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...
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Former Member
I have a friend who is struggling with this at the moment, lately he has been doing very well in pull sets and not very well in full-stroke sets. Any suggestions on the likely cause and cure?
I had that problem when I joined Masters three years ago. I "cured" it by improving my conditioning--sets of 200s (no buoy), then 300s, 400s, ladders, etc. I did try a four-beat kick (after a lifetime of two-beat kicking), and had a coach watch my stroke to determine whether I was rotating enough or letting my hips sink. In the end, the key for me was better conditioning. I switch between a two- and four-beat kick now.
If the original question was the role of the freestyle kick, I don't think you can say unequivocally that it's not propulsive--at the very least providing some propulsion during the deceleration phase of the stroke cycle (that's where the car analogy comes up short). Clearly there is an important role in balance--which is why it's easier to swim with a pull buoy. The energy cost of kicking is higher, thus requiring better condioning. It is my understanding that Jensen worked very hard on his kick. While he didn't beat Hackett, his silver medal swim in Athens was phenomonal. He nailed his splits, which incidentally were written on his kick board in practice.
I have a friend who is struggling with this at the moment, lately he has been doing very well in pull sets and not very well in full-stroke sets. Any suggestions on the likely cause and cure?
I had that problem when I joined Masters three years ago. I "cured" it by improving my conditioning--sets of 200s (no buoy), then 300s, 400s, ladders, etc. I did try a four-beat kick (after a lifetime of two-beat kicking), and had a coach watch my stroke to determine whether I was rotating enough or letting my hips sink. In the end, the key for me was better conditioning. I switch between a two- and four-beat kick now.
If the original question was the role of the freestyle kick, I don't think you can say unequivocally that it's not propulsive--at the very least providing some propulsion during the deceleration phase of the stroke cycle (that's where the car analogy comes up short). Clearly there is an important role in balance--which is why it's easier to swim with a pull buoy. The energy cost of kicking is higher, thus requiring better condioning. It is my understanding that Jensen worked very hard on his kick. While he didn't beat Hackett, his silver medal swim in Athens was phenomonal. He nailed his splits, which incidentally were written on his kick board in practice.
