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
I think all swimmers should do SDK's off turns during practice (unless they have a physical reason for avoiding, like lower back or hip issues for example).
Here's my logic: Even if you're a fitness swimmer with no interest in ever ever competing or a competition swimmer who should never ever actually use the sdk in competition (I think this is me), doing SDK's in practice:
1. Is great core work and a heckuva lot more fun than crunches
2. Provides good breath control
3. Improves your streamline (you might as well work on your streamline if you're going to SDK... that is what the 'S' stands for after all)
3. Helps out your shoulders by probably reducing your stroke count by 1 or 2 in freestyle
4. Is a very sneaky way to get in a decent amount of dolphin kicking over the course of a practice for those of us who LOATHE kick sets of a non-breaststroke nature
5. After enough time, all that dolphin kicking can only help your butterfly...
For the competitive swimmers out there, if you're training for a big end of season meet like Nationals/Zones/States, see if you can test the SDK out at an in-season meet (if you're lucky enough to have some in your area). I agree it's good to test out the SDK vs. flutter kick at practice, but it's even better to try it at a meet. Thing is, you don't want to try it out at your shave and taper meet.
I think all swimmers should do SDK's off turns during practice (unless they have a physical reason for avoiding, like lower back or hip issues for example).
Here's my logic: Even if you're a fitness swimmer with no interest in ever ever competing or a competition swimmer who should never ever actually use the sdk in competition (I think this is me), doing SDK's in practice:
1. Is great core work and a heckuva lot more fun than crunches
2. Provides good breath control
3. Improves your streamline (you might as well work on your streamline if you're going to SDK... that is what the 'S' stands for after all)
3. Helps out your shoulders by probably reducing your stroke count by 1 or 2 in freestyle
4. Is a very sneaky way to get in a decent amount of dolphin kicking over the course of a practice for those of us who LOATHE kick sets of a non-breaststroke nature
5. After enough time, all that dolphin kicking can only help your butterfly...
For the competitive swimmers out there, if you're training for a big end of season meet like Nationals/Zones/States, see if you can test the SDK out at an in-season meet (if you're lucky enough to have some in your area). I agree it's good to test out the SDK vs. flutter kick at practice, but it's even better to try it at a meet. Thing is, you don't want to try it out at your shave and taper meet.
