Hi,
Sorry if this has been discussed already in other threads:
My coach has been having me incorporate flip turns more and more into my workouts (I just learned how to do them a few months ago). The last couple of weeks were pretty intense in that I did flip turns for all long distance swims.
I am now noticing my knees are really bothering me and it's difficult to walk up and down stairs. So I stopped doing the flip turns so much and my knees are feeling better.
Question: have you experienced this same issue? If so, any suggestions for my flip turn form to prevent overtaxing of the knees? Also: do you know of any exercises I can do outside of the pool to strengthen the muscles around my knees so I can go back to doing flip turns all the time?
Thanks in advance for your input ...
Parents
Former Member
I am now noticing my knees are really bothering me and it's difficult to walk up and down stairs. So I stopped doing the flip turns so much and my knees are feeling better.
Question: have you experienced this same issue? Yes indeed. I am a far worst case than you though. Several things in the pool can indeed harm my knees. Push offs are among them.
Now let us remain logical. You have to push off no matter if you flip or open turn. So you have to look for the differences between your flip and open turns.
Few things (most having already been mentioned). Maybe when you open turn, you actually take the time to place your feet against the wall before pushing *hard*. Your feet are probably well anchored then comes the explosive squat.
When you flip, maybe that you start pushing hard before your feet even touch the wall. That explosive squat becomes a plyometric squat. If you give your feet velocity before the feet even touch the wall, and that your feet touch the wall heel first, a lot of energy is being absorbed by your knees. Feet move from say 2meter/second to 0meter/second and that energy is transferred to push the body through the water during the push off.
On top of that, like ocra mentioned, if you twist... and if you sometimes (lack of experience) end up too close to the wall then push before feet touch the wall twisting during the push off, it's a good recipe for recurrent knee injury.
First things first, perform the flip very slowly. No splash when your leg enter in the water. Gently place your feet against the wall THEN start pushing. Learn the flip turn slowly. If you need to throw some speed during its execution, that means you aren't learning it the right way. Imagine you have two noddlers chatting with just enough room to put both feet between their heads. Good flipper can turn without even scaring up the noddlers. They shouldn't be splashed. Always flip with this level of care during the learning process.
I am now noticing my knees are really bothering me and it's difficult to walk up and down stairs. So I stopped doing the flip turns so much and my knees are feeling better.
Question: have you experienced this same issue? Yes indeed. I am a far worst case than you though. Several things in the pool can indeed harm my knees. Push offs are among them.
Now let us remain logical. You have to push off no matter if you flip or open turn. So you have to look for the differences between your flip and open turns.
Few things (most having already been mentioned). Maybe when you open turn, you actually take the time to place your feet against the wall before pushing *hard*. Your feet are probably well anchored then comes the explosive squat.
When you flip, maybe that you start pushing hard before your feet even touch the wall. That explosive squat becomes a plyometric squat. If you give your feet velocity before the feet even touch the wall, and that your feet touch the wall heel first, a lot of energy is being absorbed by your knees. Feet move from say 2meter/second to 0meter/second and that energy is transferred to push the body through the water during the push off.
On top of that, like ocra mentioned, if you twist... and if you sometimes (lack of experience) end up too close to the wall then push before feet touch the wall twisting during the push off, it's a good recipe for recurrent knee injury.
First things first, perform the flip very slowly. No splash when your leg enter in the water. Gently place your feet against the wall THEN start pushing. Learn the flip turn slowly. If you need to throw some speed during its execution, that means you aren't learning it the right way. Imagine you have two noddlers chatting with just enough room to put both feet between their heads. Good flipper can turn without even scaring up the noddlers. They shouldn't be splashed. Always flip with this level of care during the learning process.
