Great coaching and instruction. Very helpful for us non-Olympians ;) as well. I am an engineer, so I love the technical analysis that you bring to this sport. Combing the video with the velocity graph so that we can watch technique and how it impacts speed/velocity is genius!
대충 다알아들어서 한글자막을 만들라면 만들수있는데 몇몇 용어들을 매끄럽게 번역하는게 힘들고 저보다 더 영어잘하는 분들이 많기때문에ㅠㅠ.. 대충 요점정리만 했어여 돌핀킥은 뉘앙스 즉 작은 차이로 잘나가고 안나가고가 결정되는 수영에서 중요한 동작. 1. 적당한 상체 바운스(가슴누르기). 3:27 지나치게 물결처럼 물타거나 경직되면 ㄴㄴ. 마커스는 지금 자기가하는 돌핀킥이 제일 에너지효율적으로도 속도 면으로도 베스트 킥임 2. 발목 유연성 -> 추진력 6:05 발목유연성이좋으면 켈시처럼 자연스럽게 발끝이 안쪽을향하는데 그걸 pigoen toe라 함. . 발을 그저 뒤를 향하게 즉 1자로 하면 추진력이 덜하게 됨. 마커스 아직 유연성 더길러야함 인대스트레칭해라. 3. 적당한 다리각도. 8:12 루카의 경우엔 80도정도로 꺾는데 그게 속도 줄이는 주범임. 60-70도가 좋을듯. 루카랑 마커스랑 속도비슷한데 에너지효율면은 마커스가 더나음 4. 10:30 업킥 할때 즉 발을 위로 올릴때 발바닥으로 올려라.
Keeping the toes together seems to create a bigger surface with which she propels herself vs letting water slip through. As we see with deep divers a mono fin requires less effort and better speed over two fins.
Extremely informative and helpful! @theraceclub The only thing I didn't really understand was why pigeon-toed feet generate more propulsion during the kick than having the feet pointed straight back. The video said that "if they're pointing inward, they're traversing the stream at right angles--they're gonna get more propulsion that way than if they're pointing straight back". I believe it, but I don't understand why right angles would generate more propulsion than the feet being straight back. (I'm a younger swim coach, 22, trying to learn as much as I can about efficiency in the sport to best coach my athletes. Just trying to learn!)
Hi Max! Most don't understand this principal, but it has to do with the motion of the surface area of the top of the foot (on the dolphin down kick) relative to the slip stream of water moving behind the swimmer. If the foot moves with the stream, it generates less propulsion than if it moves perpendicular to the stream. You can test this in the water by kicking dolphin or freestyle with toes pointed straight back, then with the feet pigeon toed. You will feel more propulsion in the latter position.
We have a lot of new content coming out weekly on our subscription service! I'm sure you'll find some straight arm videos that will make a lot of sense for what Manaudou is doing!
I was a young kid in early 2000. I had never heard of or paid atention to champion swimmers. I figured out how to a make a long distance swim underwater that impressed my friennds.
how to do this without coming up for air? I can only do about 3 kicks before having to take a breath. Also difficult to stay submerged (maybe I'm abnormally buoyant?). Any advice appreciated.
theraceclub Thanks. I will try that. I presume during the drill first you are holding breath, then you start to breathe out underwater; holding breath for a long time first.
I have a rod in my back from a scoliosis surgery that has made my back very stiff and inflexible by normal standards, although I have more flexibility than other scoliosis surgery patients. Any tips for me to be able to do the dolphin kick better with my stuff back?
Dolphin kicking does require having good lumbar flexibility, but not as much as in breaststroke. Just try not to overbend the knees (60-70 degrees maximum) and flex your hip to about 20-30 degrees after the down kick. Ankle flexibility is key to fast dolphin kicking.
Keep viewing this one.... So, another question, this is all about the underwater off the wall kick. Are there any or much differences in flex angles at the knee when you are on top of the water? I would guess the flex angles might be less because your feet would come out of the water and you would be kicking air on both up stroke and down stroke....
We have found the angle of flexion in butterfly is usually similar to what is used on underwater dolphin kicking in streamline. Most of the time there is too much knee flexion. With flexible ankles 60 degrees seems to be about the right amount. While swimming on the surface, the foot must come out of the water on knee flexion or one cannot generate enough propulsion. Same with kicking on the surface. In lane 3 you can find a great video on what too much and too little knee flexion does to the kicking speed.
I am conducting a mathematical study for school and I am basing it off of the findings and info of this video, I just need Luca Spinazzola's height for calculations and I can't seem to find it on the internet, would anyone be able to help?
Do you think the up kick should be focused on prioritizing speed to up the tempo and get back to the down kick, or on grabbing as much water with the soles of the feet as possible to maximize power generation? I.e press with the heels or the balls of the feet?
Both. Most of the propulsion from the up kick on dolphin comes from the soles of the feet and the back of the legs moving through the body vortex (slipstream). One needs to be careful, however, to make a U turn quickly with the legs and initiate the next down kick, keeping the tempo up. I have seen a few swimmers who work the up kick hard pay a huge price with too much knee bend for the next down kick.
This is really interesting stuff! I'm not a swimmer but I'm currently studying these things to apply for my freediving training. Would it be possible to apply the same analsyis with a monofin?
Garry we always talk about streamline and sometimes to use word hyper streamline but I have seen swimmers like Joseph schooling and the Hungary swimmer cseh laszlo, they usually come to much above the water during breathing which should create drag but eventually they are amongst best swimmers of world..What makes them win going against the physics??
