Lazy legs

cassid · 02-05-2011 7:16pm #1

I am not sure if that the correct term but I have a pair of ole lazy legs in the water, my upper body does most of the work, obviously a bad habit I have picked up !

Anyways- am just recovering from a trapped nerve so I have started to do 2 days in the gym and the fitness instructor has given me cardio and weights to strenthen my legs.

Anything that I can do in the water, to get the pins moving.

Thanks

Dublin25 · 03-05-2011 1:39pm

Hi,

Have you tried using a kickboard/float and just kicking only? Might help.

(Sorry if that seemed obvious!)

padraig_f · 03-05-2011 2:22pm

I'm a bit the same. I came across a technique almost by accident that helps. It came about because I'd developed a pain in my shoulder, I still wanted to go swimming but wanted to take some of the stress off the shoulders.

So I decided to swim the full session with closed fists (actually I'd got the idea from the Total Immersion book, he suggests it as a drill to improve your pull technique, so you use your forearm more).

It worked, took the stress off my shoulder (the resistance on your arms is much-reduced), but I noticed as a side-effect I was kicking more, as I was relying more on my legs for propulsion.

cassid · 06-05-2011 10:25pm

Thanks for the advice, have just started using the board, God its killing me and the lazy legs:D
Will have a look at the total immersion and the closed fist, thanks a mill for that.
Do the fins help?

Burkatron · 07-05-2011 1:30am

cassid wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, have just started using the board, God its killing me and the lazy legs:D
Will have a look at the total immersion and the closed fist, thanks a mill for that.
Do the fins help?

Decent short blade Fins like zoomers will help if your kick technique is spot on. They're weighted so your legs get a better workout on them, the weight also gives better neural feed back.
The downside is, if you kick wrong they will compound your bad habit & when you take them off you'll struggle without them so use them at your own risk.
The best thing to do would be to have someone that knows what they're doing watch you with the fins to make sure you're swimming well with them!
This would be more coherent but Im wrecked

WeeBushy · 08-05-2011 2:17pm

Another think you could do is swim with a catch up stroke drill like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9AlqfbG6uw

Not quite as hard core as straight kicking, and while it focuses on your stroke primarily it is a great way to increase your leg kick. Nice way of shaking things up a little so you are not doing the same thing over and over, that can get tedious imo.

Its always good to include various different drills so a combination of all of the above suggestions is the best imo.

roy123 · 09-05-2011 11:16am

The race club have a nice series of swimming videos to help on kicking
helped me a lot although there are not intended for beginners

Lazy legs

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