I think the biggest detriment to my swimming is my kicking. I think the problem is a combination of under-rotation to the breathing side as well as panicking for air caused by the fact I almost drown when I was younger. I currently seem to follow a 4 beat kick that is mis-timed with my arm strokes and when I am breathing I panick and frantically kick as hard as I can until I receive oxygen. Needless to say the inefficiency seems to be tapping my energy reserves. I was hoping you guys could help me with two things.
Which is preffered, 2-beat or 4-beat kick? Would the 2-beat be more effecient? It seems to me that for us lean/slower swimmers it is hard to keep your hips/feet higher in the water with a 2-beat kick canceling the energy savings.
What drills can I perform to help time my kick with my front crawl?
If you’re gonna 4-beat kick it’s gonna have to be asymmetrical, so it’s probably easier timing-wise to learn a 2 beat kick. One thing you could do to practice timing is to use a pull-buoy, but also have a small kick. That way you are not dependent on the kick to keep your lower body higher in the water and can instead focus on the timing of the kick and how it relates to your arms.
unless you are an extremely experiences swimmer, dont try to do 2 beat kick. if you are gasping for air, have you considered the problem might your breathing control as well as your kick? do you hold your breath? You should exhale completely before taking a breath so that you get the most out of it. Its inefficient to exhale and inhale everytime you turn to breathe.
also, do you turn up a lot of water on your kick? your foot should not clear the water otherwise you’re just kicking air. try kicking with no board , your arms stretched out infront of you and your head up. its a good drill .
I started doing a bunch of drills using shorty fins … it really helped with my kick. It also seemed to improve my ankle flexibility. One drill that I particularly like is side kick with fins. It helped me with rotation and kick.
My breathing control does need some work I am trying my hardest to exhale everything under water but I think from my previous dramatic experience I still want to hold onto oxygen.
For freestyle the kick is not as “timed” as it is for butterfly or breaststroke so I honestly wouldn’t worry about the timing of the kick (in 20+ years of competative swimming I’ve never thought about it). I agree that from the sounds off it you should do a lot of work with a pull buoy to get your stroke/breathing down and simultaniously do some kicking drills with kickboard/fins or on your side to build up ankle flexability. Kicking on your back with your arms stretched overhead is also a great drill to help you determine how strong your kick needs to be to keep your body above water but since you’re on your back it’s easy to breath. Once you feel comfortable with those two then you’ll be able to swim working on combining the two. The good news is that in wetsuit legal races you shouldn’t have a problem since full-leg wetsuits typically give you similar bouyancy to pullbuoys and would help keep your legs and back end afloat.
As to a 2 or 4-beat kick. 2-beat kicks really only work effectively with folks who have been swimming a very long time as the kick is less there to move them forward as to help them with rotation and keeping them appropriately balanced. This comes with lots and lots and lots and lots of practice so that it’s second nature and really only works with someone who’s pull is strong enough on it’s own to keep their body on top of the water. 4, 6, and 8 beat kicks (the later not necessarily being effective for long-distance triathletes aside from the initial sprint to try and get ahead of the pack) are better for MOP and BOP swimmers as it’ll keep your body up in ways that your arms can’t yet.
I am trying my hardest to exhale everything under water but I think from my previous dramatic experience I still want to hold onto oxygen.