Kicking

[jstonebarger]

Double post. Sorry.

[swimmj]

Originally Posted by Ahelee Sue Osborn

Great addition MJ.
FINz are a saving grace for swimming with a sore or injured shoulder.

But hopefully the swimmer is anxious to find out why their shoulder is hurt if it is a bad technique related issue.

The nice thing about masters is that we are all adults.
Swimmers have to take responsibility for their roll in lane selection, equipment usage, effort level in workouts - and communication with their coaches.
(one of my old coaches told me masters swimmers are simply 10 & unders with credit cards)

Coaches by the way, are not mind readers!

I always ask if an injured swimmer knows why they are having shoulder issues and what they are doing to address it - stroke work, pt, etc.

And your old coaches comment about us being 10 and unders with credit cards - very, very funny and often true. I coach both groups and had the experience of being on deck twice when swimmers complained about someone going much faster and the offended swimmer was sure that the faster swimmer had a stroke flaw I should correct - kicking with knees too bent. The difference between the 7 year old and the 65 year old in complaint - the 7 year old used an adjective. Really. The. Only. Difference.

--mj

[jstonebarger]

When doing kick sets is there any real need for the board?

I can practice the br kick with or without (on my stomach), but for dolphin or flutter sets kicking on my back without a board feels much better (easy breathing, flatter position, streamlining and bs style flip turns...)

Am I missing anything by not using the board as well? Or is it just personal preference?

[__steve__]

I'm learning how to keep my head up just enough (kicking without board) so I can inhale through my nose.

[orca1946]

More & faster kicking is great for cardio & speed .Deeper kicks will work the quads & hams better.

[slowfish]

Originally Posted by Ahelee Sue Osborn

Love this... need to do more of it!

A good way to start a group vertical kicking is to line everyone up at the backstroke flags and face forward - no looking sideways or up at the flags.
Start the kick.
At the end, check where the swimmers are located relative to the flags.

Everyone should be still right underneath the flags.
Anyone behind the flags is kicking more forward - or up.
Anyone in front of the flags is kicking more backward - or down.

The kick should be even forward and back.
Or up and down when you're actually swimming.

This is actually a fun kick set to do with a group - big or small

boy, i'm sure going to give this a try. given that i go nowhere with my kick, i suspect there is something very, very wrong with my kick. i can't seem to make any improvements even with the tips in the "help my flutter kick is terrible" thread. my 25 sprint kick times stay stagnant.