As a Sports Therapist, Swim Coach and Triathlete myself I feel like I am in the unique position to delve into this topic!
Recently, I was going over treading water actions with some swimmers, some of these swimmers where triathletes and some where not. I noticed quite quickly that the triathletes body position in the water was very different to the swimmers.
When we tread water our body position is vertical and our legs must kick hard to keep us up; the triathletes within the group all had a distinct body position with upper body tall and legs straight BUT they were ALL hinged forwards from the hips, creating a noticeable bend forwards from the hips.
Right away for me it clicked!
The Psoas muscle!
The Psoas muscle is a deep vertebra muscle attaching hips to spine. It is often neglected and also often the course of common lower back complaints. For a triathlete, this muscle will become shortened with more time spend on the bike. A shortened Psoas will create weakens in opposing muscle groups such as the glutes, hamstrings and lower back as well as the core. All of these muscle groups compromised here are key in a powerful freestyle kick.
So, if you feel like your kick is always sending you backwards, ask yourself if you are spending lots of time on the bike or sat at a desk without stretching out your Psoas? Stretching out your hip-flexor group and Psoas
muscle after a bike session might just help to improve your swim kick performance. Releasing a tight Psoas as part of my massage therapy protocol is simple and effective in relieving lower back pain and complaints, so, it just maybe its worth a consideration for your swim too!
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