Swim Myth #9.....busted.

Swim Myth #9:When it comes to swimming fast, kicking is overrated. 

Kicking is anything but overrated. As some of you learned from my earlier post, It's in his Kick.... I believe that it is the power of the kick that separates the great swimmers from the not-so-great ones, more than anything else. But here is the problem. 
First, even if you are stellar on the bike and run, which, by definition means you have strong legs, that does not mean you will be a strong kicker in the water. In fact, if you are relatively new to the water, the chances of you developing a fast kick are slim and none. So what do you do? 
A six beat kick can potentially serve four functions; 1)provide propulsion 2) provide lift 3) act as part of the stabilizing force for your pull and 4) sustain a more constant speed. If you can't kick fast, you aren't going to get much propulsion, but that is ok because most of it comes from the arms anyway. You can, however, even with a weaker kick, still get lift and counter-force for your arm pull...both very worthwhile. So don't give up on the kick. If you can wear a wetsuit, you don't have to worry about the lift part, but you still need the counter-force to improve your dps. 
A two beat kick can still provide that counter force you need and give you some lift...and with a lot less energy expense; not a bad way to go for a triathlete. 
So here is my advice to you. Work your legs in practice, because you still need to be able to kick. But don't dwell on the legs. Your precious little time to train could be better spent on some hard pull sets or working on getting your stroke rate up. Or learning to swim with high elbows and head down. 
In racing, use either a two beat or a soft 6 beat kick, except for the last 100 meters of the swim. Turn the power up a notch or two on the kick for the end so that when you stand up and start running to the transition zone, your legs have some blood flowing in them and still remember how to run. 

Gary Sr.