Butterfly kicks exercise9/23/2023 ![]() ![]() If you don’t, skip forward to the next drill. This drill works if you have a pool that’s deeper than you are tall. Now that you’ve established your foundation, head to the water and try some drills: Although that’s difficult for most swimmers, do try to finish your feet touching or almost touching. ![]() Swimmers with super foot flexibility can actually finish their kick with the bottoms of their fit clapping together. ![]() Some swimmers like to nest one foot just slightly under the instep of the other foot as they finish the kick, getting those legs into a great streamline. Squeeze every bit of propulsion out of your kick by properly finishing it. You can also try this sitting on the edge of the pool with feet dangling over the water. Play a little bit with the width of your knees and keep those thighs fairly stationary, don’t let them lift up. Once again, hinge at the knees, draw both heels back and aim for the outside of your hips. Hold firmly to the sides of the chair with legs extended straight out. Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair and scoot as close to the edge as you can. How narrow? Everyone is different, so there’s some wiggle room in this but, as a general rule, keep your knees about the width of your hips or your shoulders. A second land-based approach reinforces the hinge at the knees while showing that keeping the knees narrow is beneficial. The feet swing around in an arc carrying much-needed propulsion that pulls water from the inside line of your legs and feet. The goal is to have your feet outside of your knees at the top of the draw. Some find it helpful to spread their toes with the lift of the heel to prompt that ankle to turn out. As you lift heel to hip, turn your ankle out. When lifting your heel, lift it to the outside of your hip and not the centerline of your butt. This is the same action you want to take to the water. Because you’re hugging the wall, your thigh shouldn’t move. Using just one leg, lift the heel of that leg, bending at the knee and pressing the heel close to the outside of your hip. ![]() Try this: Stand and face a wall and press your body up against the wall, getting everything as close to the wall as you can. A fundamental element to breaststroke kick is that you hinge at the knees and not at your hips. Here’s how to repair a wonky breaststroke kick by going back to a solid foundation, beginning on land. If you lift your feet to the center of your butt instead of the outside of your hips, your knees pop out wide of your body creating more drag. If you begin your kick by lifting your thigh or knee forward of your body, you’re creating drag. Good breaststroke “respects the line.” The fastest you are in this stroke is when you complete the pull-kick cycle in a near streamline, slipping horizontally just under the surface of the water. Finding the proper path and timing of your kick will help make breaststroke easier to swim.īreaststroke has more drag points than any other stroke and you need to chip away at those drag points to find efficiency. The legs play a huge role in breaststroke, providing the bulk of the propulsion and it’s essential to establish solid kick mechanics. Breaking the surface of the water with the feet is allowed unless followed by a downward butterfly (dolphin) kick.” Scissors, alternating movements, or downward butterfly (dolphin) kicks are not permitted except as provided herein. “The feet must be turned outwards during the propulsive part of the kick. The 2021 USMS Rule Book defines a legal breaststroke kick in 101.2.3: When the legs aren’t moving properly in breaststroke, it can severely impact the ability for breaststroke to be rhythmical and efficient. It might be that the legs aren’t working together simultaneously, or there’s a dolphin-like action in the kick. It’s not uncommon to see a breaststroke kick that’s ineffective or even illegal. ![]()
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