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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Thanks a lot for conducting that test Chris! It's very interesting to see it quantified. I hope you get a chance to do your test on the effect on swimming speed as well, that should say something about the contribution of kicking to swimming. It would also be interesting to see if the difference was less in a swimmer with poor ankle flexibility.
I guess I'll have to add ankle stretching to my resolutions...
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%).
We had a test set today so I was too tired at the end of practice to do much experimenting. But I wanted to compare longer distances -- 50s at least -- and to compare swimming with/without shoes and with/without fists (I suppose mittens would be more comparable). But I was pretty well cooked by the end of practice. :drown:
Syd, I'm glad increased flexibility is helping you; it makes sense, since it is critical in converting the "engine" of core and legs into forward propulsion. If possible, you want your feet to "whip" during the kick, much like fins, and the ankles should be flexible enough to do so. (My knees also hyperextend, which maybe helps on the upkick...but don't go messing with your knees!).
Thanks a lot for conducting that test Chris! It's very interesting to see it quantified. I hope you get a chance to do your test on the effect on swimming speed as well, that should say something about the contribution of kicking to swimming. It would also be interesting to see if the difference was less in a swimmer with poor ankle flexibility.
I guess I'll have to add ankle stretching to my resolutions...
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%).
We had a test set today so I was too tired at the end of practice to do much experimenting. But I wanted to compare longer distances -- 50s at least -- and to compare swimming with/without shoes and with/without fists (I suppose mittens would be more comparable). But I was pretty well cooked by the end of practice. :drown:
Syd, I'm glad increased flexibility is helping you; it makes sense, since it is critical in converting the "engine" of core and legs into forward propulsion. If possible, you want your feet to "whip" during the kick, much like fins, and the ankles should be flexible enough to do so. (My knees also hyperextend, which maybe helps on the upkick...but don't go messing with your knees!).
