my kicking is not good as well. but you should do more
stretching like a ballard dance first of all.
This article helps.
An Article on Kicking!
The Flutter Kick
by Marty Hull
One of Swimming's Mysteries Legs are very powerful on land,
able to move us around with quickness and grace. In the
water, legs do not always work very well. This article
explores how the flutter kick works, why some swimmers have
very effective kicks and others do not, and how to make your
kick better through specific stretching and strengthening
exercises.
The amount of leg power swimmers can transfer to the water
depends primarily on the forward range of motion of the
foot. The farther your foot bends forward the more leg power
you will be able to transfer to the water and the farther
you will travel with each stroke. This is why learning how
to develop a good kick is so important.
The flutter kicking movement involves alternately separating
the legs and then drawing them back together. The moment the
legs separate, the surface of the legs encounter drag from
the water which slows the swimmer. When the legs are drawn
back together, they produce a force which tends to push the
swimmer forward. If the kick produces considerably more
forward force than it causes drag, the kick will be
propulsive.
Individual differences in foot range of motion determine how
propulsive a kick is. A (poor) kick that produces little or
no propulsion is of little use. A moderately propulsive
(fair) kick will work well when sprinting but not as well on
longer swims. A very propulsive (great) kick is worth using
a lot. This swimmer will appear to flow almost effortlessly
through the water when swimming.
Poor Kick: If your foot flexes to less than 90 degrees, it
is necessary to bend at the knees to get the foot to an
angle that will push you forward. Bending at the knees
causes enough additional drag to cancel out the forward
force produced by the kick. For the amount of effort kicking
takes, this kick is not worth using.
Fair Kick: If your foot flexes to 90 degrees or slightly
more, you will have a moderately propulsive kick. The knee
must bend a little to make the kick work but it provides
enough propulsion to be worthwhile using. For this swimmer,
it is often necessary to keep the calf muscle contracted so
the foot flexes forward far enough to produce maximum
propulsion. This may result in cramping in the calf, but it
lets you go faster. It works best for sprints and is less
effective for longer swims.
Great Kick: If your foot flexes to significantly more than
90 degrees, very little knee bend is needed to kick. As the
foot kicks against the water, the pressure from the water
against the top of the foot keeps the foot flexed forward.
The calf muscles need not be used. The blood flow which
would have gone to the calf muscles is then free to be used
in the upper body. This kick causes very little drag and
generates excellent propulsion.
Foot range of motion can be increased through stretching.
For each degree you gain past 90 degrees, the amount of
forward force you produce with each kicking movement
increases and the effort required to kick decreases. In
essence, you get more propulsion for less work. The
swimmer with great plantar flexion may not only go faster,
he/she may not even be working quite as hard. Life is not
always fair.
Ankle Stretching Swimmers have been stretching ankles for a
long time. I used to stretch mine by bending them under a
couch. World record holder Jeff Rouse uses his body weight
(photo #1), rolling back on his feet to stretch. Classical
ballet dancers have been using simple boards with straps
attached for decades to stretch feet. There are two areas
where stretching is possible: the ankle joint and the joints
down farther in the foot, the tarsal-metatarsal joints.
These joints are the most difficult to stretch, a limit
being reached by many after a fairly small improvement.
Stretching the tarsal- meta- tarsal joints allows the bottom
portion of the foot to move to a better position, further
improving the kick.
Stretching Exercises Ankle joint: Soak ankles and feet in
hot water (108 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit) for several
minutes. Adjust the strap on a board so that it fits snugly
over instep. Sit on foot and slowly slide the board away
from you by straightening the leg. This will begin to
stretch the joint. The more force you use to straighten the
leg, the more stretching force you will put on the joint.
Begin gradually, using low force. Stretch each foot for 45
seconds to one minute. Stretch every other day. Gradually,
over a period of several weeks, increase the amount of time
per foot, the force levels and the number of days per week.
For the first couple of weeks, you will have some tenderness
on the underside of the ankle joint. After this passes, you
can significantly increase stretching force and duration.
Tarsal-metatarsal stretch: Place foot in the strap attatched
to a board so the strap runs over the lower portion of the
foot, just above the toes. It is usually necessary to
tighten the strap a little. Stretch this area the same way
you stretched the ankle joint.
Once you increase ankle range of motion, your kick will
change. You will kick with a straighter leg and your foot
will move up and down a shorter distance but will move
faster. This new kicking movement greatly increases the use
of hip flexor muscles. Specific stretching and strengthening
exercises are needed to help the hip flexor muscles stand up
at this increased demand.
Hip flexor stretch: Place your left leg on a chair (photo
#4) while supporting yourself with a hand on the chair back.
To stretch, bend the right knee, allowing your body weight
to press down on your right leg. As you press down, also
lean your torso back. This places excellent stretching
forces on the hip flexor muscles.
Move into this stretch gradually so you do not injure or
pull any portions of the muscles being stretched. Hold this
position 60 to 90 seconds per leg. Do both legs. Do three to
four times per week.
Hip Flexor Strengthening In the deep end of the pool, kick
(with fins) in a vertical position. Warm up with a couple of
minutes of easy kicking. Then, kick hard for 30 seconds
followed by a 20 second rest. Keep you legs straight while
kicking. This isolates the hip flexor muscles. You will feel
the muscles working in the front of your pelvis. If you
allow the knees to bend, the hip flexors work less and the
quadriceps muscles work more. Try kicking both ways and you
will notice the difference. Begin with 1 x 30- or 2 x 30-
second kicking periods with rests in between. Over a period
of several weeks, work up to eight to 10 periods of 30-
second versicle kicking. Do this three times per week. When
will you improve? This often depends on the range of motion
of your foot when you begin. Many swimmers notice some
benefits within one to two weeks. If you stretch
aggressively and regularly, you will improve for many weeks.
The versicle kicking exercises will start to pay off in two
to three weeks.
Marty Hull is a top Masters swimmer and a consultant to the
Stanford University Swim Team.
"Brian and Denise Pauley" <
[email protected]>
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:
[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> My kick sucks. I swim okay, but any part of the workout
> that is only kicking, I might as well cut the distance in
> half so as to not run out of time to do the rest of the
> workout. Not to mention how exhausted I am
after
> 100 -150 yards of kickboard work. It's got to affect the
> rest of my workout.
>
> I'm 6'2" and have 36 inch inseam, size 12 feet, and
> chicken legs.
(Although
> they aren't as skinny as they used to be due to weight
> lifting and skate skiing, as far as I know.)
>
> My question is how to improve my kick? Should I use my
> fins during
kicking
> drills? Or keep banging out the laps without them until my
> legs are
burning
> and numb hoping that they will improve along the way?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Brian
