My guess is that I’m not the first to post this…if I am, then you swimmers aren’t doing your jobs!
Anyway, I’m no swim expert, but I found these to be very helpful. I’d love to read some comments about the techniques shown in these videos.
One thing I noticed is the “to glide or not to glide” question can be answered by comparing Ian Thorpe’s sprint videos to Hacket’s 1500 video. Also, the hacket video seems to be the clearest way to see what a 2 beat kick would might look like since his other 4 beats are very small.
If anythingm, I just like watching the hips rotate…in a very NOT gay way ; ^ ) (I’m only winking at the ladies with my emoticon).
Barry, great link. Why does Hackett stop kicking after each stroke? I would think that one would keep kicking through the entire stroke to maintain balance. Is that a 2 beak kick he is using? If so, what is the benefit of it? Also, does he always use this kick no matter what the distance? (sorry for all the questions)
great link…it is jsut me or does it look like thorpe bends his knees a lot when he kicks? i thought the idea was to kick from the hips? Now I am just confused…
You should listen to the “experts” and not me, but I think Paulo explained it best when he refered to it as a “whipping” type of action. You start the kick from the theigh and allow the lower leg and foot to whip with it.
Keep in mind that what coaches “tell” you has more to do with what you need to think about rather than the actualy mechanics involved.
ie…you kick with both your upper AND lower leg (how can you argue…they obviously both move), however, most of us sucky swimmer need to focus on using the theigh because it doesn’t naturaly occur to us.
funny you should say that because that particular post from Paulo really helped me improve my kick. However, i still thought i was perhaps bending my knee too much but looking at that movie makes me think i might not be.
i recently noticed my pull buoy times are only slightly slower than my swim times so I’m trying to figure out what could be causing the drag below the waist. I am pretty sure my legs aren’t dragging as i have been focusing on looking down and leaning on my chest to level my body position…
I am pretty sure my legs aren’t dragging as i have been focusing on looking down and leaning on my chest to level my body position…
Funny you should mention that. Doug Stern recommends looking forward and I noticed Thorpe was looking forward in his side videos. I think the key is keeping the head down but rolling it slightly forward and looking through the tops of you goggles. As Doug says, this allows you to watch what your hands are doing.
I actually had a great session with Doug last spring in the endless pool at SBR and he taught me some great things regarding hand entry, rotation, timing, pull and recovery and he thought my body position was ok (just that my kick was pathetic!).
That said - i think it’s hard to judge body position in an endless pool since the current tends to drag you down some. Perhaps the drag is still caused by my runners inflexible ankles but i thought i had improve that too!
“thorpe bends his knees a lot when he kicks”
Yes he does, and so do most really strong kickers. It isn’t that he’s deliberately bending them, he’s just loose and so the knee flexes at the top of the kick and then whips into a minor hyperextension at the other end. If you are strong enough and flexible enough (note the movement of Thorpe’s feet so that top of his foot is angled upward toward the toes at full upward extension and then they sweep into a slight flexion at the bottom of the kick) your knees should flex naturally, not by any application of muscle force.
In practice, it’s probably best to “try” to lock your knees and then later just forget about it and the knees will flex naturally in a whip-like motion.
If you’re ankles don’t flex like Ian’s, then don’t waste a lot of time improving your leg strength in the kick. Work on flexibility, specifically plantar flexion.
Interesting, in the Brooke Bennett, Claudia poll(bottom right) video, how insync the kick is with the arms. And how deeply their arms appear to be going.
It looks like Grant Hackett is doing a two-beat kick in the 1500m video.
It's hard to see but I believe this is what he is doing.
It also looks like the three things happen at the same time;
1a. Catch is started
1b. Two beat kick started which initiates the hip roll
1c. Hip rotation
While 1a, 1b, 1c are in progress
2. Recovering hand enters the water
Then all of these motions complete at different times followed by the last motion.
3. the last motion is the glide
4. go back to one and repeat
What I find interesting that this is close to how my TI coach has me swimming the only difference would be that she has me doing four things at once. Just move motion #2 recovering hand enters the water up with catch started.
So for TI Ironman swimming, this is what my coach has me doing.
Four actions happen at the same time after the glide and recovery
1a. Recovering hand enters the water
1b. Catch is started
1c. Two beat kick started which initiates the hip roll
1d. Hip rotation
2. glide and recover
3. goto step 1
IMO, If you don’t have a swimming background, with many years of competitive swimming, watching these videos could be more of a disadvantge than anything else.
Probably you haven’t figured out your own technique yet, and now trying to copy their technique will get you more…confused. You will start adding to the mix, and will be harder to refine your current technique.
I’ve been thinking along very similar lines as you while trying to synchronize my stroke.
For me, I sometimes think of the simultaneous timing as:
one hand pulling
one hand extending (under water)
and the body rolling
I am trying to develop a propulsive kick and have it synch up with the initiation of the pull of the opposite hand. Haven’t committed to a 2-beat kick or a weak ONE-two-three, TWO-two-three 6-beat kick yet.
Sometimes it starts to come together, but it falls apart when I try to move up the timing of my breathing.
I’m a lousy swimmer, but that’s what I’m focusing on.
I did. He only kicks to one side! also, do you see his head go underwater and his body seems to dolphin during the glide! Yeck, I’m underwater anyway so I might as well try this
