Dolphin kick start?

I'm a fan of pushing off under water... 4 kicks face down, 4 face right, 4 face up, 4 face left (basically 4 kicks at each orientation rotating underwater... might not have described it great). This should help you with some lung cap (you'll be like 3/4 of the pool underwater) and can help you get a feel for doing the motion. Same drill as the 4 quarter fly kick, but definitely one of my favorites when it comes to fly kick drills!

Yes, I think so! Not that I'm great at either. Regarding getting better distance per stroke, you are quite right about the dolphin kick, good-push-off-the-wall and fewer strokes per length, PLUS you get to rest your arms a little bit. So I am told. When I ask my team to do the turning dolphin kick drill (I call it "Spin the Bottle), they hate it. I don't know why. I love it. Looking up through the water but being underneath and dolphin kicking, I find that very cool, plus I feel it helps me orient myself in any position off the wall. My team does like the title of the drill, however (the one Andy refers to).

Is it easier to learn dolphin kicks than flip turns? :confused:

Here's what we do: Vertical fly kick sets with hands at side, at shoulders, in streamline, and with weight 4 quarter fly kick = 4 kicks fly on each side with the bottom (you looking at the bottom) and two sides (you looking at the right and left) are underwater which promotes better fly kicking on your turns Watch your depth and pitch of your start as well! We teach 4 fast, strong fly kicks into your breakout strokes...

Sounds like an interesting set i'll hafto try sometime coach. Might be a bit tough for a someone who is newer. I'm a fan of pushing off under water... 4 kicks face down, 4 face right, 4 face up, 4 face left (basically 4 kicks at each orientation rotating underwater... might not have described it great). This should help you with some lung cap (you'll be like 3/4 of the pool underwater) and can help you get a feel for doing the motion. I also like to put fins on and go 25's underwater dolphin kick. Should help a bit with power of the kick. Start with fuller dolphin kicks, but i've always been told in a race you should be doing quick small kicks rather then ones with bigger amplitude.

Anita, I don't know specifically what you did wrong, but I suspect I know generally what you did wrong. Call it Fake Dr. Jim's Sports Aphorism #1: If you aren't used to doing a lot of something recently, don't do a lot of it now. I suspect you probably had not tried this particular drill ever before in your life, but it sounded kind of interesting, and you threw yourself into it with an admirable gung-ho spirit. Whatever muscles and connective tissues are involved in the specific movements here were most likely completely blindsided. If you actually used weights, as well, to increase the stress, then chances are your various affected body parts are angry at you right now and feel abused. Let it calm down, avoid further provocative motions, then ease back into it when you're feeling better. The key here is ease....slowly, slowly build up to it over time. At that point, the above aphorism no longer applies because you will, in fact, be used to doing a lot of it by then! Good luck.

yeah it should be easier to learn then flip turns... its a must less complex move.

Vertical fly kick sets with hands at side, at shoulders, in streamline, and with weight I did some vertical kick sets this morning for the first time with no weights. I either strained my hamstring or hyperextended my knee. Hurts like heck. Any idea as to what I did wrong?

I suspect you probably had not tried this particular drill ever before in your life, but it sounded kind of interesting, and you threw yourself into it with an admirable gung-ho spirit. I think that pretty much sums it up, and thanks for putting it into a positive light. I like it when my spirit is admired! I did 1 minute of flutter, 1 minute of dolphin repeat. Didn't sound like much, but I did do it full force. So, yah, the muscles are probably a little pissy at the moment. TG for Advil, and the forced day off Jan 1... I'll be watching the NHL Winter Classic drinking tea instead!

for the record I'm not a fan of vertical kicking fast horizonal kicking for time is the way to go SDK get super fast at 15's & 25's dont think there's a vertical kicking race