Some time before xmas someone, it might have been Chris Stevenson, posted about a workout where they did a kick set with shoes on, reducing the flexibility of the ankle. He commented that his kicking speed was cut in half. I didn't get around to asking but have been wondering if that was literally true? If the difference is that large perhaps I'll start doing ankle stretches when we are assigned kick sets... :D
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Results from this morning:
-- I used an old pair of tennis shoes. They are buoyant enough to float even when filled with water. I am pretty average size (5'10", size 9 1/2 feet).
-- I did two 25s kick with a board, about 85% effort. Dophin: 13.2, flutter: 15.1.
-- Put the shoes on and repeated: Dophin: 19.6, flutter: 21.4.
So the shoes added slightly more than 6 seconds for each 25; the relative increase is somewhat greater for dophin kick (48%) than for flutter (42%).
Thank you Chris, for these numbers. This really does exemplify the importance of ankle flexibility in swimming/kicking. I have thought it through a little more, and the increased range of motion in the ankles would be of benefit simply from the reduction of drag through-out the kicking motion, as well as increased propulsive surface area, literally changing the body position through the water. It's good to have some numbers to validate this viewpoint.
Happy swimming,
Results from this morning:
-- I used an old pair of tennis shoes. They are buoyant enough to float even when filled with water. I am pretty average size (5'10", size 9 1/2 feet).
-- I did two 25s kick with a board, about 85% effort. Dophin: 13.2, flutter: 15.1.
-- Put the shoes on and repeated: Dophin: 19.6, flutter: 21.4.
So the shoes added slightly more than 6 seconds for each 25; the relative increase is somewhat greater for dophin kick (48%) than for flutter (42%).
Thank you Chris, for these numbers. This really does exemplify the importance of ankle flexibility in swimming/kicking. I have thought it through a little more, and the increased range of motion in the ankles would be of benefit simply from the reduction of drag through-out the kicking motion, as well as increased propulsive surface area, literally changing the body position through the water. It's good to have some numbers to validate this viewpoint.
Happy swimming,
