Butterfly, beautiful to watch, difficult to train.
We SDK off every wall.
We're most likely to smack hands with each other and those beside us.
Fly's fun to sprint but no fun when the piano comes down
What did you do in practice today?
the breastroke lane
The Middle Distance Lane
The Backstroke Lane
The Butterfly Lane
The SDK Lane
The Taper Lane
The Distance Lane
The IM Lane
The Sprint Free Lane
The Pool Deck
(1) I hate kicking fly on my back (at least, on the surface). Maybe it is okay as a drill to work on the up-kick. The problem is that kicking fly on the surface robs you of much of your power in the down-kick (er, that would be the up-kick if you are on your back). You are good at making a lot of waves but not it isn't translating as effectively to forward propulsion.
To do a good dolphin kick, lead with (and focus on) what your hips are doing rather than your legs. They will follow the hips.
You want to work on your up-beat but don't want to worry about lack of oxygen? Do dolphin with a kickboard but be sure to keep your feet below the water: they should never break the surface. Concentrate on working the kick both ways. You will get an excellent workout for your legs and core and also be working on a good kick.
Nowadays coaches often dismiss this approach. "Body position all wrong" and such. But how many races are there where you do dolphin kick on your back on the surface? None.
By the way, in college I kicked exclusively with a kickboard, usually dolphin kick. Nowadays I do maybe 30-40% of my kicking with a board. But I was a much faster kicker in college than I am now. Obviously I was younger, but I think the "kickboard-only" approach didn't hurt as much as many would think.
Making a lot of waves without translating into propulsion -- that's exactly how I feel when I dolphin kick on my back. I think I'm going to try the underwater kick with a board and see if that feels more effective.
Thanks to everyone for their comments on this question -- gives me lots of things to try and think about.
(1) I hate kicking fly on my back (at least, on the surface). Maybe it is okay as a drill to work on the up-kick. The problem is that kicking fly on the surface robs you of much of your power in the down-kick (er, that would be the up-kick if you are on your back). You are good at making a lot of waves but not it isn't translating as effectively to forward propulsion.
To do a good dolphin kick, lead with (and focus on) what your hips are doing rather than your legs. They will follow the hips.
You want to work on your up-beat but don't want to worry about lack of oxygen? Do dolphin with a kickboard but be sure to keep your feet below the water: they should never break the surface. Concentrate on working the kick both ways. You will get an excellent workout for your legs and core and also be working on a good kick.
Nowadays coaches often dismiss this approach. "Body position all wrong" and such. But how many races are there where you do dolphin kick on your back on the surface? None.
By the way, in college I kicked exclusively with a kickboard, usually dolphin kick. Nowadays I do maybe 30-40% of my kicking with a board. But I was a much faster kicker in college than I am now. Obviously I was younger, but I think the "kickboard-only" approach didn't hurt as much as many would think.
Making a lot of waves without translating into propulsion -- that's exactly how I feel when I dolphin kick on my back. I think I'm going to try the underwater kick with a board and see if that feels more effective.
Thanks to everyone for their comments on this question -- gives me lots of things to try and think about.
