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Jan 2022
2:16pm, 12 Jan 2022
818 posts
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The Mussile
I dont use a kickboard myself, I either streamline with arms out front or arms at the side. With arms at the side you can press your thumbs into your glutes to check you are kicking from the hip as well.
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Jan 2022
2:17pm, 12 Jan 2022
16,142 posts
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rf_fozzy
If I do that, it's impossible for me to breathe.
I have tried it, but I just end up stopping 10-15m down the length.
So have to use the kickboard
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Jan 2022
2:18pm, 12 Jan 2022
16,143 posts
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rf_fozzy
I guess if you've got a good kick, you can pretty much do a length without needing to breathe.
Unfortunately I can't hold my breath for 3mins. Never mind 3 mins kicking.
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Jan 2022
2:19pm, 12 Jan 2022
819 posts
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The Mussile
If I do that, it's impossible for me to breathe. I have tried it, but I just end up stopping 10-15m down the length. So have to use the kickboard
fair enough, I struggle to use the kickboard myself as it causes too much resistance and I struggle to then implement the drill focus back into my stroke.
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Jan 2022
2:22pm, 12 Jan 2022
132,225 posts
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GregP
<quote>Unfortunately I can't hold my breath for 3mins. Never mind 3 mins kicking.</quote>
Could I get my Super to stop breathing for three minutes while I gave him a kicking? It might not help my swimming but it would make me feel better.
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Jan 2022
3:08pm, 12 Jan 2022
24,705 posts
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TROSaracen
I’m terrible at kick drills. I hardly go forward, so around Fozzy’s time.
But wrt kicking:
1. It’s a poor ROI of effort - marginal gain for major effort. Vital for a proper swimmer but not for someone wanting a middling sort of time.
2. More than any other aspect of swimming, a good kick is a product of having swim since you were young. Probably due to that particular ankle flexibility which we lose in adulthood unless swimming 3/4weekly to keep it.
3. For us middle of the roadies the vital part of the kick is it’s lifting action to bring the legs up and keep the body flat and high in the water. A good drill is let the legs sink then kick to raise them to the surface and keep them there….then swim keeping that kick going. Big gains likely from this alone.
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Jan 2022
3:51pm, 12 Jan 2022
132,226 posts
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GregP
Is that the totality of point 3 TRO, or is there more detail? Minded to go to the pool later and try just that (and get a 20m kick length time for the group to laugh at).
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Jan 2022
4:12pm, 12 Jan 2022
16,144 posts
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rf_fozzy
My swimmer colleague does a 25m kick drill in 16s...
Just for reference.
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Jan 2022
4:14pm, 12 Jan 2022
30,265 posts
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EvilPixie
OMG I can't even do a length in that!
I can do 1 length in 30s if I stop and have oxygen at the end!
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Jan 2022
4:15pm, 12 Jan 2022
16,145 posts
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rf_fozzy
"let the legs sink then kick to raise them to the surface and keep them there….then swim keeping that kick going"
My legs sink of their own accord - whether or not I kick! What you say sounds simple, but that's effectively what I *am* trying to do. And failing obviously.
There must be some gains to be had from practising to get a better kick as this will make you flatter in the water. That's why I'm doing kick drills - not to improve my kick, but to stop them sinking.
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How was your swim today?
Jul 2025