Whenever my coach prescribes us a kick set, I always felt so slow with my stiff-as-a-rock legs in the water no matter how much I warm up or try to stay loose before jumping in. I prefer to keep it that way for running. Sadly, it's not so much desirable for swimming. I have my lucky days when I feel like Nemo and able to set my legs into a good kicking rhythm and bad days when I just feel like a turtle.
I can't remember where but there was this great article highlighting the differences between a swimmer and a runner and how a body, after years of running, respond to new sports like swimming and cycling. Athletes who have been running for years as their primary sport tend to develop tight calves and stiff ankles. Nothing bad about having stiff ankles if you're a runner. Having strong, thick ligaments and tendons, entirely built from ramping up mileage, around your ankles protects you from potential injuries like an inversion sprain while going off road!
The bad side of having stiff ankles is if you're also incorporating swimming in your training, kicking feels laborious and less fluid due to lack of lower body mobility. Kick mobility in the water suffer with stiff ankles. Flutter kicking is much more easier to master if you're able to move your ankles in a greater range of motion with your toes pointed out. I don't have this advantage at the moment.
After attending Mobility and Flexibility at GTX, it has come to my realization that my ankles were barely able to move and hold itself into an inverted and everted position. It didn't feel right to put them in a way that feels like it's going to snap after merely moving them a few millimeters to the right and left. Yes, that bad.
Here's a more recent article, comparing the differences between swimmers and triathletes. Plus, a couple kick drills worth trying out since I've been doing it the traditional way. So boring and makes me dread my "runner" ankles but LOVE them for the protection and strength it gives me in running.
If this sounds like you, mix up your kick sets so you have something new and challenging to focus on instead of thinking, "Omigosh when is this going to end?"
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