Geochuck's Kicking is a Total Waste of Time Thread
Former Member
It is necessary to have someone point out flaws in your stroke. Legs must do their part for sure. If your legs are dragging it is not going to help you. I have never said don't kick. Your butt has to be up, your heels have to be close to the surface. I would rather see a kick that keeps the body level so the arms can do their work.
I do not see how a two beat kick can be effective but some make it work for them.
Everthing has to work together or you do not get faster.
2) maybe this group of subjects had less low hanging fruit to pick than a person who is a poor kicker
:rofl:
Sorry......couldn't resist.
Now I'll be serious. I think everyone's stroke is different. I beleive sprinters need a strong, fast kick. Distance swimmers usually CAN'T kick fast......leg muscles use up a lot of O2 needed for endurance events. My kick is extremely important to my speed and stroke. People tease me and say I have a 10 beat kick. My upper body strength stinks...I get lapped on pull sets.
So perhaps the answer is to SLOW DOWN and pay REALLY CLOSE ATTENTION to your kick while swimming.
This would also qualify as a kicking set, however you would be doing full stroke swimming. It is just that the focus would be on kicking while swimming instead of say a focus on hand entry or elbow position.
For me, this is the most difficult exercise. It is far easier for me to grind out lots of kicking sets with a board. While there has been quite a big improvement in my kicking and (probably most importantly) a strengthening of my core and an increase in aerobic capacity as a direct result of kicking sets, I still fear that it hasn't helped me much in my swimming. I think I have got better at kicking with a board but haven't improved much in integrating that kick into my swimming stroke.
I find it very difficult to maintain concentration on my kick. I can manage about 50m of a 200 and then my mind wanders off only to come again in the final 50, by which point I am so exhausted that I can't kick anyway. The only way for me to do it is to slow right down and do 25's or 50's.
Lindsay and Syd do you guys have a coach/instructor or is everything you do on your own.
It seems you are both following an unsupervised coaching/instructor experience and are following instructions from a book or off the net or even what you glean off this site. Seeing something on youtube or a DVD and doing is not the same, someone must tell you what you are doing.
Is there any one helping you???
One thing I did that I think helped was to throw away the kickboard. I'll grab one out of the bin on (rare) occasion, but by-in-large do all my kicking boardless. While it might be a little slower and doesn't promote social kicking, kicking without a board puts your body in a more realistic swimming position.
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One thing I did that I think helped was to throw away the kickboard. I'll grab one out of the bin on (rare) occasion, but by-in-large do all my kicking boardless. While it might be a little slower and doesn't promote social kicking, kicking without a board puts your body in a more realistic swimming position.
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I totally agree.
I threw out the board 20 years ago when I started back swimming with Masters (kinda pinching my neck a lot and causing problems, too.)
Kicking training included no equipment and equipment (e.g., boards and fins).
The study doesn't suggest that kicking without a board is any better than kicking with one.
The study doesn't suggest that kicking without a board is any better than kicking with one.
I do both (with and without board). The current trend seems to denigrate the kickboard but I think it is just fine, helpful to build leg/core strength and conditioning. It can be stressful on shoulders and neck, though; not good to overdo it.
I think the key is to kick with intensity. The most common mistake (made by swimmers and coaches alike) is to treat kick sets as recovery between "real" sets.
