One among swimming’s most recognizable flotation gadgets, the common-or-garden kickboard, evokes fond reminiscences of studying learn how to swim. However, these easy but efficient coaching aids go means past being utilized in swimming classes and are simply as related to aggressive swimmers as they’re to inexperienced persons. If you’re out there for a device to enhance your kicking approach otherwise you simply need to make your swim exercises extra dynamic, studying learn how to use a kickboard is a step in the appropriate route.
By giving your swim coaching an additional dose of buoyancy, you possibly can enhance confidence in your weaker swim strokes. Utilizing a kickboard to your freestyle swimming looks like the plain alternative, however they’ll additionally come in useful to realize a stronger breaststroke and even backstroke. The kickboard is a traditional device that has stood the take a look at of time, and it may well nonetheless assist along with your swimming approach as we speak.
On this article, we’ll be exploring the explanations to make use of a kickboard, lesser-known kickboard workout routines, and learn how to use one accurately.
Why Use a Kickboard?
There’s a sea of pluses to utilizing kickboards in your coaching classes, from higher physique place to snorkel-like respiration. Listed below are a few of the benefits from utilizing a kickboard as a coaching assist.
Concentrate on Your Decrease Physique
Any iron-addicted gym-goer who’s price their salt is aware of that skipping leg day is a large no-no. Issues are not any totally different in relation to swim coaching. Swimming is a full-body exercise and, due to this fact, requires good power and approach from each muscle.
By giving the higher physique a little bit of a break by way of the usage of a kickboard, you might be isolating your legs. This implies they’re doing much more work to propel you ahead within the water, which can promote muscle development and may help you hone in on the nuances of the flutter kick or your breaststroke kick.
Take pleasure in Constant Respiration
A kickboard is just like a swim snorkel in that it means that you can get pleasure from uninterrupted respiration. This implies you possibly can apply much more focus to the flutter kick.
Extra constant and controlled respiration permits your muscle to get much more of the oxygenated blood that they crave. This implies you possibly can actually put your legs by way of some gnarly coaching classes, which may help with muscle development and even weight reduction.
You’ll be able to even complement this respiration with a swim snorkel, which can assist you to preserve your head down for a extra pure stroke.
Prepare Via Higher-Physique Accidents
Getting injured is a horrible however virtually inevitable a part of coaching in any sport. An upper-body harm might be supplemented with a kickboard to maintain you within the pool and from going stir loopy.
The pull part of your freestyle places loads of pressure in your shoulder. Utilizing a kickboard to maintain your higher physique buoyant can enable your harm to get better whereas maintaining you within the swimming pool. Plus, the endorphins launched from train can enhance to your psychological wellbeing, so all of the sudden ending your coaching generally is a blow to each your psychological and bodily well being. Adjusting your coaching to be executed with a kickboard may help you keep away from disruptions to your coaching schedule.
Attempt Some Contemporary Drills
When your coaching begins feeling stagnant, it’s time to combine it up. In sport, it’s pure to get bored and crave new actions, and swimming is not any totally different. Utilizing a kickboard opens up a brand new realm of drills you’ll by no means have tried for those who haven’t used one earlier than.
Utilizing coaching aids within the swimming pool or in open-water adventures is a surefire option to blow off the cobwebs and might even educate you new expertise.
Lesser-Identified Kickboard Workout routines
You’ll be able to add a kickboard factor to simply about any drill on the market, previous and new. There’s extra to simply utilizing a kickboard than including some brutal leg-only laps to a drill although. Convey out your inventive aspect with a few of these kickboard workout routines, which require you to assume a bit of exterior the field.
Seize the Backside
That is the right train for bettering your entrance crawl physique place. Merely totally prolong the kickboard in entrance of you whereas grabbing the underside of the board.
Due to the complete extension, this train would require you to have your head within the water, so you’ll have to rotate your head to take breaths. Or you possibly can complement this train with a swim snorkel so you possibly can focus much more on that straight physique place.
Hug Your Kickboard
The lesser-known stroke to make use of your kickboard with is the backstroke. This straightforward train can actually assist your backstroke flutter kick.
Hug your kickboard in opposition to your chest in order that it’s flush along with your physique. Barely arch your again, and also you’re good to go. You’re now placing all of the work of the backstroke in your legs. This may help to enhance power and approach.
Push for the Burn
Who wants a fitness center while you’ve obtained the resistance of the water and your trusty kickboard? Kickboards are fabricated from various materials sorts, however all of them have one factor in widespread: buoyancy.
It gained’t take you lengthy to learn to use a kickboard’s pure inclination to depart the water so as to add resistance. It’s similar to power coaching within the fitness center utilizing free weights or dumbbells.
You’ll be able to practice the identical muscular tissues {that a} pushup works by performing a kickboard pushdown. Merely stand waist deep within the pool, and push your kickboard down along with your palms spaced shoulder-width aside. Push till your arms are straight. Begin with a set of 10 reps. You’ll be able to add an extra board for extra resistance or up your units.
Learn how to Use a Kickboard Safely
Getting within the water with a brand new coaching assist, contemporary train concepts, and new drills might be an effective way to convey life again to your swim exercises. However, like something new on this planet of train there is a component of danger if the right precautions aren’t taken.
Keep away from Neck Pressure
When utilizing your kickboard to offer your arms a relaxation throughout breaststroke or freestyle, you possibly can raise your head up, permitting for fixed respiration. Not having to fret about your respiration approach is a pleasant luxurious in a swim exercise, simply watch out not to do that for too lengthy because it can lead to neck pressure.
Utilizing a swim snorkel will assist you to swim utilizing your kickboard for as lengthy you want by maintaining your head down. This protects your neck and provides you with a extra streamlined swim stroke.
Be Conscious of Your Dolphin Kick
With a bit of follow you possibly can nonetheless carry out a top-tier flip flip whereas maintaining maintain of your kickboard. This after all means there’s nonetheless a chance to carry out a dolphin kick.
Through the dolphin kick, some swimmers preserve the higher physique very stationary whereas others make use of a bit of motion to encourage the dolphin kick. If you’re a part of the second camp, remember that that is very tough to emulate whereas utilizing a kickboard and might result in decrease again ache.
Are Kickboards Nonetheless a Related Coaching Assist?
Kickboards are one of many quintessential swim coaching aids. You employ them like coaching wheels in your developmental years, then as you get extra severe about your swimming they change into a device that may assist you to mildew the nuances of your stroke and acquire the power you need. Not solely are kickboards simple to make use of, they’ll enhance power, make exercises extra dynamic, and most significantly, are comparatively cheap.
If you’re occupied with getting a kickboard for your self, you must take a look at area’s choice, which has a superb combine of favor and performance. In terms of traditional flat kickboards, we provide a plain fashion and a printed kickboard.
Alternatively, it’s possible you’ll need to get a kickboard that doubles up as a pull buoy. This offers you the choice to work solely the higher physique or solely the decrease physique on the fly with only one piece of apparatus. Take a look at the Pull Kick Floatation, Swim Keel, and Pullkick Professional.