Thanks for this video. I am just now learning to swim at 40 due to back issues, and working on my weight, and I've actually been going backwards when I try to swim with just kicking. This has given me some great insight. Cheers.
Exactly what I need currently, thanks! I also struggle to make the movement out of my thighs rather than my knees and doing it slow enough as well as having enough stability in my core. I personally find it difficult to work on it, since I can't see myself to control and compare my movements. Further, there are no cameras or phones allowed by the pool for good reasons. Using fins, I am moving forward and feel my movements might be ok. However, as soon as I try it without fins, I struggle to replicate it and barely move forard...
Same here, though it's no comfort knowing I'm not alone, I'd rather learn how to swim and kick right! But keep striving, keep doing, WE CAN DO THIS! 👍♥️👌
@@barbarabuford5795 Thanks! It is pretty frustrating to see, how much focus is set on the arm movements and how little on the legs. However, they seem to be really vital for the body position in the water. I think I got marginally better, but am still struggling a lot. Let's keep trying, once we will achieve it! :D
Have you tried talking to others? It's not easy but I started making conversation with some other people at the pool I go to and this one guy would watch me swim and give me pointers, it really helped as my pool doesn't allow phones and stuff either
Well, several points here. Biggest problem I had with my kick was trying to do the perfect gymnastic toe point because it was more stream lined. Not mentioned here, and in almost no videos, is that you should go pigeon toed, as much as 40 to 45 degrees. Especially for those of us who do not have flexible ankles, this can give you an extra 10 to 20 degrees of plantar or dorsi flexion. Those names confuse me, and I just call it toe point. The thing is that by going pigeon toed, besides the extra toe point, you end up using the entire side of your foot rather than just your toes. Second point is fins. I don't know why the standard 'frog feet' style are so popular. Humans do not have flat feet like frogs or ducks. Ours are very 3D. The frog feet style only promote the straight back toe point, which is not what you want for max propulsion. They actually fight this inward motion. I don't think that is the point of that design. Only ones I know of that are 'ergonomically correct' are the Positive Drive fins from Finis. They have about 1 inch of fin on the big toe side, and about 2 to 3 inches on the little toe side. This does put your foot in the proper position if your ankles are relaxed. They do take a little getting used to. For me, using the gymnastic type toe point, it would take 58 or 59 seconds to make the length of a 25 yard pool. This is with a snorkel and no kick board. The kick board does promote bad posture/body position. Learning to go pigeon toed took that time down to 35 seconds. I am pushing off the wall only enough to get up to kick speed, not a long hard push off and a bunch of powerful dolphin kicks. Never understood the concept of the kick doesn't come from the knee, since that knee snap is essential for power. Best guess is that they are saying that you shouldn't do the scissor kick like used in side stroke. That does generate a lot of thrust, but also creates huge amounts of drag. I took 3 seconds off of my 50 yard sprint tome with my over arm side stroke in about 3 days just by dropping the scissor kick. For speed, you need a very rapid kick, and a very low amplitude. For distance, you can go with a slightly higher amplitude.
Oh, forgot..... First heard that "suck in your gut like you are trying to put your belly button on your spine' from a coach at Speedo, and it is a good one. One other exercise I picked up in my days as a gymnast, you need a totally perfect posture when spinning or you end up all over the place. Stand with your heels, butt and back against the wall, and stand up what you consider to be straight. See how much of your arm will go behind your lower back/lumbar area. "Perfect" would be just your fingers. If your forearm goes through, then you need to suck in your gut more. You should be just able to slip your fingers in. When you suck in your gut enough to have your back against your fingers, you will feel that in your abs from your belly button down. You can practice this while driving around in your car by trying to put your lower spine against the lumbar support in your car. Your abs should feel like this when swimming.
