I believe the ideal way for a triathlete to swim, with a wetsuit on, is with minimal to no kick. This assumes:
You can turn off your kick and it doesn't affect the rest of our stroke.
You don't "need" your kick as an aid for balance, body rotation, etc.
IOW, after the confusion of the first 400m or so, you can largely turn off your kick, or kick very minimally to just help a bit with rotation and balance, but you're not using your kick to go _that_ way.
I have a six-beat kick (means I kick a lot), which is very unusual for a distance swimmer. But I call it a "trailing six-beat," as there's not much juice behind it until I need it. Personally, I find the leg and knee constriction of the wetsuit to be very confusing and I can't come close to a six beat with a wetsuit on. So, I put on a swimmer hat and hammer for the first 400m, to get in that lead group, then I totally switch my legs off and pull until the last 100m or so. I even focus on pointing my toes, keeping my feet directly behind my body and inside the tube of the my body.
As Al said, using a pull buoy mimics this but, as others have noted, the tendency is to not get a good body rotation when you use the buoy. And, for me, no using the buoy isn't really a choice because all of my swim are at lunch/early afternoon after a solid morning of running or cycling. If I were to swim hard, I'd have massive cramps about 2k into the workout. Been there. Anyway, the way I counter this poor rotation thing is:
I think "belly to the wall" as much as I can, rotating my hips and my shoulders follow.
Breath every 4th stroke a lot. 100% of the time, when swimming, I breath every 2 strokes, always to the left. But when pulling I'll mix in some 4th stroke breathing and focus on body rotation for those non-breathing strokes.
Think "deep shoulder:" I get a good rotation, catch the water when I'm most on my side, then crank it back with my lats and chest. This is much more "powerful" way to swim and swim fitness/strength is a definite limiter here, but it's coming around quickly in the last couple weeks as I focus on swimming as powerfully and as fast as I can as much as I can.
In short, pulling a lot can still be a good tool if you recognize the tendency to swim flat, with poor rotation, then develop tips like mine above to not do that . You may also be in a situation like me, where I litterally do not have a choice due to the fatigue I'm carrying in my legs.
I did a 3.8k pull on Tuesday, with shattered legs, in 57:14. Tomorrow I'll go back with less shattered legs and swim it, see what the difference is. I'm betting 2"/100m, but I could still pull up with a massive calf or foot cramp at ~2500m. Good times!
Comments
I believe the ideal way for a triathlete to swim, with a wetsuit on, is with minimal to no kick. This assumes:
IOW, after the confusion of the first 400m or so, you can largely turn off your kick, or kick very minimally to just help a bit with rotation and balance, but you're not using your kick to go _that_ way.
I have a six-beat kick (means I kick a lot), which is very unusual for a distance swimmer. But I call it a "trailing six-beat," as there's not much juice behind it until I need it. Personally, I find the leg and knee constriction of the wetsuit to be very confusing and I can't come close to a six beat with a wetsuit on. So, I put on a swimmer hat and hammer for the first 400m, to get in that lead group, then I totally switch my legs off and pull until the last 100m or so. I even focus on pointing my toes, keeping my feet directly behind my body and inside the tube of the my body.
As Al said, using a pull buoy mimics this but, as others have noted, the tendency is to not get a good body rotation when you use the buoy. And, for me, no using the buoy isn't really a choice because all of my swim are at lunch/early afternoon after a solid morning of running or cycling. If I were to swim hard, I'd have massive cramps about 2k into the workout. Been there. Anyway, the way I counter this poor rotation thing is:
In short, pulling a lot can still be a good tool if you recognize the tendency to swim flat, with poor rotation, then develop tips like mine above to not do that
. You may also be in a situation like me, where I litterally do not have a choice due to the fatigue I'm carrying in my legs.
I did a 3.8k pull on Tuesday, with shattered legs, in 57:14. Tomorrow I'll go back with less shattered legs and swim it, see what the difference is. I'm betting 2"/100m, but I could still pull up with a massive calf or foot cramp at ~2500m. Good times!