Thank you for your question, and for watching our content! When referring to hyper-streamline vs "normal" streamline we're referring to what the swimmer is doing off of the blocks and off of the turns. We want to see the chin tucked and the arms on top of the head in the hyper-streamline position, which we have tested and shown is less drag. When looking at the 100 fly from Rio where Joseph and Laszlo are competing, they do breath slightly higher than some others, but not to the extent where they are lifting so high they're increasing drag and going against physics. They both also do a phenomenal job of using the physics of the coupling motions by throwing their head and hands aggressively into the water timed perfectly with the second kick. They've found the sweet spot of getting as much power and propulsion as possible, while reducing drag as much as possible at the same time. There is always a trade-off, but it seems they do a great job with it. Thanks again, Coach Devin
I agree with Devin and will add that both have unusual butterfly techniques. Joseph's is unusual in that he uses a late breath technique, lowering frontal drag by keeping his head down longer. He does not elevate the shoulders as much as Lazlo, who uses a very vertical, high arm recovery and throws the head, shoulders and arms aggressively down to augment his second down kick. HIs first down kick is almost non-existent...so in effect he relies on a huge surge from his second down kick and gets it. Were it not for a horrible finish in Rio, Lazlo would have been standing alone on the silver medal podium.
@@theraceclub don't you think that also the fact they are olympic caliber swimmers doesn't mean that with a few tweaks in their stroke they wouldn't become even better, but because it would be so hard to change their technique now and it would imply a long adaptation process to automatize the new technique, they are not willing to do it? For example, if Phelps breathed every other stroke for the 100fly, wouldn't he achieve even greater results? I mean, a lot of kids with bad technique are faster than others with good technique, simply because of their physical carachteristics...
@@GMZTORP Phelps breathes on every stroke I think or is that what u meant to say too? and if u meant to say that he should not breath every stroke but rather skip one and then breath I think u r wrong, as in his case swimming has become a nature instinct and he does not have to put extra effort for every breath he takes,also he he has more VO2 max plus he has more oxygen in his body all the times he has more enery to spare...
@@devashbhardwaj7749 there is not much to contest. It is biomechanics. The less you deviate from the horizontal position, the better. Breathing every stroke causes more deviation than breathing every other stroke.
Excelent video! Thanks for sharing! First variable of speed is the kick, I agree. What about aditional propulsion power of ondulation? A snake or an eel has no kick whatsoever. They move nevertheless surprisingly fast in water.
Undulation helps in two respects. It enables the swimmer to press the tops of the feet downward through the vortices longer and farther, maximizing the propulsion from the down kick. Second, it enable the swimmer to generate more propulsion from the subsequent up kick. Snakes and Eels have much better drag coefficients than humans do.
Great one coach thank you for sharing this...that was deep....👌🏼👌🏼 Just wondering where to find this equipment hanged on swimmer with that cabel or wire..and link it on computer ?
This video has done more to improve my kicking than all the others I have watched combined, and I have watched a lot of them. The key things I took away from this was going pigeon toed and pronating my ankles. I always used to kick with my feet/toes pointed out straight behind me. For years, it took me about 57 seconds to get the length of the pool with flutter kick. I tole you I was bad. In the months since I have seen this, I am down to about 1:10 for a full lap in a 25 yard pool. There may be help for me yet... I did figure out how important the up kick was the first time I put on the stubby fins. Action/reaction.... I have been putting more effort into the up kick.
@@theraceclub Yea, and part of it is learning to adapt what you have. Still looking for ergonomically correct fins. Our feet are not flat like frogs or ducks (I am a U of Oregon Duck...), but all of the swim fins are....
You state in your video that increasing knee bend angle is detrimental to speed. However, when you observe swimmers such as Phelps or Dressel, you will notice approximately a 90 degree knee bend in spite of their world-class ankle flexibility. Do you have any idea why this may be?
Actually, neither swimmer is or was near 90 degrees of knee bend on dolphin kick. The acceptable range is from 50 degrees to about 75 degrees. Beyond that, too much deceleration. Caeleb is around 70 degrees maximum and Phelps was closer to 60 degrees maximum knee bend.
For breaststroke, starts and turns, squats or dead lifts are good, but for dolphin or flutter kick, work the hip flexors and extenders and the knee extenders (quads).
wow his english is perfect I was like "are you sure he can understand you" when I heard gary just talking to him casually normally at a normal speed lol
can one feel the vortex? I mean how do you know you generated the vortex as expected? ps: I am surprised this video is here, this would probably be in lane 3 and up.
You won't feel the vortex from either your body or your feet, but the bigger they are and the faster they move, the bigger the vortex. You can count on it being there. We have decided to put some of our best videos out for free, like this one. Tbere is a lot more content (all good) for Lane 2 and Lane 3 subscribers.
This video was helpful but I just had to point out a few things... 1. at 5:40 it says the angle is 60 degrees. Last time I checked 60 degrees is not an obtuse angle. 2. Agin at 7:18 he says the angle 80 degrees. It is clearly not 80 degrees. 3. For the third time at 7:50 he says his knees are at 80-85 degrees. At this point idek maybe he is measuring the temperature of the water or something. 4. At 8:23 he says to get his legs to 60-70 degrees. That would be pointing the same way as his head if we where drawing it the same way as we had in the past. I genuinely have no idea where they get these numbers. 5. Turn subtitles on and watch 8:27 ??? enough said.
FaZe Jake Molt I would have never notice those mistakes without your help. I want to thank you for your diligent work in finding these mistakes. Could you please reply to this saying what those angle are I would be extremely grateful. Thank you @FaZe Jake Molt for everything you’ve done 👏
The angles we are referring to are from a straight line backward from the upper legs, not from the thighs to the lower legs. Just subtract our angles from 180 degrees and you will get the angle you are looking at. BTW, the reason we do this is so that the angle increases with increasing knee bend. That is less confusing to most people.
