go that slow either! I am really really stoked right now. I am trying to work at a sustained 6 beat kick, but it just isn't there yet. Anything over a hundred (LCM) even at a moderate pace and I am beat. I am getting much more push out of my two beat kick. Hook'em Blue