@@michaelcorleone2794 Not that I have noticed. What it did for me was to cut my flutter kick time down from almost 60 seconds for the length of a 25 yard pool to 35 or so seconds. Yes, my kick is very weak.... I tried the gymnastic toe point for years because I thought that was the least drag producing way of doing it. Then I saw a video from Gary Hall Sr. where he analyzed the kicks from several swimmers, Marcus somebody from Israel was the main one, and the dolphin kicks where they were pointing in a bit were faster. One swimmer had toes in almost to 180 degrees, which is too much, and one woman actually generated more thrust on her up kick. That changed kicking for me forever. Huge improvements. I do a lot of kicking laps with fins, and prefer the Positive Drive fins from Finis. They actually turn your feet over and in which is the optimal way for generating the most power. Standard frog feet make you point your toes more straight behind you. Watch any elite swimmer, and none of them point out straight behind them. All of them are toed in a bit, from 20 or do degrees up to maybe 45 degrees.
Have tried your tips and will keep at it and do kick sets during each sessions. Ugh. When I swim front crawl I try to synch my kick up with my catch and pull but I really struggle. I try to use fewer kicks as I know faster lifts my heart rate as you said. Do you have a tip for when each foot should kick downward relative to my arm pull, e.g. kick down with left foot when I start my pull when my right arm pulls through? Do you have a vide that slows down a video to better see timing/connection of kick with rest of stroke?
I also get confused as to when I kick - I kind of feel out of synch like my legs are kicking out the back but not to much effect (I do move forwards with a kick board) - knowing how the kick, catch and pull link up would be good. The other thing I find is I have quite an arched back and I've heard lots of advice about getting your hips higher by rotating them forwards but find this a bit confusing and it seems to slow me down. I feel like I am often just dragging my feet behind me no matter how much I practice kicking.
Today was my second day swim lessons of 2 weeks, 45 min sessions. I don't know what I'm doing wrong? The instructor says I can hold my breath longer than some young people, I'm 72, so Great! My kicking sucks! 😡. I will strive to kick from the hip, instructor says the same, but not certain how? I thought it was supposed to be the feet. Sometimes I feel like I'm not moving at all but I must be because I reach 4 feet when I just float without kicking. Maybe I should try the fins?
Tips : The timing of the kick is important, the timing of the kick will keep you streamline and you will be more efficient to pull and to avoid sinking legs…Pratice 2 beat kick: Kick right pull right and…
A good kicker ..... especially those who can kick fast with a kickboard .... have great ankle Plantar flexibility. One can increase plantar flexibility some but there are limits. Spend enough time kicking especially with others on a kickboard trying different amplitudes will allow your body to learn to kick most effectively ..... fins can help with this. Since Triathletes do so little swim training (vs competitive swimmers) kickboard kicking should be relegated to warm-up or cool-down or easy days.
I had a lesson with a coach who had a look at my kick becuase when I do kick I'm 10 seconds per 100m slower, and that's before I'm tired. With a kickboard, right kick only I move forward slowly, with left kick only I rotate anticlockwise.
Add salt to your water. Don't static stretch before or during swimming. Use dynamic stretching before and static after. There are a pair of calf muscles. One of them you'd stretch with a straight knee, and the other bending it as much as you can, keeping your foot flat on the floor. I hope that helps
I understand well that having proper form and a strong core is essential for effective kicking in swimming. It's clear that the kick should start from the core, and the importance of maintaining a streamlined position is also well-known. However, what could be the reason when attempts to initiate the kick from the core or hips don't seem to work? How can this be improved? And in cases where a good streamline is maintained but the kick is still ineffective, what can be done to enhance it?
I find that I’m able to engage my kick when wearing buoyancy shorts rather than a pull buoy (which almost kills the kicking action) for my longer swims. That said, I use my kick for stability more so than propulsion.
I'd say that pull buoy is for pulls, rather than kicks. One thing you might think about trying is a neoprene jammer. I wasn't sure if that was what you meant by buoyancy shorts.
Thanks for this video. I am just now learning to swim at 40 due to back issues, and working on my weight, and I've actually been going backwards when I try to swim with just kicking. This has given me some great insight. Cheers.
@HJRO If you come across any really good tips to help improvement please pass them on.