Well, a couple more comments.... With Kelsi, I am wondering why she has an advantage with her kick being more knock kneed and pigeon toed. I tend to think in aviation terms. There are 2 types of drag, parasitic, which is resistance/friction due to moving anything through the air, and induced drag, which is what you are calling the vortex here, or all those eddies left in the wake. The vortex, directly behind the body is fairly significant. There is another vortex that in aviation, I refer to as the slip stream, which here would be the water that flows along the sides of your body, and the eddies would be smaller than the main ones directly behind. So, her down kick is in the slip stream and the water is not as disturbed as the water directly behind. Another one I am trying to figure out with the dolphin kick. A lot of people drill by kicking laps on their back. When underwater, no matter if I am on my back, side, or front, my cadence and amplitude are pretty much the same unless I want to exaggerate. When on my back and doing the dolphin kick, no matter how much I try, I always am at a shallower amplitude and faster cadence. Is there any particular benefit to practicing while doing the dolphin kick on your back, or is it just for ease of breathing purposes so you don't have to use a snorkel?
In water, there are 3 types of frontal drag and at elite swimmer's race speed (over 2 m/sec) they are all important. Pressure drag (what you refer to causing the vortices) accounts for about 50% of the total drag. The other 50 percent is divided between surface (wave) drag and friction. As swimmers, we need to be mindful of all three. Regarding dolphin kick, it is a complex subject. You are faster dolphin kicking on your back because the weaker down kick becomes much more powerful by kicking against the bigger vortex (and help from gravity) to generate more propulsion from the weak side. It is more compliant with the law of inertia (more efficient) on your back. Besides that, it is nice to be able to grab a breath whenever you want to without lifting your head up.
@@theraceclub I had to ponder this one for a bit. At first I thought this was geared to the push off the wall or the start when the swimmer is under water. In theory, bpdy position, right side up, sideways, or up side down wouldn't make any difference because water pressure would be pretty much identical no matter which direction you are facing. I guess surface tension/making a bow wave,, when you are on top of the water would be an added drag element. Not sure about dolphin kick on my back being stronger, at least not for me, which is probably 90% mental and 10% in my head (Yogi Berra). I just can't seem to get the amplitude on my back that I get on my tummy...
You are correct!! The angle is actually measured from the other side of the bent knee. However, most viewers are not mathematicians and so they can visualize the knee bend better by drawing it this way. Thanks for watching!
I think you want your toes pointed inward on the down kick and slightly outward on the up kick. This is what Dressel does. The gluts can’t fire when the toes are pointed in.
Marcus looks to have solid ankle flexibility and use pigeon-toeing to accentuate it. He also seems to be pointing his toes straight back on the upkick. What I'm seeing is a lack of shoulder flexibility, which is forcing his arms and upper torso to angle downward at the start of each kick. This takes his upper body out of alignment and forces his lower legs up outside of his body line. It also deprives him of a full upper-body counterbalance to his downkick. Compare Dressel, whose arms actually press up a bit to counterbalance and provide leverage during the downkick.
Good observations! Ideally, we want to see the hands move 6-8 inches but equally above and below the line of motion. Marcus doesn't get above the line of motion well enough at the end of the down kick. He doesn't peak very high but his troughs are also high which keeps his average speed up there. Mechanically very efficient.
Oh, another domino cascade in my brain..... There is considerably more knee flex used in the dolphin kick, and probably the whip kick in breast stroke, than there is in freestyle. I would guess that back stroke flutter kick may have a bit more. I would guess the reason is that fly and breast stroke are more body wave/3 dimensional strokes, and the freestyle and back are more stream lined. I never considered getting out of the body vortex as being able to supply more thrust, but that seems obvious now. Get far enough beyond the vortex to generate more thrust, but keep it within a certain range so extra drag doesn't trump the extra thrust. Heel and calf are more stream lined than the thighs too... So, are velocimeter videos on the other kicks in the works????
The body vortex is the slipstream that forms behind the swimmer as it moves through the water. The feet generate propulsion by playing off of the two votices caused by the body moving forward and the legs and feet moving up and down.
Does the body type matter on swimming? I have an endomorph body. Im not fat, but im short with Wide shoulders and hips. And i think i never can swim freestyle, for example, or doing dolphin kick as fast as tall, skinnier guys.
The most important issue at play with your body type (morphology) is your drag coefficient. In swimming, increasing the drag coefficient just a little makes it much more difficult to move fast through the water.
Thanks for this great information. It's interesting and very useful. The variable that would be difficult to account for is how to maintain the optimal Dolphin Kick Technique while being full relaxed, tension free and use as little energy as possible. If the best technique dictated by the data requires a movement that requires a level of muscled tension beyond relaxed flexibility it will use too much energy resulting in an energy deficit experienced after surfacing. This energy deficit will result in an overall slower time even if the underwater is faster. I suppose the objective would then be to gain the flexibility and technique required over time until it can be done in a fully relaxed state. Pretty much the same as optimizing any change in swimming technique. The difficulty might be that some people simply do not have the ankle flexibility. Genetics plays it's hand. Relaxed flexibility is Key.
You should compare dolphin kick of classic swimmers and finswimmers..... It will be interesting because our speed in water is just dolphin kick. Maybe we have different tehnique than classic swimmers
I never thought about intentionally pronating my feet as I kick. Makes sense. My feet don't hyper extend when I point my toes on the down/forward kick like the Olympic caliber swimmers feet do. I have been trying work on my kick since it is the weakest part of my swim. By pronating, you get a better push angle on your oar blade/foot since the foot naturally slopes from high on big toe side to low on little toe side. Tried the pronating yesterday at work out and it took a few kicks per pool length at medium kicking power compared to kicks/length at full power. Now to see if I can learn to do it without thinking..... My preferred stroke is the over arm side stroke because no one else swims it at anything near competition level. 68 years old.....
@@theraceclub Pronating my feet is becoming habit now. Never could do the old frog kick for breast stroke, or the newer whip kick that they now use. After getting one knee replaced the doctor told me not to do the breast stroke, which was fine since I couldn't do the kick before replacement. I have adopted the 70 degree flex angle for my scissor kick on my over arm side stroke. I was never sure how much bend I should use before drag was more than the added thrust I would get. I have turned the scissor kick into more of a whip kick too, keeping a more slim/hydrodynamic profile then the old school 90 degree open and scissor kick closed. I did show this video to a couple of coaches at my pool. Love the new gadgets to measure every thing... Side stroke rules, breast stroke drools..... Old school over arm side stroke, only record is 1:02.5 for 100 yards, set in 1895.....
