The Sprint Free Lane

I would agree that you kick "faster" with your feet out of the water By faster I mean the time it takes to get from one wall to the other, not tempo. If you're doing it right, you'll feel it in your butt, hamstrings, and calves, as well as the traditional quad stresses. If you are doing it right than you are faster than if you are doing it wrong. It is and should be that simple.

Nah... I think all the sprint hata's stay out of threads with sprint in the name ::angel: I've seen some talented sprinters avoid this stigma by calling themselves "mid-distance". :bolt:

I've seen some talented sprinters avoid this stigma by calling themselves "mid-distance". I always preferred "long sprints" :P

The more i read posts here, the more I feel like sprinters are the outsiders. Granted I'm still stuck on the USAS side of competition. Totally agree. I gave up the zoomers like 10 years ago because imo, fins do nothing but enforce bad habits... same with paddles.Release the Kraken. :bolt:

I can't help but to reply to this thread!! Around here, sprinting and masters swimming are a total contradiction in terms! The more i read posts here, the more I feel like sprinters are the outsiders. Granted I'm still stuck on the USAS side of competition. Notice that there is no "FINS" in "KICKING". Totally agree. I gave up the zoomers like 10 years ago because imo, fins do nothing but enforce bad habits... same with paddles.

Release the Kraken. :bolt: Nah... I think all the sprint hata's stay out of threads with sprint in the name ::angel:

Update: Inconclusive so far. Two weeks with one sprint kick workout each week and I timed a 50 scm sprint flutter from a push (one hand touch turn) with board last night at the same 37-38 seconds as two weeks ago. Should I be sprint kicking laying with elbows on the board? Does it matter how you hold the board for sprint kick speed? Seems unnatural to do hold it only with the hands extended out and the head down.

Technically, kicking is a very simple motion. If you don't have flexible ankles and large feet however, you might struggle with it. Want to know if you have "flexible" ankles? Point your toe as much as you can. Is the angle created by the top of your foot and your lower leg greater than 180 degrees, equal to 180 degrees or less than 180 degrees? If you can get it past 180, congratulations you have flexible ankles. If you can get to 180 you have slightly flexible angles, certainly not stiff. If you can't get your toe point to 180 degrees you are going to have a lot of trouble kicking fast. A former gymnast friend of mine has such terrible ankle flexibility she can't do a full squat without almost falling over. She has trouble getting much past maybe 120 degrees. What can you do to make your ankles more flexible? First of all this stuff should be done with great care, you can do serious damage to ligaments when you stretch your ankles. The simplest way to stretch ankles is to sit down with your knees bent and toes pointed, so that your heels are under your butt. The weight of your body will do the work for you. If you have flexible ankles already and try adding in a foam roller. Place the foam roller under your toes and the end of your foot and again let your body do the work. Another method that I personally used my freshman year of college is to soak your feet and ankles in hot water for 10 minutes or so prior to stretching. If you do this be gentle with the stretches, I have seen a swimmer sprain an ankle doing this stuff. When measuring: do you go off of the top of the foot where it meets the ankle or the top of the foot nearer the toes (or maybe an averatge of the two). When i point my foot out, i get different angles depending on how far down my foot you'd measure. I'd take a pic for you, but posting pictures of feet is scary lol.

This is actually a tough question.. My traditional rule of thumb is to get the tip of the heel at or just above the surface where you hear a "ripping" sound effect. I would agree that you kick "faster" with your feet out of the water - less resistance, but also less water to apply force to and propel yourself against.. Of course, a lot of this may just go right out the window when race time comes. Many sprinters have a VERY high kick that I question a bit for those exact reasons. All ties to body positioning.. If the kick is to low or high, then the body is likely in an incline or decline, and resisting position - not cool. I'm a distance swimmer trying to have some fun sprinting and I'm struggling with trying to increase my stroke rate. I've seen comments from sprinters claiming that their kick helps establish their stroke rate. Could it be that a high kick (while less efficient from a purely technical view) is preferred by sprinters because it allows for a higher stroke rate?

Technically, kicking is a very simple motion. If you don't have flexible ankles and large feet however, you might struggle with it. Want to know if you have "flexible" ankles? Point your toe as much as you can. Is the angle created by the top of your foot and your lower leg greater than 180 degrees, equal to 180 degrees or less than 180 degrees? If you can get it past 180, congratulations you have flexible ankles. If you can get to 180 you have slightly flexible angles, certainly not stiff. If you can't get your toe point to 180 degrees you are going to have a lot of trouble kicking fast. A former gymnast friend of mine has such terrible ankle flexibility she can't do a full squat without almost falling over. She has trouble getting much past maybe 120 degrees. What can you do to make your ankles more flexible? First of all this stuff should be done with great care, you can do serious damage to ligaments when you stretch your ankles. The simplest way to stretch ankles is to sit down with your knees bent and toes pointed, so that your heels are under your butt. The weight of your body will do the work for you. If you have flexible ankles already and try adding in a foam roller. Place the foam roller under your toes and the end of your foot and again let your body do the work. Another method that I personally used my freshman year of college is to soak your feet and ankles in hot water for 10 minutes or so prior to stretching. If you do this be gentle with the stretches, I have seen a swimmer sprain an ankle doing this stuff.