How much do you "Kick" in a race? - Triathlon Week

Zylo · 09-20-2004, 04:23 PM

I was just watching some VHS taped footage off my tv of an ITU race. The camera zoomed in and followed the lead swimmer Jill Savage (Go Canada Go) for about 15 seconds and I noticed that she wasn't really kicking at all. So now I'm curious.

1. How much do you "kick" while swimming in a race?
2. Do You Use a Wetsuit?
3. Are you a front pack swimmer? Mid Pack? Or just hang'n in there!
4. How do you feel after the swim?

Myself:

1. I have been kicking almost full out during all my swims
2. I do not use a wetsuit (I am going to get one soon)
3. I am a front pack swimmer
4. I usually feel a little drained after the swim keeping up with those people in wetsuits.

Thanks for all replies!

wannatri · 09-20-2004, 09:57 PM

Excellent question. Most people over kick. What I mean is that most people have to kick really hard to bring their legs anywhere near the surface. This is bad technique and leads to you expending a lot of energy for nothing.

The 1st thing you want is to develop good balance -- i.e., Total Immersion swimming. When your body is balanced, you could imagine fitting yourself through a small cylinder (the diameter of your shoulders) at the surface of the water. No matter how well you kick, don't kick outside the cylinder. If you do, you will only end up slowing yourself down.

Now, how hard to kick really depends on you and your body composition. But the answer is usually less hard than you think you ought to. Most people are relatively bouyant in the ocean. Thus, legs float and you don't really need to kick. This is the ideal for triathletes. You can move forward using your upper body and your cardiovascular system while resting your legs for the racing ahead. Wetsuits make you even more buoyant and thus heighten the effect.

I usually swim near the front, but not at the front. It's better to draft (and save energy) than to try to work really hard for a small lead. My plan is normally to swim long and easy, stay near the front, and conserve energy.

Zylo · 09-21-2004, 04:57 PM

Thanks wanna :) Appreciate the info/feedback. Glad to see some people are on the board actively posting. I'm trying to recruit some more friends to join us here.

RobbyB · 09-30-2004, 11:35 AM

To pile on the good advice from wannatri, kicking also utilizes your biggest set of muscles in the body, and thus require the most oxygen. Oxygen that is in short supply when your face is buried in water.

Keep an eye on long distance swimmers. Many times they will vary their kick thoughout the race, starting with a 2-beat kick (2 kicks for every stroke) and build that up to a six or eight beat kick to maintain their speed as their arms start to weaken.

**daphne** · 10-10-2004, 06:49 PM

If the water temperature is below 60F it is not advisable to just float your legs. The reason for that is that legs feel like logs by the time you exit the water and need a good 15 minutes of fast spinning on the bike to warm them up. At the last quarter of the swim, I kick hard with the goal of warming up my legs so by the time I hop on my bike my legs are in a semi-warmed up state. At the earlier and mid part of the race I kick but in a less frequent pace than at the end.
I wear a wetsuit most of the times. I prefer to swim near the front, but not at the front.

Rowdy1 · 10-17-2004, 12:35 PM

I don't kick at all if I don't have to. Sometimes I will kick to get past someone that is slower than me. I try to get to the front as soon as I can because I end up getting run over so much in the mid to back of the pack it takes alot of energy out of me.

Mike