Thank you for posting this. I have long had a runners kick and have been told I am better off not kicking at all rather than having a runners kick.

One note: at about 14 seconds in the second bullet point reads:

You feel like you go backwards when you......

Should it read: You feel like you go backwards when you kick?

Thanks again.

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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

Glad it helped, not kicking should never be an option, but work on some of those things and lmk how it goes. Good Luck!


yup it should....smh ugh...thanks for the catch and fix

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Superfly Coaching
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IL PIRATA VI GUARDA

when i first started swim lessons i discovered my kick would pull me backwards. my swim coach called it a "bicycle" kick. said its pretty common in a lot of his new swimmers.

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

After all these years, someone finally post a video that "rocks" can relate to. Now, will my ankle range of motion improve? Never could get any significant change in the past.

I've posted often in the last several years about runners' kick, and my experience as a masters coach working with AOS and triathletes.

There aren't any simple solutions. And using these solutions also leads to other considerations.

One solution I have favored and advocated to some success is to assign triathletes who aren't swimmers a solid block of swimming-ONLY time, like maybe a month or more, after the season is over. Say, November. In this month, the swimmers should use fins (either short or long) for as much of each session as possible. I say as much as possible, because there may be issues like pain in the ankles, blisters from the fins, and leg fatigue. The fins force the kick to start from the hips, and helps increase flexibility in the ankles and hips.

The consideration here is that while the ankles and hips may have increased ROM and flexibility, this also can slightly negatively impact running efficiency. In running, the ankles should be very elastic to make running gait much more efficient. In swimming, the ankles are much more flexible, but when a swimmer starts running, the increased flexibility leads to less elasticity and efficiency.

There is a bit of a trade off. Runners should just be aware. But if the gains in swimming are in greater proportion to the loss of efficiency in running, then I say go ahead and do a solid month with as much fin work as possible.

lol - ankle ROM can be a tricky one, see one of the posts above re: the effect on running, but it can improve over time...sometimes a looooong time. As a data analyst my thought is to devise a test that you can use to test you ankle ROM that is not subjective. Presumably measure the circumference of a circle you can make with your toes, dedicate 60 days to working on your ankle ROM and then retest, continue repeating. Obviously a lot of room for error there but you get the point. Small gains may be all it takes to improve the kick. Just a thought

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Superfly Coaching
http://www.superflycoaching.com/eric

IL PIRATA VI GUARDA

Yeah, I agree that using these solutions can lead to further considerations. It's like anything, but especially in swimming, often drills and corrections can lead to issues on the other end of the spectrum. Take 'tarzan drill' for example, I like using it here and there for athletes who cross over a bit, as a way for them to see where their hand is entering, and then we can transfer that visual into their swim. However, tarzan drill brings the head up and the hips down which can be really detrimental to a swimmers stroke, so too much tarzan may fix one issue and create 2 more. This is also why I stress the importance of "backing" drill with a swim. ie 8*50 drill/swim by 25. Do the drill to correct an issue, then swim and while your swimming focus on the aspect you are trying to correct.

In terms of trade off, I am not looking for triathletes to have the same ankle flexibility as swimmers, but improving ROM slightly can help the swim with minimal impact to the run.

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Superfly Coaching
http://www.superflycoaching.com/eric

IL PIRATA VI GUARDA

EXACTLY. Like 140tri mentioned you can build big blocks of swimming only into your early or off season and they can be beneficial. Another thing I wlike to do with my athletes is to build kick heavy blocks into their regular swim training, where 2/3 - 3/4 of their workout is kicking and different kicking drills. We may do this block for 6 straight swimming workouts then come back with a power workout and then test to see the effects on a longer workout. Typically the results of the longer workout are better b/c we've dedicated time to building kick endurance and efficiency. Might be worth a try if you're at a point in your season where it makes sense (after an A race but before the next A race). If you want some kick focused workouts lmk, I have entire TP blocks build out on them!

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Superfly Coaching
http://www.superflycoaching.com/eric

IL PIRATA VI GUARDA