I keep trying to use a flutter kick in my swimming (1-2-3, 1-2-3), but I literally see no difference whatsoever in my lap times vs just using a scissors kick every stroke.
If I try to use a kickboard, I barely move. It probably takes me close to 45 seconds to go 25 yards.
Try to point your toes more when you swim.
jaretj
That sounds like low flexability on your feet. It’s just up to you to get it better. Do some “drills” at home, while you watching tv or have dinner to improve on that point.
Thanks for the answers. By drills you mean what exactly? bend my toes forward by placing weight on them?
‘Cuz you ain’t doin’ it right!
Here’s a drill. Hold on to the wall and kick (hold on to the gutter with one hand and brace the other hand against the pool wall down low). Now, bend your head down so you can look back at your feet. When your foot is on the upbeat, check to make sure your toes are not dropping (pointing down toward the pool bottom). That is a common kicking flaw of runners/triathletes. Your toes should be pointed as straight behind you as possible on both the upbeat and downbeat. After you get the feel of doing it right, get a kickboard and really, really concentrate on the pointy toes on the upbeat. See if your speed doesn’t improve.
You sound like me as far as kicking goes. For the next while I’m going to do all my kick drills with fins to work on the flex factor, and so those drills don’t take my entire workout. A good chunk of my swim training this offseason will focus on the kick as one of the things Doug Stern mentioned in a post on the same topic was the stronger your kick, in reality the more effortless the swim becomes.
You want to feel the water on your feet, both on the up and down strokes of the kick. Feel yourself pushing the water with the tops and bottoms of your feet.
Also, make sure your kick is originating from your hips, not from bending your knees.
AP
Thanks for the tips everyone. I wonder if flat footed people are at an advantage here as opposed to people with high arches. 
Unless you’e sprinting, a flutter kick (6 beat) is likely not to help. Doc Counselman (sp?) tested that at I.U. years ago.
you can stretch your ankles while you are sitting in a chair. just point your toes as straight down as you can, and apply gentle pressure forward to stretch the ankle. poor ankle flexibility adds a LOT of drag while swimming.
also, throw out the kickboard. better kicking drill is to kick on your back while hyperextended.
you only need to kick enough to keep your lower body from sinking and to keep your stroke in balance. triathletes don’t need to kick like popov while swimming. a two beat kick works plenty fine for me.
I disagree.
First off, how do you know your kick slows you down? If you answer is that you are faster with a pull buoy, then I would suggest that its actually your body position that slows you down, not so much you kick. Your hips are probably sitting low in the water while you are swimming normally, creating drag. (Also, kick boards don’t do much other then isolate your legs, which is largely useless in swimming, and encourage bad body position. If you want to kick, do it on your side or back so that you can keep good balance.)
The good news is that a wetsuit will give you enough buoyancy to largely compensate for this problem, so it won’t be as much of an issue while racing. However, for non-wetsuit swimming, practice pressing your chest down in the water, causing your hips to rise. This should at least put you in a more streamlined position.
Second, for the swimming you are likely doing, your kick should not really be thought of as a means of propulsion. Rather, consider it a way to keep your hips rotating. If your pull is originating in your hips, then the logical termination of that roll is in the snap of your foot. For this, your are best off using a 4 or even a 2 beat kick. A two-beat kick isn’t really a kick at all, but a way to facilitate the rythm of your stroke.
Hope that helps.
Thanks for the answers. By drills you mean what exactly? bend my toes forward by placing weight on them?
That’s one example. While you’re in bed trying to sleep you can actually work that out too. With belly up, use the weight of your sheets to bend your toes forward!
I disagree.
You’re entitled.
"you only need to kick enough to keep your lower body from sinking and to keep your stroke in balance. triathletes don’t need to kick like popov while swimming. a two beat kick works plenty fine for me.
Rsum716"
I totaly agree.You do not want to kill your legs while swimming.You need them for the bike and the run.
What would you gain anyway???2 min???I can easily make up for that on the bike with fresher legs.
thanks. btw, no way does anyone gain 2 minutes in an IM swim by upping their kicking tempo any faster than they need to. 2 minutes is a big difference.
that is not to say that you can’t LOSE 2 minutes from your swim by kicking differently if it screws up your stroke rhythm. if your feel natural kicking 6 beats and a 2 beat kick throws your stroke all to shit, then by all means kick 6 beats. just don’t try to get extra propulsion out of it, else you’ll fry yourself real quick in an open water swim.
my point here is that you shouldn’t change your kicking tempo based on what others are doing. go with what is natural for you.