Exactly what I need currently, thanks! I also struggle to make the movement out of my thighs rather than my knees and doing it slow enough as well as having enough stability in my core. I personally find it difficult to work on it, since I can't see myself to control and compare my movements. Further, there are no cameras or phones allowed by the pool for good reasons. Using fins, I am moving forward and feel my movements might be ok. However, as soon as I try it without fins, I struggle to replicate it and barely move forard...
Same here, though it's no comfort knowing I'm not alone, I'd rather learn how to swim and kick right! But keep striving, keep doing, WE CAN DO THIS! 👍♥️👌
@@barbarabuford5795 Thanks! It is pretty frustrating to see, how much focus is set on the arm movements and how little on the legs. However, they seem to be really vital for the body position in the water. I think I got marginally better, but am still struggling a lot. Let's keep trying, once we will achieve it! :D
Body rotation. That means you have to improve your evf arm and breathing techniques first. Your body rotation will come naturally second.
Have you tried talking to others? It's not easy but I started making conversation with some other people at the pool I go to and this one guy would watch me swim and give me pointers, it really helped as my pool doesn't allow phones and stuff either
Yep, I am one of those people who literally goes backwards in kick drills
Me too.
I don't need a stop watch for my kicking drills. I use a calendar.
@@wiseguy6539 lol
Me too😒
@@wiseguy6539😅😂😅
Well, several points here. Biggest problem I had with my kick was trying to do the perfect gymnastic toe point because it was more stream lined. Not mentioned here, and in almost no videos, is that you should go pigeon toed, as much as 40 to 45 degrees. Especially for those of us who do not have flexible ankles, this can give you an extra 10 to 20 degrees of plantar or dorsi flexion. Those names confuse me, and I just call it toe point. The thing is that by going pigeon toed, besides the extra toe point, you end up using the entire side of your foot rather than just your toes.
Second point is fins. I don't know why the standard 'frog feet' style are so popular. Humans do not have flat feet like frogs or ducks. Ours are very 3D. The frog feet style only promote the straight back toe point, which is not what you want for max propulsion. They actually fight this inward motion. I don't think that is the point of that design. Only ones I know of that are 'ergonomically correct' are the Positive Drive fins from Finis. They have about 1 inch of fin on the big toe side, and about 2 to 3 inches on the little toe side. This does put your foot in the proper position if your ankles are relaxed. They do take a little getting used to.
For me, using the gymnastic type toe point, it would take 58 or 59 seconds to make the length of a 25 yard pool. This is with a snorkel and no kick board. The kick board does promote bad posture/body position. Learning to go pigeon toed took that time down to 35 seconds. I am pushing off the wall only enough to get up to kick speed, not a long hard push off and a bunch of powerful dolphin kicks.
Never understood the concept of the kick doesn't come from the knee, since that knee snap is essential for power. Best guess is that they are saying that you shouldn't do the scissor kick like used in side stroke. That does generate a lot of thrust, but also creates huge amounts of drag. I took 3 seconds off of my 50 yard sprint tome with my over arm side stroke in about 3 days just by dropping the scissor kick.
For speed, you need a very rapid kick, and a very low amplitude. For distance, you can go with a slightly higher amplitude.
Oh, forgot..... First heard that "suck in your gut like you are trying to put your belly button on your spine' from a coach at Speedo, and it is a good one. One other exercise I picked up in my days as a gymnast, you need a totally perfect posture when spinning or you end up all over the place. Stand with your heels, butt and back against the wall, and stand up what you consider to be straight. See how much of your arm will go behind your lower back/lumbar area. "Perfect" would be just your fingers. If your forearm goes through, then you need to suck in your gut more. You should be just able to slip your fingers in. When you suck in your gut enough to have your back against your fingers, you will feel that in your abs from your belly button down. You can practice this while driving around in your car by trying to put your lower spine against the lumbar support in your car. Your abs should feel like this when swimming.
