The SDK Lane

Chris Stevenson continues to impress me with his kick/SDK sets, especially his hypoxic stuff. He seems to be quite hung in the lung, or mentally tough, well conditioned and slightly crazy. This type of training allows him to maintain high SDK counts in his 200 races. Quite challenging. Might need a don't try this at home or training on your own warning. "Hung in the lung" got me to chuckle... While one can certainly work on dolphin kick while on the surface, I don't think anything quite matches the effectiveness of being under the water. Quite aside from the hypoxic aspect, which isn't for everyone, you have a full "column" of water to push against in both directions and you also can work on maintaining a very tight streamline. Surfacing kills SDK speed. But the lack of air is, um, troubling. One good option that works for Fortress is to use fins. Even if you can't do (say) a full lap underwater normally, it might be quite easy to do with fins. The greater speed can also give you some feedback to help you find a good streamline position b/c you might be able to feel where the rushing water is hitting. It can also help with ankle flexibility, which is probably the most important key go having good SDK speed. But you can certainly work on dolphin kicking with a board, too. When I was in college that's ALL I did, I didn't know any differently, but I had a faster dolphin kick then than I do know. The important thing is to work your kick sets with intensity, don't view them as breaks between swim sets that are more important. You can also use a FINIS snorkel combined with the FINIS "alignment kickboard" to work on good streamline position without worrying about air. It still isn't as good as being underwater but if you work it hard, it is still beneficial to your SDK, in my opinion.

Chris Stevenson continues to impress me with his kick/SDK sets, especially his hypoxic stuff. He seems to be quite hung in the lung, or mentally tough, well conditioned and slightly crazy. This type of training allows him to maintain high SDK counts in his 200 races. Quite challenging. Might need a don't try this at home or training on your own warning. "Hung in the lung" got me to chuckle... While one can certainly work on dolphin kick while on the surface, I don't think anything quite matches the effectiveness of being under the water. Quite aside from the hypoxic aspect, which isn't for everyone, you have a full "column" of water to push against in both directions and you also can work on maintaining a very tight streamline. Surfacing kills SDK speed. But the lack of air is, um, troubling. One good option that works for Fortress is to use fins. Even if you can't do (say) a full lap underwater normally, it might be quite easy to do with fins. The greater speed can also give you some feedback to help you find a good streamline position b/c you might be able to feel where the rushing water is hitting. It can also help with ankle flexibility, which is probably the most important key go having good SDK speed. But you can certainly work on dolphin kicking with a board, too. When I was in college that's ALL I did, I didn't know any differently, but I had a faster dolphin kick then than I do know. The important thing is to work your kick sets with intensity, don't view them as breaks between swim sets that are more important. You can also use a FINIS snorkel combined with the FINIS "alignment kickboard" to work on good streamline position without worrying about air. It still isn't as good as being underwater but if you work it hard, it is still beneficial to your SDK, in my opinion.