O I guess I should add that this pronation thing is some thing that every one knows about, but no one really teaches or explains it... This goes along with 'getting under the backwash' on turns, and how some use a small dolphin kick to help with rotation on the flip turns..... Never had much coaching....
To work on pronation you should do basic flexibility stretching every day. I either sit on my feet with my shin/top of the foot on the ground or lay on the ground on my back and put my feet under a chair or another object that flexes them downward. Bands can help too and even just rolling your ankles and moving your feet up and down will improve flexibility.
Is there some swimmers that cant do dolphin kick correctly? I try dolphin kicks but I move very slowly. I dont know whats the problem. Maybe its because of my abs? I dont know whats the problem and I need dolphin kicks very much for my swimming. Maybe someone can help me?
Most don't do it well. It is tricky and requires great ankle (plantar) flexibility, leg strength (hip flexors, hip extenders and knee extenders) and stamina. Most swimmers need help with their kicking in all three categories.
Well, but it looks not very healthy for the ankles … AND I for my part have no more ligaments in my ankles, cause both sides were torn from falling down stairs 😅 But I can ask my swimmers to try that out 😇
3:27 good slomo of what right/wrong 4:38 4 pulse of speed. interesting. learn 9:33 good upkick, review keep watching onwards, friend called and i stopped watching
Great coaching and instruction. Very helpful for us non-Olympians ;) as well. I am an engineer, so I love the technical analysis that you bring to this sport. Combing the video with the velocity graph so that we can watch technique and how it impacts speed/velocity is genius!
Thanks Mack! Glad you liked it. Many more studies to come.
These videos are really informative, it’s a great teaching tool for coaches and swimmers. Keep it up Gary and team 💪
Cheers! Thanks for all of the great content you guys do too!
@@theraceclub %1%%%%quite a
대충 다알아들어서 한글자막을 만들라면 만들수있는데 몇몇 용어들을 매끄럽게 번역하는게 힘들고 저보다 더 영어잘하는 분들이 많기때문에ㅠㅠ.. 대충 요점정리만 했어여
돌핀킥은 뉘앙스 즉 작은 차이로 잘나가고 안나가고가 결정되는 수영에서 중요한 동작.
1. 적당한 상체 바운스(가슴누르기). 3:27 지나치게 물결처럼 물타거나 경직되면 ㄴㄴ. 마커스는 지금 자기가하는 돌핀킥이 제일 에너지효율적으로도 속도 면으로도 베스트 킥임
2. 발목 유연성 -> 추진력 6:05 발목유연성이좋으면 켈시처럼 자연스럽게 발끝이 안쪽을향하는데 그걸 pigoen toe라 함. . 발을 그저 뒤를 향하게 즉 1자로 하면 추진력이 덜하게 됨. 마커스 아직 유연성 더길러야함 인대스트레칭해라.
3. 적당한 다리각도. 8:12 루카의 경우엔 80도정도로 꺾는데 그게 속도 줄이는 주범임. 60-70도가 좋을듯. 루카랑 마커스랑 속도비슷한데 에너지효율면은 마커스가 더나음
4. 10:30 업킥 할때 즉 발을 위로 올릴때 발바닥으로 올려라.
Where are you from?
@@theraceclubI'm from Korea. I just summarized this video for koreans.
Thank you. Do you have a swimming background? Would you be interested in translating all of our videos into Korean with subtitles?
Thanks for sharing all this informative stuff. It helps me a lot to teach my athletes in Brazil. Keep it up
You are welcome, Bruno. Please subscribe to our channel...Lane 2 or Lane 3. Hundreds of great videos on line.
Keeping the toes together seems to create a bigger surface with which she propels herself vs letting water slip through. As we see with deep divers a mono fin requires less effort and better speed over two fins.
Great point! We actually beta tested a mono fin for a company that has the feet turned in a little like Kelsi.
@@theraceclub wow she has natural fins ,must be a Pisces :P
The race club is way ahead of evetyone else on advanced swim techniques. Another cracking video.
Thank you. We learn new stuff every day!
Interesting video. I will start working on my ankle flexibility. Now I understand better why it is so important. Awesome!!
Glad it was helpful!
Extremely informative and helpful! @theraceclub The only thing I didn't really understand was why pigeon-toed feet generate more propulsion during the kick than having the feet pointed straight back. The video said that "if they're pointing inward, they're traversing the stream at right angles--they're gonna get more propulsion that way than if they're pointing straight back". I believe it, but I don't understand why right angles would generate more propulsion than the feet being straight back. (I'm a younger swim coach, 22, trying to learn as much as I can about efficiency in the sport to best coach my athletes. Just trying to learn!)
Hi Max! Most don't understand this principal, but it has to do with the motion of the surface area of the top of the foot (on the dolphin down kick) relative to the slip stream of water moving behind the swimmer. If the foot moves with the stream, it generates less propulsion than if it moves perpendicular to the stream. You can test this in the water by kicking dolphin or freestyle with toes pointed straight back, then with the feet pigeon toed. You will feel more propulsion in the latter position.
Can you please make a video analysis about (Manaudou's) straight arm technique?!
We have a lot of new content coming out weekly on our subscription service! I'm sure you'll find some straight arm videos that will make a lot of sense for what Manaudou is doing!
I was a young kid in early 2000. I had never heard of or paid atention to champion swimmers. I figured out how to a make a long distance swim underwater that impressed my friennds.
good for you!
The video are really informative. What about head ? Chin on chest or not? The head move or not?
The head should be locked in place with the chin on the chest when in the hyper streamline position.
Hello, do you have to have big feets if you want to be fast at dolphin kicking?
No...but you do need great ankle flexibility.
