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
Parents
Former Member
Thanks ande. I see fartlek kicking in my future.
Doesn't the checkpoint or checkmark apply more to backstroke?
I strongly encourage you to do the fartlek kicking Fort. It really helps. Paul reccommended it and I have been doing it for the past couple of weeks and already I can see positive results. It's not pleasant: my legs ache and I am out of breath after only 50m but my times are improving. You have to concentrate on form the whole time; even when the legs are aching from lactate acid buld-up.
Re: integrating your flutter into your freestyle, one thing that has helped me is to do a 6-beat kick all the time. I try to keep my legs moving, even if the kick is very light. I liked Ande's suggestion of gears.
Again, more excellent advice. If you want to improve the integration of your kick into your freestyle, practice it the whole time. Try shifting gears as Ande suggests. Changing from a 2 beat to a 4 beat to a 6 beat. Do this even while you are warming up and warming down. Don't let up on it. Not even when when you are doing that stretching out 200 after a really killer set. After a while it will become second nature.
Syd
Thanks ande. I see fartlek kicking in my future.
Doesn't the checkpoint or checkmark apply more to backstroke?
I strongly encourage you to do the fartlek kicking Fort. It really helps. Paul reccommended it and I have been doing it for the past couple of weeks and already I can see positive results. It's not pleasant: my legs ache and I am out of breath after only 50m but my times are improving. You have to concentrate on form the whole time; even when the legs are aching from lactate acid buld-up.
Re: integrating your flutter into your freestyle, one thing that has helped me is to do a 6-beat kick all the time. I try to keep my legs moving, even if the kick is very light. I liked Ande's suggestion of gears.
Again, more excellent advice. If you want to improve the integration of your kick into your freestyle, practice it the whole time. Try shifting gears as Ande suggests. Changing from a 2 beat to a 4 beat to a 6 beat. Do this even while you are warming up and warming down. Don't let up on it. Not even when when you are doing that stretching out 200 after a really killer set. After a while it will become second nature.
Syd
