I am new to this and have learned that my kick absolutely sucks! When I use a kickboard, I absolutely go nowhere! Same applies with my swimming. I feel like my legs start sinking and can’t get any propulsion with my feet. Does anyone have a link to some good drills to work on a kick? Or possibly video showing a proper kick? Any help will be extremely appreciated.
Jason
you are not alone - many non-swimmer triathletes have little propulsion added by kick. but the good news is that, especially with a wetsuit, a vigorous kick is really not needed.
personally i feel for non-swimmers kick sets with a kickboard are bad as they make it very hard to work on balance. buoying up the front end tends to make the back end sink (even more). Plus you only have limited time in the pool; better spent doing drills or putting in the laps.
TI has some good drills (duck!) like kicking on one side with one arm extended, then do a half stroke and flip to the other side. Maybe as a new swimmer TI will be helpful to you? I have come a long way from a non-swimmer to a not-shitty swimmer in 2 years, and basically it all comes down to swimming a lot. With more swim fitness it has become easier for me to work on form (virtuous cycle type thing). you may also consider a 2-3 month swim block. 2-3 60-90min sessions a day for 3 months will work wonders versus 2-3x per week.
Look for video clips of swimmers online. Awesome to observe. I also found videoanalysis of my own stroke paid dividends.
Do NOT use a kickboard
Vertical kicking to teach you how to kick properly
Side kick (arms on side first, and then stretched in front) to teach you proper balance while kicking
For number 3, you may want to use zoomers to help improve your ankle flexibility at first, and then gradually loose the zoomers and master balance on your side with a light kick.
Flexibility : do some ankle stretches at home whenever you can (sit on your ankles).
Thanks for the tips. I bought some speedo training fins ut think they are too long compared to the zoomers. I plan on cutting them down some.
What you are looking at is to have the fins help you move forward a bit (when you are really challenged in this domain at first). When your ankle flexibility improves, you can gradually loose them.
So yeah, do not use too long fins that will prevent you from stretching/adding flexibility to your ankles. The aim is not to go fast when drilling, but to do it perfectly and to improve kick and balance.
If you come from a running background as I do you may not have much ankle flexibility. In addition to fins or Zoomers, you can stretch your ankles. While watching TV, I stretch mine by sitting on the floor, putting my toes under the couch and pressing my knees down.
I’m actually not a big advocate of vertical kicking for beginners since I feel like it opens newcomers up to as many kick problems as it solves. (encourages big amplitude kicking, which is a bad thing for distance swimmers)
I still like kickboards, but they should provide fairly minimal flotation. Take a hacksaw to one of the large stiff foam boards and cut it in half, and that half board will give you a reasonably decent body position.
Two most common problems for new swimmers: poor ankle flexibility, and trying to kick from your knees instead of from your hips.
If it’s an ankle flexibility problem, the Zoomers and stretching will help.
For kicking from the knees instead of the hips, long fins and kicking on your back. One or both of these things will make it extremely hard to kick from your knees, and not so gently encourage you to move with your hips instead.
I think not kicking from my hips is the problem. I have noticed that my legs are practically stiff as a board ad frantically kicking like a quick flutter when swimmimg without fins. However when I use fins, it is a completely different story. I can feel the power by rotating my hips instead of just bending and kicking at the knees. I do a lot of diving here in Guam and it just kills me to go from being able to propel myself rather quickly with fins to almost moving nowhere without them. I have my first open water tri on sunday here as long as the typhoons pass us. I am hoping my balance will be somewhat better in the ocean which will help me get by without doing a lot of kicking. At least until I can get a masters lesson my my daughter’s swim coach when he gets back on island at the end of august.
Jason