In general, when I swim with a group, I notice that I usually am at the front on kick sets without fins. When, however, we have sets with fins, I usually fall behind. Why is this?
The other day, I was swimming with the high school group and they were begging to do a 10 x 100 kick with fins on 1:10. No way could I make this. When I suggested doing 10 x 100 kick on 1:45 without fins, nobody thought they could make it. In fact, the coach gave a small set of 100s on 1:45 that was without fins and I thought it was pretty easy while the others could barely make it.
In any case, why do I stink on fin work when I am a pretty strong kicker without the fins? Is this a bad thing?
Lots of great analysis here and it gives me much to think about. I do have incredibly weak ankles, so I do wonder if that might not be a factor. In fact, a podiatrist noted that in order to walk, my ankles are so weak that I've had to make up for it in my hip adductor/abductor area. Not only are my ankles weak, they are not very flexible.
Another thing, a friend mentioned that when I kick, perhaps I use my core and hip abductors/adductors more than most. Could the problem be that I am overly dependent on core and hip adductor/abductor muscles for my kick and thus the fins don't make a big difference?
My one rep max on the hip adductor machine is the entire stack, so I'm thinking the bizarre strength must come from overcompensation. Gee, I wish some of it would pan out on breaststroke, but no such luck. Great for cycling - maybe I should go back to that!
The whole stack? Yikes! You might be onto something with the core & hip explanation.
I have weak ankles too, though in my case it is BECAUSE of the flexibility. I would think fins would actually compensate for inflexible ankles. But you seem to have a strong kick anyway so they can't be that bad.
Lots of great analysis here and it gives me much to think about. I do have incredibly weak ankles, so I do wonder if that might not be a factor. In fact, a podiatrist noted that in order to walk, my ankles are so weak that I've had to make up for it in my hip adductor/abductor area. Not only are my ankles weak, they are not very flexible.
Another thing, a friend mentioned that when I kick, perhaps I use my core and hip abductors/adductors more than most. Could the problem be that I am overly dependent on core and hip adductor/abductor muscles for my kick and thus the fins don't make a big difference?
My one rep max on the hip adductor machine is the entire stack, so I'm thinking the bizarre strength must come from overcompensation. Gee, I wish some of it would pan out on breaststroke, but no such luck. Great for cycling - maybe I should go back to that!
The whole stack? Yikes! You might be onto something with the core & hip explanation.
I have weak ankles too, though in my case it is BECAUSE of the flexibility. I would think fins would actually compensate for inflexible ankles. But you seem to have a strong kick anyway so they can't be that bad.
