Now that I've finally managed to get my 2-beat freestyle kick timing more or less corrected (left leg kicking down on right hand entry, etc.), I'm wondering if the same principle applies to the backstroke kick?
Most backstroke kicking advice I've seen seems to be of the "just kick continuously" variety.
Does it make sense to work on kicking up with the opposite foot at hand entry in backstroke?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Former Member
The above replies are all very informative, thanks! Thanks quicksilver for the great picture! :D
I tried backstroke again today. I can't keep kicking quickly and frequently. Though my kick is strictly 6-beat, it's actually almost near a 2-beat kick, because only the first kick is a real kick, the following 2 kicks are sort of the "residual bounces" of the first one brought by inertia. This seems to be working ok for me since I have no speed demand, just learning to swim backstroke. Whenever I start kicking more frequently I lost the rhythm and slows down. If I don't kick too much, but keep legs straight, I glide more smoothly on the water :) I wonder if there are others doing similarly?
I've been thinking about your issue here with not being able to kick quickly and frequently and thus losing the timing and here's a thought. Your 6-beat kick may be happening more quickly than your arm turnover which would naturally cause a timing problem. It may depend upon "how" quickly you are 6-beat-kicking. You can actually slowly 6-beat kick and infuse it into your stroke pattern to get that feel for a perfect timing between the stroke and the 6-beat kick. Once that works for you, you can then increase both the kicking and arm turnover. Most backstrokers I know DO spend a lot of time kicking with their arms over their head (body position and lifts the diagphragm). And quicksilver was correct about the position of the feet. Make sure only the toes break the surface of the water and not the entire foot. I used to spend many workouts back-kicking and side-kicking and it really develops the hamstrings to boot!
Happy backstroking; my favorite stroke!
Donna
two kicks on the left, two center, and two on the right.
The beauty of this pattern is it aids the body rotation because as one is completing the armstroke portion and pushing downward to get into the next pull phase, the hips automatically rotate the body to the other side and, thus, it streamlines the body.
Perfect description.
Donna, thank you very much for your suggestions about kicking. I will practice more just the kicking. It may be that my legs are not flexible or strong enough.
I also like backstroke very much. I don't know why many people don't.
If you are going for speed then you have to kick all out and gradually add in arms and arm speed in practice. For a 200 back the kick should still be at the same pace just not as hard. I kick maybe 8-10 times per stroke, and, like any other stroke, the kick is probably 70-80% of your propulsive force if done properly at a high speed. Make it work for you. Don't lose even one moment of kicking time in a race.
That is why fast kickers in practice are always the fastest swimmers in meets, whereas fast pullers are often workout warriors who don't go any faster in meets than in practice.
Backstroke, like freestyle, is not a rhythm stroke. It is all out kick combined with arm speed and they are independent of each other. There is no timing issue, except in a 800 or 1500 free. Even then, the top distance swimmers are using a 6 beat kick in those races. The 400 is more or less a sprint with a full kick now.
