Let’s say for 1000m or more. Full kick, tight flutter, 2-beat, or barely at all?
Is a stronger kick worth the extra O2 demand?
Wetsuit or not? Makes all the difference.
Wow, big controversy.
I get different stories from everyone on what to do. I have settled on my own version of a kick- which probably should not be emulated since I am NOT a great swimmer at all.
My kick (I think…) provides mostly stability and not much propulsion. There are times when I kick a little harder to accelerate or pass another swimmer.
I also do the thing where you kick near the swim finish to get some blood in your legs, although I doubt it does a whole lot.
I like kicking set.I’ll do 6x100 or a 300 here and there. I am a swimmer and used to be a lot better at kicking but now with these tight legs, I don’t float anymore:) Kicking is also awesome the day after a long run. i find it helping post workout soreness… I know most people hate kicking, that’s probably because they are not good at it. reason more to do those sets!
I hardly kick at all, due to the fact that, everytime I do a bit of kicking, it makes me feel like my leg is going to come apart at the knee. That, and I get either a hamstring pain or a calf pain… maybe i’m just not kicking right?
If I recall, Doc Counsilman (?sp?) of Olympic and Indiana U. fame tested this. The kick provided very little propulsion, except in a full-on sprint with very vigorous kick. It chews up a lot of calories for very little proplusive force. In other circumstances it is really a stabilizer.
It depends on how much the person behind me is bugg’n me.
3 beat crossover kick (big left kick, small right kick, small left kick, big left kick, small right kick, small left kick) I’ve got a massive lope going on in my freestyle. Not much propulsion from the kick, and mostly for balance.
Jill, are you doing anything to “correct” the lope, and if so, what?
Lope’s been there for forever and a day. Correcting it both slows me down and ups the heart rate. (multiple coaches tried to even it out and we’d always go back to a more uneven stroke to get my speed back up) When describing my stroke, I always say “kids, don’t try this at home” but after a lot of yardage and experimentation, it’s what works for me.
And my stroke is distinctive enough friends and family can easily pick me out of the pack in the water 
A simple 2beat kick does me.
Remember Matt Biondi? STroke, stroke…stroke, stroke…stroke, stroke…but he was a sprinter.
you’ll find that in just about all top swimmers they have a very strong kick. top 1500m swimmers will bring in 6 beat throughout the race. hardly any male 2 beat top swimmers out there. i had an aussie coach for a while as a swimmer…he had a wicked endurance squad. and alot of emphasis was placed on kick. most european swimmers have very strong kicks as well. you’ll also notice that the people with the smoothest and most technically proficient strokes also have very good kicks.
ian thorpe and grant hackett, best 2 middle- long distance swimmers in world have massive kicks.
When trying to get faster is it worth working on the kick or just keep working on the stroke? If so, do fins help you get faster and how much of the kick sets should be with fins?
I have never done sets with fins. But again, kicking is very easy for me. I think it’s important to work on both, your kick and your stroke. A good kick will make a better stroke. Lots of drills. The fins are probably good to get the “feel”. I see people trying to kick by bending their knees too much. When I was a swim instructor, I constantly had to have my swimmers try to use their hips more . I think that is very important. Plus the more you do it, the better you will become at it…
…Took a look at the reply posts related to your question. Lots of different points of view. Here’s one more:
Your kick, regardless of beats per cycle, should be in sync with your stroke. The initial leg motion (kick)should trigger your hip opening up prior to beginning your pull. The kick’s effect is an initiation of body roll, opening the hip and following through with your arm. It would then seem logical that a two beat kick would suffice. Unfortunately, most swimmers have too deep of a kick (witnessed by their heel exiting the water) and the resulting effect is a corkscrew-type motion.
I recommend to all of my students a 6 beat kick that is essentially two “1-2-3” counts. The #3 beat (kick)is your trigger to begin your body roll (opening up your hip). It’s important to kick shallow. Try to limit foot separation to no more that 6-8 inches during your kick. Any deeper and your legs will start to burn. Most folks can barely point their toes. A deep kick will actually hurt more than it will help.
To get the rhythm/coordination, try kicking on your side for a count of six, rotate to the other side and repeat. Once the 6 count is comfortable switch to 3 kicks and then rotate. It’s a simple drill but one that may help.
Lastly, you want to kick when swimming in a wetsuit. It’s the easiest way to take advantage of the extra floatation and increase your overall speed. I didn’t notice any “non kickers” at IM Florida this year that were finishing under 1 hr. It was a kicking, drafting, bubble-fest.
Best of Luck
-Andrew
Fins help a lot espacially when you’re using them doing drills. They keep you up in the water so you can do the drill correctly and not struggle to maintain a necessary speed to not sink.
Like stated somewhere above, kicking helps a lot with stroke. If you look at most competitive swimmers from the local swim team to the Olympic Teams, the people with the good kick have the good stroke. I also wouldn’t say it drains you. If you have a good stroke, swimming becomes effortless but it takes lots of work to get there.
Enjoy the H2O.