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

You guys make some good points (and some not so good points) - but if somebody told they did a test like that, I am guessing 90% of us would have said that the kicking group will improve. I think the biggest lesson here is that all training has to be as specific as possible. I like these type of studies and I remember one where they compared 2 groups training on stationary bikes - group A was using a regular stationary bike and group B used one where you almost lay down --- both groups improved a lot on their specific bikes - but the "cross-training" effect was very poor. I think a lot of swimmers have the same problem in kicking - kicking with a board is quite different from the kick people use while swimming. The body position and angle of the feet are different.

You guys make some good points (and some not so good points) - but if somebody told they did a test like that, I am guessing 90% of us would have said that the kicking group will improve. I think the biggest lesson here is that all training has to be as specific as possible. I like these type of studies and I remember one where they compared 2 groups training on stationary bikes - group A was using a regular stationary bike and group B used one where you almost lay down --- both groups improved a lot on their specific bikes - but the "cross-training" effect was very poor. I think a lot of swimmers have the same problem in kicking - kicking with a board is quite different from the kick people use while swimming. The body position and angle of the feet are different.