OHAI! :wave:
I could swim before I could walk, and swam competitively in high school, but now I am older, fat and out of shape. :cane:
Before even bothering the local masters teams (and "local" is somewhat of a misnomer; the closest one's about 20 miles away, which isn't overly far, but I work about 50-60 hours a week and am going to school on top of that...), I need to build up my endurance.
I've got really crappy knees (from gymnastics as a kid, running in boots in the military, hard landings on hard surfaces, probably some genetics and weight definitely is also a factor), so what I've started with is "kick drills" (and I've been doing freestyle, backstroke and side-stroke, and yes I know sidestroke isn't a competitive stroke, but it's got the same SORT of kick, and I figure it's good to build up endurance and strength in my weak legs, and hopefully cut down on some of the flubber), with fins and a kickboard. Not so much for speed, but for technique. At this point I'm actually *more* concerned with weight loss and reinforcing proper technique over speed, and I figure the exaggerated motion from fins and such will help with that (I'm also using the kickboard to start doing two sided breathing, which is apparently not like riding a bicycle. :drowning: )
Here are my questions:
When doing a scissor or flutter kick, do I need to be kicking primarily from the hip down (with some bending at the knee) or primarily from the knee down (mostly bending at the knee, but also moving my upper leg)?
Toes pointed? Or do I also flex my ankle and flip my toes?
I tried to do a whip kick (without fins) the other day and OMG OW! Would investing in the whip kick fins be a good or bad idea at this point? (If I can't use them because my knees are trashed, then no point in buying them.)
Monofin? I actually am *more* (physically) comfortable doing dolphin kicks than whip kicks (in that I can do about fifteen dolphin kicks before gasping for air, whereas a single whip kick has me feeling like I need a knee replacement to get out of the pool). And I'm pretty sure that's gotta be the best calorie burner out there. ;)
I can do two sets of 400 (100 free, 100 side, 100 back, 100 other side) pretty well without dying; clearly I need to up it to 1200, but do I do two sets of 600 or three sets of 400?
And last but not least, what's everyone's favourite swim workout music? I've just ordered a waterproof iPod and headphones. I absolutely loathe pop music, though. ;)
I haven't done stroke drills yet but that's also next on my plate; I've a pull buoy and hand paddles. Someone recommended that I not do that until my body shape changes a bit, but I think I'm going to do it a little bit anyway, just to get a more "all-over" workout. (Like, one day stroke drills, one day kick drills, etc).
Thanks very much to everyone in advance!
:bow:
