The bottom line is that we each need to work on our kick if we want to achieve our full swimming potential. Regardless of stroke, distance, or innate kicking ability, training to improve your kick provides more overall speed, better ability to execute bursts of acceleration to drop competitors, and better metabolism through enhanced leg-muscle blood flow. Depending on stamina and race distance, the optimum breakout point may change at different points in the race. Underwater kicking off the wall during a race is only useful while you’re kicking faster than you can swim on the surface.Sprinters use more energy on kick than distance swimmers, breaststrokers use more than freestylers, etc. The percentage of energy allocated to the kick varies depending on stroke and distance.Greater ankle and hip flexibility enable more effective kicking.There is an optimum amplitude (range of motion) for an effective kick, and it’s probably not as big as you think. Kicking too deep or wide can create enough drag to negate any propulsion gained.Therefore, a propulsive kick requires strong support musculature in addition to powerful legs. Every kick transfers energy from the core through the hips to the legs. Every swimming motion involves the entire body arm strokes and kicks are coupled together through the core.But the truth is that many factors determine how effective your kick is. Well, OK-perhaps those coaches are onto something. Sadistic swim coaches-“Long sets of underwater dolphin kick are the only way to achieve the searing lung pain and insufferable leg-muscle agony needed to build true character.”.
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