Does anyone else here NOT kick when they swim freestyle?
When I was 19, a coach told me that a lot of "real" freestylers don't kick, which was a surprise to me because every other coach I'd had would yell at me to kick during my events. I grew up thinking I was the odd one out, but maybe someone on here knows what I'm talking about...
Try to find a "real" freestyler who swims the 50 free who doesn't kick.
Kicking is paramount in a spring freestyle event. It becomes less and less central to the race as the distance goes up. Kicking for most people burns a lot of oxygen, and generates a lot of lactic acid.
Kicking can always be beneficial. When I was in college, I could do 100's kick on a 1:20 interval without a lot of difficulty. But it would take a couple thousand yards of swimming to work that lactic acid out of my body.
If you can get a strong, efficient, kick going in a distance event... you're golden.
-Rick
Try to find a "real" freestyler who swims the 50 free who doesn't kick.
Kicking is paramount in a spring freestyle event. It becomes less and less central to the race as the distance goes up. Kicking for most people burns a lot of oxygen, and generates a lot of lactic acid.
Kicking can always be beneficial. When I was in college, I could do 100's kick on a 1:20 interval without a lot of difficulty. But it would take a couple thousand yards of swimming to work that lactic acid out of my body.
If you can get a strong, efficient, kick going in a distance event... you're golden.
-Rick