@@robohippy Can you explain the pigeon thing? I didn't get it
@@michaelcorleone2794 Toes turned inward.
@@robohippy so you increase the surface area, doesn't that make it harder to maintain the beat?
@@michaelcorleone2794 Not that I have noticed. What it did for me was to cut my flutter kick time down from almost 60 seconds for the length of a 25 yard pool to 35 or so seconds. Yes, my kick is very weak.... I tried the gymnastic toe point for years because I thought that was the least drag producing way of doing it. Then I saw a video from Gary Hall Sr. where he analyzed the kicks from several swimmers, Marcus somebody from Israel was the main one, and the dolphin kicks where they were pointing in a bit were faster. One swimmer had toes in almost to 180 degrees, which is too much, and one woman actually generated more thrust on her up kick. That changed kicking for me forever. Huge improvements. I do a lot of kicking laps with fins, and prefer the Positive Drive fins from Finis. They actually turn your feet over and in which is the optimal way for generating the most power. Standard frog feet make you point your toes more straight behind you. Watch any elite swimmer, and none of them point out straight behind them. All of them are toed in a bit, from 20 or do degrees up to maybe 45 degrees.
Have tried your tips and will keep at it and do kick sets during each sessions. Ugh. When I swim front crawl I try to synch my kick up with my catch and pull but I really struggle. I try to use fewer kicks as I know faster lifts my heart rate as you said. Do you have a tip for when each foot should kick downward relative to my arm pull, e.g. kick down with left foot when I start my pull when my right arm pulls through? Do you have a vide that slows down a video to better see timing/connection of kick with rest of stroke?
oh yes, such a vid would be really helpful!
I also get confused as to when I kick - I kind of feel out of synch like my legs are kicking out the back but not to much effect (I do move forwards with a kick board) - knowing how the kick, catch and pull link up would be good.
The other thing I find is I have quite an arched back and I've heard lots of advice about getting your hips higher by rotating them forwards but find this a bit confusing and it seems to slow me down.
I feel like I am often just dragging my feet behind me no matter how much I practice kicking.
@@F1tch1cI have the same problem. Great description.
Today was my second day swim lessons of 2 weeks, 45 min sessions. I don't know what I'm doing wrong? The instructor says I can hold my breath longer than some young people, I'm 72, so Great! My kicking sucks! 😡. I will strive to kick from the hip, instructor says the same, but not certain how? I thought it was supposed to be the feet. Sometimes I feel like I'm not moving at all but I must be because I reach 4 feet when I just float without kicking. Maybe I should try the fins?
I love Muhammad) (s.a.w)
Why was he a good swimmer ?
This is really irrelevant
Haha .. he's a false prophet who served the Satan
@@thecarnew5334just like how Christians in the comments say Jesus loves you
@@plutoyuh9464 bots prob, it’s getting annoying, like, I don’t wanna be Muslim
What you are trying to explain is very good and clearly understandable
I love prophet Muhammad ❤❤❤
Was he good swimmer
@@koksalkilinc3679absolutely not
Is he a swimmer 😂😂
He swam for your sins brother
Tell that to your goat.
I'm 64, been learning crawl for a few months, and i go nowhere when just kicking! Great exercise at least as im exhausted after swimming 25m!!! 😮
As always, great video. The last point about practising was aimed directly at me!😂
Great Training and Perfect video❤❤❤❤
Exactly what I needed currently
Last advice as practiceing is nice👍🏻👍🏻
As a beginner, I learned a lot of things and amazing works from your videos 👍💯❤️
Love the tip of engaging your core, I'm definitely going to focus more on that
The best swimming kick video about ever ❤ thanks 🙏
Congratulations from Argentina
As a beginner, I learned a lot of things and amazing works from your videos 👍
Very timely!!
Some great tips in this video!
Great job sir ,very helpfuly training👏👏👏i appreciate it👍👍👍👍
.Very interesting. As a beginner swimmer I learned a lot about swimming!
Great job, man he is a good swimmer 💟
Very good work dear 👍 excellent service ❤
Very interesting. As a beginner swimmer I learned a lot about swimming!
