Great swim today! But have a sort of pyscology question.

I find that when I swim with the PB I concentrate more on my stroke.  It's more powerful and smooth.

But to be honest?  My @ss just sinks in the water and I have to keep kicking for the rear 1/2 of me to stay afloat.

That would probably be as they used to say, you have 'buns of steele'!

I am able to concentrate more on my stroke.  And my flutter kick really s**cks!  When I use a kick board, by the time I'm halfway down the lane, I'm not moving.  Oh well, the biking should help take care of that in time.

Your kick is inefficient.  You're sinking so you wind up pulling yourself around in a semi vertical position.

I'm an anti wet suit guy but in your case you may consider it.  It gives you some buoyancy without the drag of the pull buoy.

 

Edited by bruehoyt 2009-08-14 12:15 AM

I read a book on tri-specific swimming a few years ago. I search the web and if I can find the title I'll post it here.

Basically, there is a large percentage, something like 50-60% of your energy that goes into kicking and keeping your rear end (from the waist down) up on the surface of the water. When you use a PB you are not expending that energy and can concrentrate more on your stroke because you have more energy to spend on your arms.

Kicking is a terribly inefficent way to propel yourself across the water. The kick is really ment to keep your rear end up and in the slip stream of your body. What it sounds like to me is you need to get rid of the PB and work on strengthing your core. You can do this with a pair of fins (as we talked about last Saturday) and kicking drills in the pool, and/or going to a core class.

I'd really ease up on the PB swims, as it can become like swim crack. You don't want to become dependent on it.

If I see crack when I am swimming the guy needs a new suit

Thanks all!  I am planning on getting some zoomers.  Also, I've started biking so that should also help build leg strength as well.  I'm not a plumber, so becoming dependent on crack shouldn't be a problem!

My feeling is that is is easier to swim with a pb due to the extra bouyancy it provides and the fact that you do not have to worry about kicking. I would say it is not psychological.  I LOVE swimming with a pull bouy because I have more upper body strength/coordination than lower.

I thought I had some decent leg strength, but during a class, came to realize how bad is really is.  I used the PB this morning during an OWS and found the same thing.  Did a better swim and was able to focus on sighting as well.  Last week my sighting was terrible.  Well, as the saying goes, 'Practice makes perfect'.

I think you can have good leg strength but still not be good at kicking.  If you don't point your toes, don't kick from the hip, etc, you can not only wear yourself out, but also keep yourself from moving forward as much.  Have you tried just doing kicking drills to see how you do with that?  I use a pull bouy in master's swim on maybe one set about once every 2 weeks.  It's a good work out for the arms, but you need to be able to swim with out it. 

Like David says, "It's like crack", so don't get dependent on it. 

Had swim class today.  200 yards kick only.  Very poor on that.  Later in class during other drills, I kept trying to think about the kicking.  Move from the hips, toes pointed and legs not locked straight.  Just a little bend of the knee when kicking.  Towards the end, it felt like I may be getting it.  I hope so.  Looking forward to getting back in the pool to try some more.

I have had a really difficult time getting the hang of kicking correctly. I have a decent swim (not fast) and have developed good posture in the water, etc. I can also bike 60 miles or run a marathon, but send my out on a 200-yard kick set, and I can barely make it back.

I have found using the fins and really concentrating on feeling the water at my feet has helped me some.

One analogy I heard is to simulate squeezing toothpaste out of the tube. So your ankle moves first, and your toes move after, squeezing the water out. Make sense? Every once in a great while I get the sensation I am actually doing that - actually pushing water behind me, instead of just up and down.  It's very frustrating, so I can sympathize!