I'm so happy I decided to go to the pool today instead of getting early at the office. Yeah, the water's become worse, more turbid, but what the heck. Something inside told me that today is D-Day. And I was right, I am getting the hang of the eggbeater kick. Yup, I'm getting into the groove.
First Drill
After a brief warmup, I started the session with Eggbeater Laps with kickboard. I did 2 laps today. I also remembered to keep the kickboard high so the legs sink and won't surface while eggbeatering. The time to finish a lap is VERY slow. Today, I felt the groove of a real breaststroke kick but from alternating kicks. The ideas behind this drill are:
My second drill with the kickboard is attempt an eggbeater in a vertical position which I call Stationary Eggbeater with Kickboard. This entails holding one end of the kickboard with both hands. The kickboard lays flat on the water. I'd also lean the other end of the kickboard against the wall for stability - that way the kickboard doesn't move around much. This freestanding drill will create the opportunity to eggbeater the legs without worrying about the hands. I think people do the eggbeater differently as a poster pointed out in her reply to my query:
Third Drill
Next drill I did was a Lap Eggbeater without Kickboard. As I found out today, these are fun to do. Since I was doing laps without a kickboard, the body was more naturally vertical. I also did them at the pool's deepend which unfortunately was not deep enough. So a length here was just 12.5 meters. To perform this drill, do wide eggbeater kicks. They need to be wide and the pump-down action of the leg starts from a hurdle stretch position.
With this drill I had to describe the sensations I got:
Fourth Drill
This is the actual treading. It is Stationary Eggbeater without Kickboard. Here, you can go fancy with the arms. Do regular sculling and then make the sculling lighter. Stretch the arms sideways flat on the water. Point pointy finger up from surface. Palms up/down resting on the surface. Hands on hips. The possibilities are endless until as one poster said, you could lift a metal chair with both hands over your head.
First Drill
After a brief warmup, I started the session with Eggbeater Laps with kickboard. I did 2 laps today. I also remembered to keep the kickboard high so the legs sink and won't surface while eggbeatering. The time to finish a lap is VERY slow. Today, I felt the groove of a real breaststroke kick but from alternating kicks. The ideas behind this drill are:
- Become comfortable and familiar with the sensation of alternating breaststroke kicks instead of the usual "frog-style" of simultaneous kicking.
- Build up the needed stamina. Any new activity will definitely be exhausting at first whether that's a new dance step for dancers, a new sport or exercise. The improved conditioning will make the body more receptive of the new activity.
- This drill has a definite start and end (bounded by space). You start the drill at one end, turn back at the other end and come back. Compare this with a freestanding drill where you don't have a clue when to stop. When tired? When distracted? Looking at watch?
My second drill with the kickboard is attempt an eggbeater in a vertical position which I call Stationary Eggbeater with Kickboard. This entails holding one end of the kickboard with both hands. The kickboard lays flat on the water. I'd also lean the other end of the kickboard against the wall for stability - that way the kickboard doesn't move around much. This freestanding drill will create the opportunity to eggbeater the legs without worrying about the hands. I think people do the eggbeater differently as a poster pointed out in her reply to my query:
"I don't think anyone's kick looks exactly the same as anyone else's, so don't worry about exact form. Just feel comfortable and make sure it's not painful on your knees."The dynamics of handling the water with the legs are many plus our bodies have structural quirks and will move differently to achieve the same thing. And that is to create lift and allow the body to tread water.
Third Drill
Next drill I did was a Lap Eggbeater without Kickboard. As I found out today, these are fun to do. Since I was doing laps without a kickboard, the body was more naturally vertical. I also did them at the pool's deepend which unfortunately was not deep enough. So a length here was just 12.5 meters. To perform this drill, do wide eggbeater kicks. They need to be wide and the pump-down action of the leg starts from a hurdle stretch position.
With this drill I had to describe the sensations I got:
- Like a spider walking / crawling on its web. It actually felt funny.
- Like I was suspended and was walking in water.
- The style of sculling of the arms felt like I was a Rap DJ spinning or "scratching" records on a turntable. The right hand was turning the "record" clockwise and the lefthand counterclockwise. It felt so cool!
Fourth Drill
This is the actual treading. It is Stationary Eggbeater without Kickboard. Here, you can go fancy with the arms. Do regular sculling and then make the sculling lighter. Stretch the arms sideways flat on the water. Point pointy finger up from surface. Palms up/down resting on the surface. Hands on hips. The possibilities are endless until as one poster said, you could lift a metal chair with both hands over your head.
Go ahead, post your comment below!