Thank you for the lesson.The question of how bent the knee has always puzzled me. I do it by feeling
Feeling may not be good enough. Most swimmers over bend the knees.
So how bent should the swimmers knee be? What angle range?
Paris Wolf You should watch the video again.
Thanks! This is why this sport keeps growing and keep adding technique!
(Dolphin kick, invented by Vasallo 🇵🇷😎👍🏽)
yes!!
Holy shit I didn't realise there was so much scientific analysis behind the dolphin kick
Dolphin kicks are like finger prints. Everyone is different..but some are way better than others.
Wait who has better fingerprints? (;
how to do this without coming up for air? I can only do about 3 kicks before having to take a breath. Also difficult to stay submerged (maybe I'm abnormally buoyant?).
Any advice appreciated.
lucky u,,,, I am a
sinker
Devesh Bhardwaj helps if u totally relax...
Just practice holding your breath while kicking on the wall first. Then try the drill.
theraceclub Thanks. I will try that.
I presume during the drill first you are holding breath, then you start to breathe out underwater; holding breath for a long time first.
1. keep the body vortex
2. bring the toes together
3. toes point to the back on the way up
That is right. Pigeon toe on the way down and feet straight on the way up (while on your stomach).
I have a rod in my back from a scoliosis surgery that has made my back very stiff and inflexible by normal standards, although I have more flexibility than other scoliosis surgery patients. Any tips for me to be able to do the dolphin kick better with my stuff back?
Dolphin kicking does require having good lumbar flexibility, but not as much as in breaststroke. Just try not to overbend the knees (60-70 degrees maximum) and flex your hip to about 20-30 degrees after the down kick. Ankle flexibility is key to fast dolphin kicking.
Keep viewing this one.... So, another question, this is all about the underwater off the wall kick. Are there any or much differences in flex angles at the knee when you are on top of the water? I would guess the flex angles might be less because your feet would come out of the water and you would be kicking air on both up stroke and down stroke....
We have found the angle of flexion in butterfly is usually similar to what is used on underwater dolphin kicking in streamline. Most of the time there is too much knee flexion. With flexible ankles 60 degrees seems to be about the right amount. While swimming on the surface, the foot must come out of the water on knee flexion or one cannot generate enough propulsion. Same with kicking on the surface. In lane 3 you can find a great video on what too much and too little knee flexion does to the kicking speed.
I am conducting a mathematical study for school and I am basing it off of the findings and info of this video, I just need Luca Spinazzola's height for calculations and I can't seem to find it on the internet, would anyone be able to help?
Luca is 6 foot 4 (76 inches or 1.93 meters)! Good luck!
Let us know what you come up with!!!! Thank you for choosing our video
Do you think the up kick should be focused on prioritizing speed to up the tempo and get back to the down kick, or on grabbing as much water with the soles of the feet as possible to maximize power generation? I.e press with the heels or the balls of the feet?
Both. Most of the propulsion from the up kick on dolphin comes from the soles of the feet and the back of the legs moving through the body vortex (slipstream). One needs to be careful, however, to make a U turn quickly with the legs and initiate the next down kick, keeping the tempo up. I have seen a few swimmers who work the up kick hard pay a huge price with too much knee bend for the next down kick.
This is really interesting stuff! I'm not a swimmer but I'm currently studying these things to apply for my freediving training. Would it be possible to apply the same analsyis with a monofin?
Yes, though a monofin provides such a large surface area that it becomes more difficult to move it quickly. Tougher on knees, also.
Is it okay to use a three dolphin kicks instead of two in each butterfly stroke? Just like in streamline kicks.?
It is legal, but we recommend using two dolphin kicks per butterfly stroke. You can also look at it as 4 kicks (2 up kicks and 2 down kicks).
The kevlar band sounding like a dolphin klicking is my fav part in this vid.
Glad you liked it!
wow what a great video I always thought that the downward stroke gave me the max power I'm going to start ove!!! thank you great video. Barry.
Glad it helped!
Garry we always talk about streamline and sometimes to use word hyper streamline but I have seen swimmers like Joseph schooling and the Hungary swimmer cseh laszlo, they usually come to much above the water during breathing which should create drag but eventually they are amongst best swimmers of world..What makes them win going against the physics??
Thank you for your question, and for watching our content! When referring to hyper-streamline vs "normal" streamline we're referring to what the swimmer is doing off of the blocks and off of the turns. We want to see the chin tucked and the arms on top of the head in the hyper-streamline position, which we have tested and shown is less drag.
When looking at the 100 fly from Rio where Joseph and Laszlo are competing, they do breath slightly higher than some others, but not to the extent where they are lifting so high they're increasing drag and going against physics. They both also do a phenomenal job of using the physics of the coupling motions by throwing their head and hands aggressively into the water timed perfectly with the second kick.
They've found the sweet spot of getting as much power and propulsion as possible, while reducing drag as much as possible at the same time. There is always a trade-off, but it seems they do a great job with it. Thanks again, Coach Devin
I agree with Devin and will add that both have unusual butterfly techniques. Joseph's is unusual in that he uses a late breath technique, lowering frontal drag by keeping his head down longer. He does not elevate the shoulders as much as Lazlo, who uses a very vertical, high arm recovery and throws the head, shoulders and arms aggressively down to augment his second down kick. HIs first down kick is almost non-existent...so in effect he relies on a huge surge from his second down kick and gets it. Were it not for a horrible finish in Rio, Lazlo would have been standing alone on the silver medal podium.
@@theraceclub don't you think that also the fact they are olympic caliber swimmers doesn't mean that with a few tweaks in their stroke they wouldn't become even better, but because it would be so hard to change their technique now and it would imply a long adaptation process to automatize the new technique, they are not willing to do it? For example, if Phelps breathed every other stroke for the 100fly, wouldn't he achieve even greater results? I mean, a lot of kids with bad technique are faster than others with good technique, simply because of their physical carachteristics...
