SH wrote:
Here's one that works for longer distance swimming, IMO.
This is an idea for kick development. The a-ha part is that you never kick when you swim like you end up kicking with a kick board. So the board may be keeping you from learning all you need with regards to the kick. You need to isolate the swim style kick and get better at it.
Keys: one-legged kick drills, ankle flexibility, and kicking more pigeon toed than with your foot straight up and down.
Do kicking drills without a board and using only one leg. Keep your left hand extended and your right hand down your side and kick with your left foot only for 8-10 reps. Then take a stroke and switch hands for 8-10 reps. That kick will end up setting up the stroke for that arm, so it's good practice. This drill, if done right will do a lot of dynamic stretching of your ankles. Also, it will show where lack of uniformity may be letting one leg kick well and the other kick like crap. Finally, this drill will enable you to better feel that kick (or lack of it during your stroke). You will be better able to include a more powerful two beat kick into your stroke. It will propel you better and create the body tension for a better catch. This drill is slow, but be patient. You should be able to judge which types and amplitudes of kicks propel you better than others. Go watch some distance swimmer underwater footage if you aren't sure how much to move your knee versus hip.
A pigeon toed kick is going to let your ankles be more flexible and provide more foot surface area to propel you forward.
Finally, you need to do drills to flex those ankles. Dynamic stretches are best. Stretches that mimic your new "more pigeon toed" kick are the best. Ankle flexibility is crucial for kick power and speed.
Can work great for sprint kick folks like me as well. I always had a huge disconnect in how my kick felt with a board vs that of my kick when in my freestyle position. I'd have to jack my neck up and it bothered my low back. Plus, it's extremely difficult to work on the rotational aspect of kicking while locked into a board. At best my feet would be 1' to 18" under water with a board vs touching the surface with my soles kicking with a snorkel. Kicking face down with a snorkel or on my back feels the same as my freestyle stroke. Once I dumped the board for a snorkel I went from despising kick sets to loving them b/c I found out I wasn't really that bad of a kicker and I didn't have to endure back spasms to do it!