I'm a 65 year old male just getting in Masters Swimming. My freestyle kick is probably the worst in the world and my 50 yd time 59 sec proves it.
When I kick with a board I don't move at hardly at all and by 10 yds I'm beat.
BTW I have used the Total Immersion Drill where you kick on your side with one hand extended and that way I can kick several laps, slow but at least I can move.
If you can point me to a web site or book or give me some hints to improve my kick.
Thanks,
Bob
Bob,
Since you can kick on your side, why not evaluate what works for you that way? You could be kicking too high (a lot of splashing does not equal good kicking) or too stiff legged. On your side, both of these issues will generate propulsion, where they will not on your front.
You need to kick down, as if you were kicking a soccer ball, pointing the toes and with the toes of opposite feet pointed slightly toward each other (pigeontoed). Relax and bend your knees to generate a whipping motion as you kick down. On the recovery (feet and legs coming back toward the surface of the water), relax your ankles and let your feet come back to the surface without trying to create any propulsion. Once you feel your heels reach the surface of the water, repeat the kick.
This is very basic instruction and will probably get jumped by a lot of people who mean well and have the latest version of great kicking memorized. But the thing is for you to find a way to get forward motion from you legs, and once you are comfortable doing that, you can tune your kick to suit your needs.
Best of luck, and welcome to the DF!
Bob,
Since you can kick on your side, why not evaluate what works for you that way? You could be kicking too high (a lot of splashing does not equal good kicking) or too stiff legged. On your side, both of these issues will generate propulsion, where they will not on your front.
You need to kick down, as if you were kicking a soccer ball, pointing the toes and with the toes of opposite feet pointed slightly toward each other (pigeontoed). Relax and bend your knees to generate a whipping motion as you kick down. On the recovery (feet and legs coming back toward the surface of the water), relax your ankles and let your feet come back to the surface without trying to create any propulsion. Once you feel your heels reach the surface of the water, repeat the kick.
This is very basic instruction and will probably get jumped by a lot of people who mean well and have the latest version of great kicking memorized. But the thing is for you to find a way to get forward motion from you legs, and once you are comfortable doing that, you can tune your kick to suit your needs.
Best of luck, and welcome to the DF!
