Todays Blog post focused around the leg kick and our ideas around an effective leg kick for most athletes.
So in todays swim set its our version of an effective kick set. This is not all about power, but we are swimming with a mind set of balance, body position and fitting in with your stroke.
This is also a NO KICKBOARD zone. See the related blog post at http://eepurl.com/czELpD
Total distance in this set as written is 2km, please adjust as needed for your swim level or time constraints.
Warm up
4 x 100m FC swim. Build your speed through every 100m, 10 seconds rest between sets
200m Broken arrow drill out > < Easy FC back (breathing in a pattern of 3/5/7/3)
Main Set
Part 1 – This focuses our attention on a nice streamlining position, swimming proud and making your body long. Keep the body position high in the water in each phase. Kick strongly from the hip, our aim is not to kick from the knee.
2 x Torpedo Push offs. Push off from the wall with arms above the head in a streamline position, hold this position until at a standstill, return to the wall and repeat.
2 x 25m Torpedo Kick Drill. Push off from the wall with arms above the head in a streamline position, hold this position whilst bringing in the legs, kicking from the hip. Breath to the from or the side as needed. 10 seconds rest between sets.
6 x 25m FINS ON Torpedo Kick into swim. Perform exercise as in the position above but engage your kick. Kick hard on one breath, aim for 12.5metres, and then take a breath and enter into your normal FC stroke to the end of the lane. 10 Seconds rest between sets.
4 x 25m Scull /deep water start to Front Crawl. Perform a flat scull so your body is in a high position in the water (deep water start position). Kick hard into full swim for 15-18metres, ease off and repeat after 20 seconds rest. To really engage your core perform these 4 sets without touching the floor or the end between, do this by sculling round and performing the DWS position whilst resting.
Part 2 – Alignment. This part is about maintaining a good alignment in your body. We still need to focus on our kick being generated from the hip but these drills involve being on our side and also incorporating these into our swim. Take 20 seconds rest between sets.
200m FC – Swim with a focus on keeping the high body position you hopefully felt in part 1
4 x 50m FINS ON Kick on Side Drill out > < FC swim back. Keep lead arm straight with middle finger in line with the shoulder. Lead arm position under the water should have fingers lower than wrist, wrist lower than the elbow. Relax and do not tense the resting arm (which should be loosely on the hip). Tensing will disrupt the body position.
150m FC FINS Swim – Focusing on putting your kick into your stroke and aligning your body nice and straight.
4 x 50m FINS ON 6-3-6 Drill – This drill is our kick on side drill for 6 kicks / 6 seconds (whatever is easier for you to count. You will then take 3 very focused strokes, aligning your body and ensuring a consistent kick throughout.
100m FC FINS Swim (fast) – Maintain focus but this is a effort swim, breathe every 3 strokes
2 x 50m FINS 6-5-6 Drill – Same as 6-3-6 drill but taking 5 focused strokes between.
2 x 50m Around the world kick NO FINS – this drill focuses on all 4 kick positions. Start from the wall in a streamline kick for 6-10 seconds, turn into Kick on side position on the right, then on your back, then into Kick on side position left. Aim to maintain body position, alignment and a constant kick.
Cool Down
300m easy swim – Remember to focus on all the aspects covered above. Ensure a streamline off each wall.
Enjoy the set and swim proud.