Impressive video and thanks for the great tips
Very interesting information and Thanks sir I learned a lot about swimming!
Great training
Excellent work
Excellent tips
Amazing work sir
Good job great training nice work
Very good some great points in this video
Exactly what I need currently amazing video really like it 👍
Tips : The timing of the kick is important, the timing of the kick will keep you streamline and you will be more efficient to pull and to avoid sinking legs…Pratice 2 beat kick: Kick right pull right and…
Could you explain that in a bit more detail? I think I'm working like mad but going nowhere and don't link my kick to my arm stroke at all.
Great information about swimming
Excellent adivce! Tks!
great tips in this video!
Great advice
Awesome video, greetings from India.
Good information
Exactly what I needed currently 😌
Amazing work 👏
A good kicker ..... especially those who can kick fast with a kickboard .... have great ankle Plantar flexibility. One can increase plantar flexibility some but there are limits. Spend enough time kicking especially with others on a kickboard trying different amplitudes will allow your body to learn to kick most effectively ..... fins can help with this. Since Triathletes do so little swim training (vs competitive swimmers) kickboard kicking should be relegated to warm-up or cool-down or easy days.
Great training ❤
Great advice.thank you😊
Great tips
Great work
Great advice 👍
Very Good Exercise
Very Informative
As always great video
Good learning
Good information 👍
Very informative video
Great video for beginners
Great video✨ very informative video
Excellent work ❤good swimming
You do always right things
I had a lesson with a coach who had a look at my kick becuase when I do kick I'm 10 seconds per 100m slower, and that's before I'm tired. With a kickboard, right kick only I move forward slowly, with left kick only I rotate anticlockwise.
Amazing work 😀😀👍
Amazing work 👏💯
Excellent work 👏❤i appreciate it 👍
Great Tips on This Video♥️
Good Training 💪
Now i can swim really good while listening this thanks ❤
great video. The last point about practising was aimed directly at me.😊👍Very interesting. As a beginner swimmer I learned a lot about swimming 😄🥽
Good tips for swimmers 👍
Good training
Nice work
Great content
Great job, man he is a good swimmer
Well done 👏
Great training ❤️😃
Good lesson
I did a kick board today and was amazed that I was 10x slower LOL! Need to practice legs !😅
Good work
Informative video
Great information…)
Very nice content
Great video
Tkanks for swimming guide
Nice guidelines
I learn a lot of things.
That's great to watch
Nice job 👍
Very nice👍
Do you have any advice on how to prevent calf cramping when swimming?
Add salt to your water. Don't static stretch before or during swimming. Use dynamic stretching before and static after. There are a pair of calf muscles. One of them you'd stretch with a straight knee, and the other bending it as much as you can, keeping your foot flat on the floor. I hope that helps
Nice one man
Awesome thank you😊
Nice information 👍👌❤️
Interesting ...As a beginner swimmer I learned alot about swimming
I understand well that having proper form and a strong core is essential for effective kicking in swimming. It's clear that the kick should start from the core, and the importance of maintaining a streamlined position is also well-known. However, what could be the reason when attempts to initiate the kick from the core or hips don't seem to work? How can this be improved? And in cases where a good streamline is maintained but the kick is still ineffective, what can be done to enhance it?
Great technique
I find that I’m able to engage my kick when wearing buoyancy shorts rather than a pull buoy (which almost kills the kicking action) for my longer swims. That said, I use my kick for stability more so than propulsion.
I'd say that pull buoy is for pulls, rather than kicks. One thing you might think about trying is a neoprene jammer. I wasn't sure if that was what you meant by buoyancy shorts.
The pool isn't open long enough for me to do a few lengths kick drills. It takes me around 10 minutes a length ;-).
Huge greatfull skills you tell ❣️
yeah , i have really tight ankles. this video was perfect for me to get these tips . i hope ill post later how i made it work lol
Good tips for swimming
Good tips
Awesome swimming skills