OK, I was kicking it in the pool with the seniors and I noticed a recurring theme among all of them.
Everyone was having thier foot exit the water by at least 2 inches. By this I mean the part of the foot from just below the ankle all the way to the toes. I also used to (until about 3 months ago) kick this exact same way until I started focusing on having just my heel break the surface of the water. This has helped me immensely on getting a better 'bite' with my foot and to hold more water.
Am I just crazy or do most swimmers not know the correct way to kick? Heck, I didn't, that's for sure (unless I'm completely off my rocker).
Anyone else find it easier to kick this way?
Fast flutter kickers have great feel for the water with their feet and legs, most SPLASH when they kick fast, their feet are breaking the surface. Part of their foot comes out of the water not sure how much but some.
there's some great up close under over freestyle footage of Phelps on youtube
Years ago when I'd watch shaun jordan flutter kick from underwater, it looked like from his knee to his toes was a fin, I call that the shin fin technique.
Here's my solution to kicking faster
Paul, how fast can you flutter kick a 25, 50, & 100?
on kicking sets, too many swimmers lay back instead of laying waste.
Monster kick is key to fast swimming.
Did fast stuff today and I was fast only when I brought in as big and hard a kick as possible. This type of kick drives the whole stroke from rotation to turnover. Too bad I neglect kick so much. It should be 25% of every workout.
I have a little anecdote on this, for what it's worth of course.
Back to the days I was training with a Varsity team (I was very weak compared the overall level of some other folks). I could easily book sets of 50m kick off 1min, off 55s, but off 50s it would be very problematic. Start hard, touch 45s. 5s rest. Next one would touch 46s. 4s rest. Next would touch 48s. 2s rest. Next? dropped.
One day I was trying to perform one of these and as usual, I was gradually being dropped. At one point the coach (who later became my boss) yields at me: Bend your knees to kick faster and tap on the water!!!
That sole feed back that day was enough for me to stay with the squad, finish the sets, and after that I was already good enough to stay with these guys even on the tightest kick intervals (no one in the squad were kicking off 45sec intervals for 50m kicking sets).
It wasn't a matter of practicing this new way of kicking for few days and see the results afterward. No. That day, that feedback made all the difference between staying with the squad and being dropped.
So for me, it's clear. If I need to run away from a shark (read *not being dropped from a set*), I tap on the water as hard and (more importantly) as fast as I can. And I DO bend the knees to do so.
Last part of that video was great. Tremedous amplitude in his flutter kick.
I think when swimming at "speed" there is a trough and then a crest wave that the feet are hidden in more so than in kick only swimming. Maybe that's why the feet come out more on kick sets.
Phelps uses 5 ft of depth on his entry! I think that type of entry scrubs the least speed due to friction loss and he uses the bouancy to maintain speed of his SDK as he surfaces.
Everyone was having their foot exit the water by at least 2 inches.This sounds about right. As with most good flutter kickers, the heels come out a tad higher during kick sets.
During a swim though...they should be deeper just as you stated. Kicking air isn't productive.
www.floswimming.org/.../87259-kick-set-auburn
This sounds about right. As with most good flutter kickers, the heels come out a tad higher during kick sets.
During a swim though...they should be deeper just as you stated. Kicking air isn't productive.
www.floswimming.org/.../87259-kick-set-auburn
I am very glad that you brought this video forward. It allows me to mention something we've kept forgetting in these last few threads on kicking (although Ande probably mentioned it in his recommendations), an old trick as simple as abc.
When you kick hard and oufff. It is merely sufficient and that you fear you may be dropped, just cheat a bit. Put your head in the water that brings your legs at the surface easing off the kicking a bit. That gives you some speed then you raise the head back up and hold on to the set. And besides, that works on hypoxia (no air) a bit in the same time. Two birds with one stone they call this?
On this clip, the coach seems to be using tubas (French, I do not know in English, pipes maybe?). That allows for the kid to keep the head in the water all the way. I find it's brilliant (as a drill), never thought about it.
I believe that it explains in part why every single kid is tapping on the water, and indirectly why they seem so fast.
A Chinese forum advocates arching your hip part a little bit to help one's kicking whist swimming a full stroke. According to this forum the sequence when doing a kick set is to kick without a borad first, then with a board to force you arch your hip part a little bit to add more difficulties to the kick.
Any thoughts on this one?
A Chinese forum advocates arching your hip part a little bit to help one's kicking whist swimming a full stroke. ...
... Any thoughts on this one? Not sure I would advocate this for beginners, and I am not sure it would help intermediate/advanced level swimmers neither.
Reason for not advocating this among newbies is that it may create some tensions in the lowerback region. It is already hard enough to eliminate all tensions during FreeStyle executions that hmmm. I donno.