@@GMZTORP Phelps breathes on every stroke I think or is that what u meant to say too? and if u meant to say that he should not breath every stroke but rather skip one and then breath I think u r wrong, as in his case swimming has become a nature instinct and he does not have to put extra effort for every breath he takes,also he he has more VO2 max plus he has more oxygen in his body all the times he has more enery to spare...
@@devashbhardwaj7749 there is not much to contest. It is biomechanics. The less you deviate from the horizontal position, the better. Breathing every stroke causes more deviation than breathing every other stroke.
Excelent video! Thanks for sharing! First variable of speed is the kick, I agree. What about aditional propulsion power of ondulation? A snake or an eel has no kick whatsoever. They move nevertheless surprisingly fast in water.
Undulation helps in two respects. It enables the swimmer to press the tops of the feet downward through the vortices longer and farther, maximizing the propulsion from the down kick. Second, it enable the swimmer to generate more propulsion from the subsequent up kick. Snakes and Eels have much better drag coefficients than humans do.
Thank you Gary! This video and analysis was very helpful and beautiful to watch.
Thanks!!
Great one coach thank you for sharing this...that was deep....👌🏼👌🏼
Just wondering where to find this equipment hanged on swimmer with that cabel or wire..and link it on computer ?
The Velocity Meter is from Italy (AP Labs) and can be purchased from Nunzio Lanotte.
This video has done more to improve my kicking than all the others I have watched combined, and I have watched a lot of them. The key things I took away from this was going pigeon toed and pronating my ankles. I always used to kick with my feet/toes pointed out straight behind me. For years, it took me about 57 seconds to get the length of the pool with flutter kick. I tole you I was bad. In the months since I have seen this, I am down to about 1:10 for a full lap in a 25 yard pool. There may be help for me yet... I did figure out how important the up kick was the first time I put on the stubby fins. Action/reaction.... I have been putting more effort into the up kick.
Awesome!! Kicking fast is a challenge and requires special tools and strength. Keep it going!
@@theraceclub Yea, and part of it is learning to adapt what you have. Still looking for ergonomically correct fins. Our feet are not flat like frogs or ducks (I am a U of Oregon Duck...), but all of the swim fins are....
You state in your video that increasing knee bend angle is detrimental to speed. However, when you observe swimmers such as Phelps or Dressel, you will notice approximately a 90 degree knee bend in spite of their world-class ankle flexibility. Do you have any idea why this may be?
Actually, neither swimmer is or was near 90 degrees of knee bend on dolphin kick. The acceptable range is from 50 degrees to about 75 degrees. Beyond that, too much deceleration. Caeleb is around 70 degrees maximum and Phelps was closer to 60 degrees maximum knee bend.
Every single other Analysis is overruled against the one you're proposing . tremendous
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We just report our findings. There are many variables among swimmers, but we like to use technology to learn and teach.
You can find many more great videos on our subscription service at www.theraceclub.com
@theraceclub Thanks for these videos Gary. What lower body lifts do you have your swimmers doing in the gym?
For breaststroke, starts and turns, squats or dead lifts are good, but for dolphin or flutter kick, work the hip flexors and extenders and the knee extenders (quads).
wow his english is perfect I was like "are you sure he can understand you" when I heard gary just talking to him casually normally at a normal speed lol
Haha yes it is!
Why would you pull the feet apart on the back kick? It should be used for additional propulsion.
The upkick? You want to try to keep them together but it's harder to do than during the down kick... more important is the point of the toes.
Awesome informative. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
can one feel the vortex? I mean how do you know you generated the vortex as expected?
ps: I am surprised this video is here, this would probably be in lane 3 and up.
You won't feel the vortex from either your body or your feet, but the bigger they are and the faster they move, the bigger the vortex. You can count on it being there.
We have decided to put some of our best videos out for free, like this one. Tbere is a lot more content (all good) for Lane 2 and Lane 3 subscribers.
7:17 and 8:11 those angles are not 80, but about 120 degrees ;-)
Depends on from which side you are measuring. 100 degrees from one side and 80 from the other.
@@theraceclub Measured as drawn by white lines (with wrong label 80 degrees) in the video, i.e. the obtuse angles.
I am only a beginner with dolphin swim but this was so helpful, thanks!♥😎
Glad it was helpful!
This video was helpful but I just had to point out a few things...
1. at 5:40 it says the angle is 60 degrees. Last time I checked 60 degrees is not an obtuse angle.
2. Agin at 7:18 he says the angle 80 degrees. It is clearly not 80 degrees.
3. For the third time at 7:50 he says his knees are at 80-85 degrees. At this point idek maybe he is measuring the temperature of the water or something.
4. At 8:23 he says to get his legs to 60-70 degrees. That would be pointing the same way as his head if we where drawing it the same way as we had in the past. I genuinely have no idea where they get these numbers.
5. Turn subtitles on and watch 8:27 ???
enough said.
FaZe Jake Molt
I would have never notice those mistakes without your help. I want to thank you for your diligent work in finding these mistakes. Could you please reply to this saying what those angle are I would be extremely grateful. Thank you @FaZe Jake Molt for everything you’ve done 👏
The angles we are referring to are from a straight line backward from the upper legs, not from the thighs to the lower legs. Just subtract our angles from 180 degrees and you will get the angle you are looking at. BTW, the reason we do this is so that the angle increases with increasing knee bend. That is less confusing to most people.
Well, a couple more comments.... With Kelsi, I am wondering why she has an advantage with her kick being more knock kneed and pigeon toed. I tend to think in aviation terms. There are 2 types of drag, parasitic, which is resistance/friction due to moving anything through the air, and induced drag, which is what you are calling the vortex here, or all those eddies left in the wake. The vortex, directly behind the body is fairly significant. There is another vortex that in aviation, I refer to as the slip stream, which here would be the water that flows along the sides of your body, and the eddies would be smaller than the main ones directly behind. So, her down kick is in the slip stream and the water is not as disturbed as the water directly behind.
