One doesn’t need to kick as the primary means of propulsion, but one does need an efficient kick to stabilize the body and prevent the legs from sinking.
So what can be done about it. Some of us are blessed with natural flexibility, but for the rest of us, how effective are those stretches in promoting plantar flexion? Many people advocate using fins to help develop flexibility, but how effective are they? Any anecdotes from individuals who were able to dramatically improve ankle flexibility?
IMO: i’d advocate dynamic stretching (in the form of kick sets) as opposed to the static stretches, and i’d say 50/50 fins no fins. in my case, i can’t really say how much my ankle flexibility has increased by working on swimming/kicking (don’t know a good metric) but it has helped my kick speed/efficiency and also my freestyle speed. i have pretty poor flexibility naturally, and certainly don’t have great flexibility now. but with practice i can now kick pretty fast (for example yesterday i kicked 50 lcm in about 48 seconds in my workout). i think it improves my efficiency in the water.
IMO: i’d advocate dynamic stretching (in the form of kick sets) as opposed to the static stretches, and i’d say 50/50 fins no fins. in my case, i can’t really say how much my ankle flexibility has increased by working on swimming/kicking (don’t know a good metric) but it has helped my kick speed/efficiency and also my freestyle speed. i have pretty poor flexibility naturally, and certainly don’t have great flexibility now. but with practice i can now kick pretty fast (for example yesterday i kicked 50 lcm in about 48 seconds in my workout). i think it improves my efficiency in the water.
I have done the same, kicking with and without fins. I also tried some static stretches.
My kick did get somewhat better, but I never really noticed an appreciable improvement in ankle flexibility. My foot doesn’t even come close to being inline with my shin. Perhaps all of these stretches would have been more effective at an earlier age. It’s hard to reverse years and years of inflexibility.
Im in the same boat as you dread. My years of sprinting and football have led to limited plantarflexion for swimming needs. Reading your post, I had a thought, punters and kickers must have really great plantarflexion. I am going to go research some of their methods. I wouldnt be surprised if kicking a ball repetetively(not hard) would help increase ankle flexibility. Maybe even use a lightweight medicine ball(2 or 3 lbs) and just lightly punt it to get a good stretch and some “plyometric” activity in the ole ankle. Just a thought.
. My foot doesn’t even come close to being inline with my shin. Perhaps all of these stretches would have been more effective at an earlier age. It’s hard to reverse years and years of inflexibility.
Dread, don’t worry too much, I grew up swimming and yet my freestyle kick has always sucked. And I am not alone in this as a guy I swim with who goes 49.xx for 100 yds can’t kick freestyle either. However, we can both kick breaststroke pretty well, and we are both natural breaststroke kickers. It doesn’t help much in triathlon but at least I can kick one stroke well. Also, of course I can go to Masters meets and swim the breast and IM events, since breast is most people’s limiting stroke in the IM. In my experience, some folks can kick free well and some can’t no matter how much they work at it, and the same goes for breast.
So, how’s your breast kick:)))???
Also, perhaps our buddy klehner will weigh in on this he’s an adult-onset (age 26 IIRC) swimmer who’s gone 51.x for 100 yds but has absolutely zero kick. He’ll be glad to testify that you can swim fast just by pulling hard.
Sit on your knees, butt on your heels, shins on the ground. Point your toes straight behind you. Stay there for as long as you can stand it. Surf the internet with your laptop on a coffee table or something similar.
Sit on your knees, butt on your heels, shins on the ground. Point your toes straight behind you. Stay there for as long as you can stand it. Surf the internet with your laptop on a coffee table or something similar.
i have been looking for threads on ankle flexibility - do the static exercises create other issues?
i am not a PT (obviously) but intuitively i question whether “forcing” your ankles to be more flexible comes entirely risk free
i am a runner by background and mine are like anchors and i am in incredibly slow kicker some of which is due to my ankles,
I don’t know if there is a direct connection but for the last decade or so I have been working on my ankle flexibility and I my swimming has improved. I started having problems this year with my ankle not supporting me when I started out on my bike. The first race of the season as I mounted my bike I kept on going and went over the side breaking my RD hanger.
Not sure. But, go to the pool and get motivated by watching swimmers that don’t point their feet back. The leg drop they suffer from is a great reminder. Just remembered, another good tool is to wear fins when you swim. Those physically force your feet to flatten out and point back. That amount of stretching is appropriate for sure.
Not sure. But, go to the pool and get motivated by watching swimmers that don’t point their feet back. The leg drop they suffer from is a great reminder. Just remembered, another good tool is to wear fins when you swim. Those physically force your feet to flatten out and point back. That amount of stretching is appropriate for sure.
My experience has been that fins don’t help very much but rather that just doing lots and lots of kicking, with the board, w/o the board, and kicking all 4 strokes, but especially backstroke kick, which seems to gently flex the ankles and improve the kick. I like doing 400 IM kick sets substituting back for free on the last 100, e.g. fl/bk/br/bk. Despite growing up swimming I was always a bad kicker until the last few yrs when I started to really work on it, and I’ve improved to the point that I can routinely kick 1000 to 3000 meters in a workout, whereas I used to do zero kicking:)
lots and lots of kicking, with the board, w/o the board, and kicking all 4 strokes, but especially backstroke kick
This. I’d add use fins for some of that backstroke kick.
Well, I suppose I could use my Zoomers for 400 meters or so, or I could get a pair of those Tyr training fins. This girl I know who swam for Auburn swears by them, and she swims her 100s (scy) on 1:05, w/o the fins:)
lots and lots of kicking, with the board, w/o the board, and kicking all 4 strokes, but especially backstroke kick
This. I’d add use fins for some of that backstroke kick.
OK, today I did 3 x 400 m IM kick w/o fins, then 2 x 200 m back kick with Zoomers, followed by 2 x 200 m w/o the Zs. They definitely make for more weight on your legs, and I was pleased that my calves did not cramp this time, which is one reason I haven’t used these in maybe 3-4 months. It seems that my feet are very gradually getting more flexible, and hence I’m gradually kicking faster.
Couple of weeks ago I went to my art/graston guy for some help with some mid foot arthritis. Upon examination he made the comment “I bet you go backwards on your kick sets.” It’s not far from the truth. He also happens to have been a D1 swimmer and member of the Austrian National Team.
Besides the stuff he is doing to loosen my ankle, he suggested kicking with zoomers. I don’t think there is any magic cure, especially for those of us with a lot of built up scar tissue in our ankles.
