I have always been terrible at kick, and I believe it holds me back, so I want to make some improvements. As an age group swimmer, we would train lots of 50m kick on 60 secs, and I would struggle at that pace, and now I am older and heavier than I was then.
Physically I am 6'2" and about 225#, but my feet don't measure up at all at size 8, with a high arch and hammer toes. I don't want to make excuses, but this may be why my feet struggle to catch the water properly. I know this means I'm going to struggle, but I am looking to do the best with what I have.
What should I do in training to:
Improve feel for the water and effectiveness of kick?
Greatly improve kicking endurance?
Keep my kick "switched on" when doing full stroke?
Are there other factors I should consider?
I've been working on my kick when possible, using a training plan that has 2x200m, and 2x100m free kick during warmup, then 20x25m kick alt free/choice, which is supposed to be as fast as possible. Then during some IM swim sets there's a couple of 3x100m IM kick.
I've made slight improvements in terms of time and endurance. I can now kick a 200m free without needing to switch strokes because of tiredness, and I can keep a reasonable rhythm, but it's still not quick at around 4 minutes/200m. For the fast 25m kick, I can do slightly over 20 seconds when fresh, and this slows by a couple of seconds when I start to tire.
I'm going to keep doing the sessions with a lot of kick as they seem to help more when actually swimming, with body position and the ability to go to my legs, especially if my kick is strong for the first couple of strokes off the wall.
That's great to hear! I'm glad the focused work is helping you see some improvements.
I've been working on my kick when possible, using a training plan that has 2x200m, and 2x100m free kick during warmup, then 20x25m kick alt free/choice, which is supposed to be as fast as possible. Then during some IM swim sets there's a couple of 3x100m IM kick.
I've made slight improvements in terms of time and endurance. I can now kick a 200m free without needing to switch strokes because of tiredness, and I can keep a reasonable rhythm, but it's still not quick at around 4 minutes/200m. For the fast 25m kick, I can do slightly over 20 seconds when fresh, and this slows by a couple of seconds when I start to tire.
I'm going to keep doing the sessions with a lot of kick as they seem to help more when actually swimming, with body position and the ability to go to my legs, especially if my kick is strong for the first couple of strokes off the wall.
That's great to hear! I'm glad the focused work is helping you see some improvements.
