Originally posted by Paul Smith
Here's the deal folks...forget about weights...if you REALLY want to make a significant break through in your swimming relative to competition stop swimming for 4-8 weeks and go to kick only workouts...as you ease back into swimming you will have the opportunity to "learn" how to integrate a new and powerful element to your stroke...something that 90% of the swimmers I see competing do not do well....
This really caught my attention. I seem to have been hearing this a lot lately: people coming back after a shoulder op, doing kick only workouts and then having their best seasons ever.
I don't doubt the authenticity of it either. I am just interested on what is actually going on. Why should this be the case?
Has anyone ever scientifically measured the amount the kick contributes to forward propulsion? I mean ratio wise, compared to the arms, what would it be? 80% arms : 20% legs?
What about the swimmers who are great kickers in workouts but can't translate it into faster swimming?
How do we actually integrate the kick into our swimming so that it becomes a new and powerful element to our stroke as Paul suggests?
Would it be fair to say that a big part of the improvement these (post op/ focus on kicking )swimmers achieve can be attributed to the strengthened core which is a result of the additional kicking. In other words more credit given to the strengthened core than increased forward propulsion.
I don't know. I just throw out these ideas for discussion.
Syd
Jonathan, I have to ask. What's with the hero worship? No disrespect to Mr. Stevenson or Mr. Abrahams, but the way you converse with certain swimmers is absurd. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but I notice a pattern in some of your posts of a champion/loser dichotomy. The Interviews thread is the biggest example. You often imply that there's something mystical or godlike about people who happen to swim a lot faster than other people at the same age.
We all admire the accomplishments of fast swimmers, but why not have your admiration grounded in a little bit of reality? Rich is a fast guy because he's naturally talented and he has diligently applied himself to swimming. He's an exceptional example of what everyone here strives for, most of us with a considerable amount of time and effort. We all know this, so why gush about it?
I agree. Respect good, hero worship blech.
I am sore from all the kicking I've done the last two days. Makes me realize I hadn't been doing any flutter kicking before with my obsession over SDKs.
Jonathan, I have to ask. What's with the hero worship? No disrespect to Mr. Stevenson or Mr. Abrahams, but the way you converse with certain swimmers is absurd. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but I notice a pattern in some of your posts of a champion/loser dichotomy. The Interviews thread is the biggest example. You often imply that there's something mystical or godlike about people who happen to swim a lot faster than other people at the same age.
We all admire the accomplishments of fast swimmers, but why not have your admiration grounded in a little bit of reality? Rich is a fast guy because he's naturally talented and he has diligently applied himself to swimming. He's an exceptional example of what everyone here strives for, most of us with a considerable amount of time and effort. We all know this, so why gush about it?
I agree. Respect good, hero worship blech.
I am sore from all the kicking I've done the last two days. Makes me realize I hadn't been doing any flutter kicking before with my obsession over SDKs.