Another one I am trying to figure out with the dolphin kick. A lot of people drill by kicking laps on their back. When underwater, no matter if I am on my back, side, or front, my cadence and amplitude are pretty much the same unless I want to exaggerate. When on my back and doing the dolphin kick, no matter how much I try, I always am at a shallower amplitude and faster cadence. Is there any particular benefit to practicing while doing the dolphin kick on your back, or is it just for ease of breathing purposes so you don't have to use a snorkel?
In water, there are 3 types of frontal drag and at elite swimmer's race speed (over 2 m/sec) they are all important. Pressure drag (what you refer to causing the vortices) accounts for about 50% of the total drag. The other 50 percent is divided between surface (wave) drag and friction. As swimmers, we need to be mindful of all three.
Regarding dolphin kick, it is a complex subject. You are faster dolphin kicking on your back because the weaker down kick becomes much more powerful by kicking against the bigger vortex (and help from gravity) to generate more propulsion from the weak side. It is more compliant with the law of inertia (more efficient) on your back. Besides that, it is nice to be able to grab a breath whenever you want to without lifting your head up.
@@theraceclub I had to ponder this one for a bit. At first I thought this was geared to the push off the wall or the start when the swimmer is under water. In theory, bpdy position, right side up, sideways, or up side down wouldn't make any difference because water pressure would be pretty much identical no matter which direction you are facing. I guess surface tension/making a bow wave,, when you are on top of the water would be an added drag element. Not sure about dolphin kick on my back being stronger, at least not for me, which is probably 90% mental and 10% in my head (Yogi Berra). I just can't seem to get the amplitude on my back that I get on my tummy...
Ahhh omg I can’t believe you went to my training pool in Coronado!!! How did I miss this?
We are there every week! Visit us the next time. ...and subscribe to our Lane 2 or Lane 3 for hundreds of great videos.
Such an awesome video and breakdown of techniques! It was very educational!
Glad you enjoyed it!
5:41 how is the angle 60 degrees if it’s obtuse, 7:20 how is it 80 degrees, 7:5- how is it 80-85 degrees? This does not make mathematical sense
You are correct!! The angle is actually measured from the other side of the bent knee. However, most viewers are not mathematicians and so they can visualize the knee bend better by drawing it this way. Thanks for watching!
I think you want your toes pointed inward on the down kick and slightly outward on the up kick. This is what Dressel does. The gluts can’t fire when the toes are pointed in.
The feet are more or less straight back on the up kick and inverted (pigeon toed) on the down kick to maximize propulsion.
Her peak velocity of 2m/s coming on the upkick was very counterintuitive
How so?
Marcus looks to have solid ankle flexibility and use pigeon-toeing to accentuate it. He also seems to be pointing his toes straight back on the upkick. What I'm seeing is a lack of shoulder flexibility, which is forcing his arms and upper torso to angle downward at the start of each kick. This takes his upper body out of alignment and forces his lower legs up outside of his body line. It also deprives him of a full upper-body counterbalance to his downkick. Compare Dressel, whose arms actually press up a bit to counterbalance and provide leverage during the downkick.
Good observations! Ideally, we want to see the hands move 6-8 inches but equally above and below the line of motion. Marcus doesn't get above the line of motion well enough at the end of the down kick. He doesn't peak very high but his troughs are also high which keeps his average speed up there. Mechanically very efficient.
2:15 around the chair?
That's the Race Club mascot! Goose! he's a little camera shy
Oh, another domino cascade in my brain..... There is considerably more knee flex used in the dolphin kick, and probably the whip kick in breast stroke, than there is in freestyle. I would guess that back stroke flutter kick may have a bit more. I would guess the reason is that fly and breast stroke are more body wave/3 dimensional strokes, and the freestyle and back are more stream lined. I never considered getting out of the body vortex as being able to supply more thrust, but that seems obvious now. Get far enough beyond the vortex to generate more thrust, but keep it within a certain range so extra drag doesn't trump the extra thrust. Heel and calf are more stream lined than the thighs too... So, are velocimeter videos on the other kicks in the works????
Yes...we will show all strokes and kicks eventually. Join Lane 2 or 3 to seem more now.
Awesome analysis!
Thanks!
Thank you for the lession!!
You are welcome!
Great video! Would love you to do an analysis on seto and his fly technique. I love the underwater stroke analysis there isn't much out there on that
Thanks! We love doing the scientific analyses.
What is the body vortex?
The body vortex is the slipstream that forms behind the swimmer as it moves through the water. The feet generate propulsion by playing off of the two votices caused by the body moving forward and the legs and feet moving up and down.
thanks
Does the body type matter on swimming? I have an endomorph body. Im not fat, but im short with Wide shoulders and hips. And i think i never can swim freestyle, for example, or doing dolphin kick as fast as tall, skinnier guys.
The most important issue at play with your body type (morphology) is your drag coefficient. In swimming, increasing the drag coefficient just a little makes it much more difficult to move fast through the water.
Thanks for this great information. It's interesting and very useful.
The variable that would be difficult to account for is how to maintain the optimal Dolphin Kick Technique while being full relaxed, tension free and use as little energy as possible. If the best technique dictated by the data requires a movement that requires a level of muscled tension beyond relaxed flexibility it will use too much energy resulting in an energy deficit experienced after surfacing. This energy deficit will result in an overall slower time even if the underwater is faster.
I suppose the objective would then be to gain the flexibility and technique required over time until it can be done in a fully relaxed state. Pretty much the same as optimizing any change in swimming technique. The difficulty might be that some people simply do not have the ankle flexibility. Genetics plays it's hand.
Relaxed flexibility is Key.
so brilliant Sir
Thanks. We have a 7 day free trial of Lane 2 on our site right now, www.theraceclub.com.
Perfect coaching.❤
🤭
You should compare dolphin kick of classic swimmers and finswimmers..... It will be interesting because our speed in water is just dolphin kick. Maybe we have different tehnique than classic swimmers
Fin swimmers have a lot more surface area to work with and fins add flexibility to a stiffer ankle.
