Triathletes - swim question

[Deleted]

I started a new swim class at a YMCA a couple weeks ago. The class is geared towards those who do triathlons, but not all members of the class do the sport.

I'm noticing that we do a lot of kick drills. In similar classes (at different gyms) that I've done in the past, kick drills are kept to a minimum.

My question, for those who do triathlons, do you tend to do a lot of kick drills in your training?

For me, I feel like they're not overly useful, but I'm wondering if that's just because I'm relatively new to swimming and I'm still trying to develop my stroke.

[woowoo]

We did a lot of kick drills. My understanding is that it was to build up your kicking endurance/effectiveness so you don't wear your legs out during the swim.

[kams]

We do very little kick-specific. Most of us swim with a two-beat kick, and occasionally we work on activating a faster/stronger kick for certain situations, but really, not much kick focus ever.

[katinthehat]

I've not done a class before but I always ended my swim sets with 100-200 yards of kick drills (I think my biggest swim set was 2800 yards so I'm not talking massive pool yardage.)

I found that when I get panicked in OWS I kick like crazy but I don't feel that kick drills helped me with that. I had to make a conscientious choice to slow my kicking down and get my heart rate under control.

[mrs.jacinthe]

I've never taken a class, but I've taught/coached some triathletes. While you shouldn't be kicking a TON in the actual triathlon, having an effective kick versus one that is more of a hindrance is important. For example, kicking with your feet flexed will actually cause you to move BACKWARDS, so could it be that the instructor is trying to correct kicking problems? Kicking drills can also help with body position, which is important. Finally, kicking is an excellent cross-training exercise for the bike. (better hip flexibility/strength, more quad endurance, etc)

[Deleted]

Jan 17, 2014 12:56:06 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

I've never taken a class, but I've taught/coached some triathletes. While you shouldn't be kicking a TON in the actual triathlon, having an effective kick versus one that is more of a hindrance is important. For example, kicking with your feet flexed will actually cause you to move BACKWARDS, so could it be that the instructor is trying to correct kicking problems? Kicking drills can also help with body position, which is important. Finally, kicking is an excellent cross-training exercise for the bike. (better hip flexibility/strength, more quad endurance, etc)

The instructor just gives us sets with not much feedback (it's not the best class I've taken). Last night, he said that the kick sets are for cardio, but i didn't really understand that.

That's interesting that it's good cross training for the bike.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Huh. I suppose if you're kicking hard, it could be cardio, but VERY FEW people kick hard enough to make it a cardio thing. Most of the time, adult swimmers in a kick set will be goggles-off and chatting as they kick. LOL

[joenali]

If you are doing kicking, you should not be using a kick board.

[Deleted]

Jan 17, 2014 13:31:07 GMT -5 joenali said:

If you are doing kicking, you should not be using a kick board.

Should I just have my arms outstreched in front of me?

This is all very helpful information. Getting better at swimming is so much harder than improving at running.

[joenali]

In front, at your side or even kicking on your back.

[emilyj]

Today at masters, I did 3400 yards, and about 500 of that was kicking. That seems to be the norm most days. Some days are kicking days, where we'll do bigger kick sets.

My group tends to do a lot of IM, which I don't like.

[trigal]

Many people don't use the kick effectively while swimming and tend to depend on their arms for all propulsion. A strong kick (with proper form) allows you to roll your body smoothly and will keep your body in the proper position.

For triathlons, we don't use our kick a lot during races so as to save our legs for the bike and run. However, we still kick. So, we work on kicking so that what we do is as helpful as possible.

Kicking (again with proper form) will also increase strength in your hip flexors which translates very well to cycling and running.

When I do kicking sets, they are generally done on my back with my arms at my sides. That is mostly to help my shoulder. I have a small tear in my left shoulder and having my arms overhead is not good for it, so I use the kicking set to give my arms a little rest.

[katinthehat]

Jan 18, 2014 10:11:11 GMT -5 trigal said:

When I do kicking sets, they are generally done on my back with my arms at my sides. That is mostly to help my shoulder. I have a small tear in my left shoulder and having my arms overhead is not good for it, so I use the kicking set to give my arms a little rest.

I know the motion is the same but my legs (especially my hips/flexors) feel so much more of the workout when I do kicksets on my back than on my stomach.