The SDK Lane

Today I was talking with one of the University swimmers who feels SDK is one of his strengths. He has size 13 feet! (mine are 8.) Does the Americans with Disabilities Act allow me to use flippers?:bolt: Hey, Karl, I can relate; the width of my feet are AAA and my heals are AAAAAA! Not only do I have a tough time finding shoes to fit properly without my heals slipping out; my feet don't catch as much water as other swimmers' feet on the kick. :badday:

Hey Karl, congrats on improving your SDK kick count for your 25 how did you start? from a push or dive? what sort of suit did you wear? How much did you rest before testing it? if you SDK a 25 yards in 25 seconds with 30 kicks, you have some efficiency issues I think Chris Stevenson & I do 18 - 20 kicks in a 25 at race pace. Right now your flutter kick is much faster than your SDK Sight unseen I can't really tell you what your SDK technique issues are or give you suggestions on how to fix them other than: + keep doing fast 15 & 25 SDK's with lots of rest to see if you can improve your speed TEST with REST + do small amplitude SDKs (too much knee bend might be slowing you down) + increase your frequency you did 30 kicks in 25 seconds 30/25 = 1.2 (so you're doing 1.2 kick cycles each second) a few weeks ago I SDKed 25 in 9.8 & probably did 20 kicks 20/9.8 = 2.0 ( i did 2.0 kick cycles each second, but if you remove the dive and the glide and start the watch when I start kicking, it's probably a bit faster) + stretch your feet & ankles to improve your effortless toe point, + do DPK SDKs where you focus on efficiency & exaggerate your glide, find out how few kicks it takes you to SDK across the pool + how's your pushoff & your streamline PUSH OFF HARD STREAMLINE SKINNY + remember SFF Tip 165 Build a Better Boat ONLY SDK in RACES if IT'S FASTER & a better use of your energy. First the good news. Today I went a full 25 SDK in :25 on 30 kicks. (My lowest kick count ever is 27, but I think it was slower.) When I first completed a full 25 about 6 weeks ago it took me 40 kicks. That's progress! I have also been timing 10 yd SKDs, (when I can find someone to time me). I am more than a full second faster than I was several months ago. I like that trend. In comparison, however, I can flutter kick a 25 in :19. (Probably faster actually, I haven't tested that in a few months because I have been working on other things.) This suggests that my flutter kick is faster than my SDK. So I did some testing. I was swimming repeat 100s backstroke, using 3 SDK per wall. After doing 7 with very consistent times, I decided to push it harder. #8 was 2s faster, and I noticed that I didn't use 3 SDk on every turn. I thought, "that's interesting, I will do only 1 or 2 SDK off each wall and see what happens". #9 was another 1s faster. I decided to skip the SDKs entirely on the last one. #10 was 2s faster yet. Today was my second day back in the pool after much more of a break than I planned, owing to a head cold, so maybe this isn't great data, but it strongly suggests that I should not be doing SDK in races yet (except possibly on the start, I think they are a little effective on my start). Back to the pool tomorrow...

Seems like we are at similar stages of SDK development. I'm curious; what is your time, on your front, with no fins? I was at :25 today. Took 30 kicks. I did another in 27 kicks, but forgot to time it. Are you using SDK in races yet? Karl, my time before Christmas on my front, no fins was 22s with about 30 kicks. I'm having an SDK break right now, but will be back to it in a week or so. I do plan to use it when I race the 100 free next week as I find I get good, fast distance off my turns with 3 or 4 kicks. This will be my first race since the summer season so will be interesting to see how I have improved (if at all that is!). When I do a full 25 SDK, I feel I do a reasonable 15 yds then struggle with the final part. I have really narrow, small-ish (US 7.5) feet, but on the other hand (or foot!) my ankles are really flexible. I always thought small thin feet put me at a disadvantage on kick - my 50 flutter kick from a push is only 48:cane:. (Then again my PR for 50 free is only 30.3) I know what you mean about the "magic spot" - Do you SDK off your turns in warm-up and every freestyle set? I have been concentrating on this and find I'm hitting that spot (2/3/4 SDK off the wall-into flutter-into stroke ) a lot more often now than a few months back.

This is from Ande's "shin fin kicking" post: He said that Ian Crocker recently flutter kicked 50 scy from a push with a board in 24.6 and Garrett Weber Gale went 25.2 He said Ian could flutter kick a 100 with a board in 53 seconds.

^^^^ I've often thought Ian Crocker's genes should have been tested because I'm convinced he is part dolphin.

YouTube - Michael Phelps turn Thanks for posting this video, Ande. The one thing that caught my attention was that his body remains relatively rigid and straight. And it's as though his legs from below the knee act as a pair of fins- it's not just his feet. Maybe this is really obvious to most when they watch it, but I have seen this video many times and this just occurred to me.

hey there phelps has an excellent SDK and that slow motion video captures it well he has more amplitude (up & down width of movement) and a lower frequency (fewer SDK cycles per sec) than many swimmers his DPK is quite impressive he and many excellent SDKers keep their upper bodies rigid I've written about the shin fin kicking technique Tip 190 the Shin Fin Kicking Technique Phelps has a bit of movement from his hips to his thighs, but it's mostly from his knee down. He also has excellent flexibility in his: 1) feet / ankles (fins) (large flexible floppy feet are a plus) 2) knees (for hyperextension), & 3) shoulders (which helps his outstanding streamline which reduces resistance) this video highlights his outstanding streamline & SDK YouTube - Michael Phelps freestyle multi angle camera He's a great one to model your technique after YouTube - Michael Phelps turn Thanks for posting this video, Ande. The one thing that caught my attention was that his body remains relatively rigid and straight. And it's as though his legs from below the knee act as a pair of fins- it's not just his feet. Maybe this is really obvious to most when they watch it, but I have seen this video many times and this just occurred to me.

Ande. The one thing that caught my attention was that his body remains relatively rigid and straight. That is what I struggle with - I can feel I'm losing my streamline after about 10 yards then it all falls apart towards the end of the 25! However on the bright side, I can now keep a good streamline for 10 yds, which is much more than 9 or so months ago.

Out of nowhere, at the end of my kick sets in my last practice, I cranked out a 25 SDK in 14 kicks -- not timed, as I was going for DPK and it was the end of a long workout anyway, but it felt very fast and I finished the length easily without breathing. I went back in 16 kicks, but I had to breathe once. What I did was streamline extra hard and lower my head more than usual. With each kick, I could feel a surge of water pushing on my chest, propelling me. I am not sure I can repeat it, but will try this again on my next kick day and check times vs DPK. It feels like I've discovered something. :banana:

I've written about the shin fin kicking technique Tip 190 the Shin Fin Kicking Technique Great tip. I've noticed that, when I do long kick sets or very fast ones, I sometimes feel like I'm developing shin splits like a runner. I recommend buying a monofin to improve your dolphin kicking. I love the Finis Shooter monofin. And I recently purchased the new Finis Foil monofin, which is all rubber. (Hence you won't slice your foot open if you drop it.) www.finisinc.com/.../.f