Geochuck's: Kicking is a Total Waste of Time Thread

I agree Nelson! Maybe the best would be not to practice at all? There are many different ways follow in order to swim faster, and I do not think one way fits all. But if we do not have too much time to spend in the pool, I think it is important to spend it wisely. In the end - we do not compete in 50m Kick (even though I know that also is an event, but not for us swimmers!) or 50m with huge paddles, but in 50m plain swimming. So this is for me the most important part to practice. I can still focus more on hands, stroke or kick. All other things are nice extras to create variety, add some extra focus training on weak details etc, sometimes necessary. Do I do Kicking? Yes I do. Do I use paddles? Yes I do. Do I have a good dry-land program? Yes I do. But most part is still swimming is without tools. That is the only time I have the correct balance in the water and use the muscles in the same way as when I compete. By focusing on different aspects of your swimming you can probably get a lot of results without any tools. But sometimes we maybe need that extra tool in order just to get that focus. To be honest - all of us who believe that kicking is important, do we always use our kick during practice as we should? For me it is soooo easy to let it go and use a sloppy 2beat kick during endurance swimming. Maybe THAT is where I should start to focus? Put on that powerful 6 beat and let my legs work. Puuh... just the thought gets me tired! Another interesting thing I sometimes try is to test what works best for me: a) start with a strong kick and let the arms follow b) start with a strong stroke and let the kick follow Today, alternative a works best for me. Swimming fast is a mix af strong stroke and kick. How to find your optimal mix is up to you (and your coach)! Good luck!

I agree Nelson! Maybe the best would be not to practice at all? There are many different ways follow in order to swim faster, and I do not think one way fits all. But if we do not have too much time to spend in the pool, I think it is important to spend it wisely. In the end - we do not compete in 50m Kick (even though I know that also is an event, but not for us swimmers!) or 50m with huge paddles, but in 50m plain swimming. So this is for me the most important part to practice. I can still focus more on hands, stroke or kick. All other things are nice extras to create variety, add some extra focus training on weak details etc, sometimes necessary. Do I do Kicking? Yes I do. Do I use paddles? Yes I do. Do I have a good dry-land program? Yes I do. But most part is still swimming is without tools. That is the only time I have the correct balance in the water and use the muscles in the same way as when I compete. By focusing on different aspects of your swimming you can probably get a lot of results without any tools. But sometimes we maybe need that extra tool in order just to get that focus. To be honest - all of us who believe that kicking is important, do we always use our kick during practice as we should? For me it is soooo easy to let it go and use a sloppy 2beat kick during endurance swimming. Maybe THAT is where I should start to focus? Put on that powerful 6 beat and let my legs work. Puuh... just the thought gets me tired! Another interesting thing I sometimes try is to test what works best for me: a) start with a strong kick and let the arms follow b) start with a strong stroke and let the kick follow Today, alternative a works best for me. Swimming fast is a mix af strong stroke and kick. How to find your optimal mix is up to you (and your coach)! Good luck!