Swimmers must coordinate and use a variety of muscles from their heads to their toes every time they dive into the water. Swimming needs a lot of upper body strength, but one aspect of the sport that is frequently underestimated is the value of strong flutter kicks.
For fast swimming, the legs must be used to generate power. To quickly snap the foot to work both sides of the flutter kicks, the quadriceps, hip flexors, and core muscles must all be powerful and coordinated. At the same time, the legs must be powerful and flexible to generate a swift forward movement.
Although many believe that arm stroke is the most crucial component of fast swimming, the flutter kick also significantly affects speed. Researchers have examined the effects of arm and leg strokes for each competitive stroke. They discovered that the leg kick caused between fifty nine and eighty two percent of the swimmer’s velocity.
You can see from these figures that solid legs are necessary to complete races well. Driving your legs harder can help you maintain your stroke count and push you toward the walls as your arm muscles weaken.
We bring three excellent flutter kicking ways that can help you to improve your flutter kicks and efficiency in the water:
1. Improve Your Ankle Flexibility:
To go through the pool, you need to kick. As you move through the water, your feet’s downward and upward action gives you the propulsion to propel yourself forward. With flexible ankles, this propulsion is much simpler to create.
The ankle flexibility allows you for more surface area contact with the water. With your toes pointing, you have a larger surface area, which causes each flutter kick to propel more water. In the end, this results in quicker flutter kicks and more propulsion.
The tops of your feet and ankles can be stretched and flattered by squatting on the ground with your buttocks resting on your calf muscles. This is a simple and easy workout that improves ankle flexibility.
Boost Your Core Strength:
To achieve a high body position in the pool, a strong core assists in lifting the hips. You will notice a significant improvement in swim speed when combined with a strong kick.
Swimming with hips high above the water is always simpler and faster than swimming with them deep below. Retaining a high body position will aid in minimizing the drag in the water.
Several distinct workouts can be used to develop a strong core. A strong core can be developed by doing sit-ups, crunches, and V-ups, to name a few simple workouts. Even during practice, these core-building exercises can be practiced in between sets.
Strengthen Your Cross-Body Connection:
A swimmer’s capacity to coordinate the kick from the core to the very fingertips with each turn is referred to as a cross-body connection. As you take every stroke, a powerful kick can help maintain your body’s counter-rotation.
Turn your body onto its side between every freestyle stroke to reduce drag. The strong flutter kicks can keep you balanced and aid in rotating back to the opposite side while preventing you from over-rotating. As the race nears its end, arm muscle frequently starts to give out, forcing you to rely on the other muscles in the sequence to keep up speed.
Always be aware of the rotation of your body. With an extensive catch and straight bodyline, the rotation will assist you in sliding effectively through the water. The strong flutter kicks can enable your body to maintain this rotation while you are tired, keeping you quick and hydrodynamic.
At your next swimming practice, a range of core workouts can help you enhance cross-body connectivity and flutter kick swimming. Increasing your leg strength will enable you to out-touch the competitors nearby. You’ll swim faster and more effectively with powerful legs and a kick. To improve your swimming and flutter kicks, you can also check the swim equipment that trains harder and makes you better swimmers.