These vidéos are really nice, good analysis! thanks a lot 👍🏼
You are welcome! Hope you will sign up for Lane 2 or 3 on our website, www.theraceclub.com.
Amazing video, very informative. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
I never thought about intentionally pronating my feet as I kick. Makes sense. My feet don't hyper extend when I point my toes on the down/forward kick like the Olympic caliber swimmers feet do. I have been trying work on my kick since it is the weakest part of my swim. By pronating, you get a better push angle on your oar blade/foot since the foot naturally slopes from high on big toe side to low on little toe side. Tried the pronating yesterday at work out and it took a few kicks per pool length at medium kicking power compared to kicks/length at full power. Now to see if I can learn to do it without thinking..... My preferred stroke is the over arm side stroke because no one else swims it at anything near competition level. 68 years old.....
Pronation of the feet is great for breaststroke kick. Plantar flexion is great for dolphin or flutter kick.
@@theraceclub Pronating my feet is becoming habit now. Never could do the old frog kick for breast stroke, or the newer whip kick that they now use. After getting one knee replaced the doctor told me not to do the breast stroke, which was fine since I couldn't do the kick before replacement. I have adopted the 70 degree flex angle for my scissor kick on my over arm side stroke. I was never sure how much bend I should use before drag was more than the added thrust I would get. I have turned the scissor kick into more of a whip kick too, keeping a more slim/hydrodynamic profile then the old school 90 degree open and scissor kick closed. I did show this video to a couple of coaches at my pool. Love the new gadgets to measure every thing... Side stroke rules, breast stroke drools..... Old school over arm side stroke, only record is 1:02.5 for 100 yards, set in 1895.....
O I guess I should add that this pronation thing is some thing that every one knows about, but no one really teaches or explains it... This goes along with 'getting under the backwash' on turns, and how some use a small dolphin kick to help with rotation on the flip turns..... Never had much coaching....
@@theraceclub Oh.... pronation is toes pointing out, plantar flexion is duck foot..... I am an Oregon Duck by the way.....
To work on pronation you should do basic flexibility stretching every day. I either sit on my feet with my shin/top of the foot on the ground or lay on the ground on my back and put my feet under a chair or another object that flexes them downward. Bands can help too and even just rolling your ankles and moving your feet up and down will improve flexibility.
So beautiful. Harmonious movement. The best of all styles.🙏👍👍👍excellent.
Thanks for watching!
love this video, very informative. keep up the good work guys!
Thanks!! This is one of our favorites, too.
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I recognize that pool. It’s at coronado
Yes it is! We have locations in Coronado and the Florida Keys.
Right you are! Our home pool in California.
Amazing channel and videos
Thanks...you can subscribe to our channels, if you want. Lane 3 has over 175 excellent videos. Www.theraceclub.com.
Thanks a lot, sir!
You are welcome!
Don't forget to subscribe to Lanes 2 or 3 on our website, www.theraceclub.com to see many more videos
Fantastic, thanks for this.❤️
Our pleasure!
Is there some swimmers that cant do dolphin kick correctly? I try dolphin kicks but I move very slowly. I dont know whats the problem. Maybe its because of my abs? I dont know whats the problem and I need dolphin kicks very much for my swimming. Maybe someone can help me?
Most don't do it well. It is tricky and requires great ankle (plantar) flexibility, leg strength (hip flexors, hip extenders and knee extenders) and stamina. Most swimmers need help with their kicking in all three categories.
@@theraceclub Thanks for help. I will try as best as I can with your tips. And if I will succeed, I will come here to say thank you second time :)
I thought this is a trading channel
It is not, but let us know if you have any hot tips!
Its caled the vassallo technique
Jesse had great underwaters in his day.
I would love to know their feet size!
Probably about 11 or 12 shoe size.
Why am I trying to absorb the science of a dolphin kick instead of studying the ECG ahhahahahaha
Good question!
solid analysis!
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theraceclub will do!!!
Great improvement tips for me...
Glad it helped! check out all of our great videos on Lanes 2 or 3 in our subscription.
Well, but it looks not very healthy for the ankles … AND I for my part have no more ligaments in my ankles, cause both sides were torn from falling down stairs 😅
But I can ask my swimmers to try that out 😇
Sorry to hear that! Yes maybe a better idea for your swimmers :)
Top!
Thanks!
It looks easy when we see it, but very hard to do.
Yes. Each swimmer's dolphin kick is slightly different. Almost like finger prints!
Everyone wants to be student of gary coach 👍🏻
Thanks, Berat!
God loves you guys!
Thank you!
3:27 good slomo of what right/wrong
4:38 4 pulse of speed. interesting. learn
9:33 good upkick, review
keep watching onwards, friend called and i stopped watching
Thanks for the timestamps!
한글자막좀 넣어주지....ㅜㅜ
Great! Thank you.
@@theraceclub what yoon코리시카 saying is he/she needs korean subtitles.
@@박상원-j4r When we translated it, it came out as "we'll put Korean subtitles on"...sorry for the misinterpretation.
@@theraceclub support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796?hl=en Here's how to translate.
영상의 핵심 네가지인데요 1. 적당한 상체바운스 2. 발목유연성높이기 3. 업킥시 다리각도60도 4. 업킥시 발바닥으로 위로올리기 입니다~
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Thank you!
Do it for an actual dolphin too lol. That'd be interesting.
Dolphins have a big advantage. Not sure how we would get him/her in the pool or cooperate.
Dolphin kick upside down; faster!
Nope
Yes...it is because the velocity is more constant and the weaker down kick becomes much more propulsive using the larger vortex and gravity to help
Or maybe she has knocked knees? 🤔
pigeon toed plantar flexion of the ankle is the key.
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World class? He's two seconds off from the world record in the 50m fly. He sucks.
Marcus swims 51+ for 100 meter butterfly. I would consider that world class. wouldn't you?