Blood in the legs and less lactic acid in the shoulders at the end of the swim
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For me personally I have always found that putting a big kick in might give me a few percent greater speed through the water but at a huge cost in energy use. Surely, as regards forward speed in freestyle, the arm pull is far more efficient than the kick ?
Apart from when I am out and out sprinting I never kick in the conventional sense, I just point my toes and flick my feet, that’s all I have to do to stay straight and level.
Its not an exclusive OR. swimming is a full body movement, and whilst it is correct, kicking is a “drain on resources” if done like a sprint swimmer, any decent distance freestyle swimmer, including triathletes will have a very efficient but powerful kick. The better your kick is, the less energy it takes at lower exertion levels.
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tailwind sorts the lactic acid, keto for the blood wins
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I once got a hefty clout from someone wearing fins at ULU when I swam there. Thing is they weren’t even in my lane and had such a terrible wide kick, the fins were going a good 0.5m into the adjacent lane. I can quite understand why they are banned some places.
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Can I just clarify this, when I say straight and level, I mean ones legs should not be sinking. Obviously freestyle (and back stroke for that matter) should not be swum in a flat body position but rolling from side to side.
Because you don’t train your kick.
Propulsive benefits and enhanced position balance and streamlining
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Rotating
Had a good swim this morning. For the last few weeks have been swimming almost every day & throwing in some 50s, 100s and 200s at target race pace or above.
Seems like this morning it came together, 15m 33s for 1000m. Think that’s probably about as good as I can hope for, 14.xx feels like a huge jump & don’t think I left much on the poolside this morning ( in terms of effort, not 
)
Unfortunately running still feels like hard work after injury and training sabbatical over the spring/summer, and the first race in the national series, a 2.5/ 1/ 2.5 aquathlon is 2 weeks tomorrow.
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it is…so aim to get into the 15:20s and then comfortable in the 15:20s etc…
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I’d consider setting a goal for 12 * 100 holding sub 1:30’s, off 2 to start, maybe a one a week main set, drop the rest when each becomes OK. When “comfortable” going off 1:40’s or 1:45’s try 6 * 200 or 8 * 150 holding sub 1:30/100 still etc. If sub 1:30’s seems daunting, maybe do sets of 50’s holding sub 45 secs. Lots of ways to skin this cat, but bottom line, get the body used to holding that pace over time, and it will take time
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pretty sure I could do 12 x 1m30 off 2 mins, but probably not off 1m45 and definitely not off 1m40
will play with those numbers over the next few weeks
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give 6 * 200 a go off 3:30, see how you feel!
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That’s similar to how I have been progressing, what I call threshold sets. Currently getting comfortable at 15x 100m in 1:44 off 1:55. Progression will be 10x in 1:40 (easy on the tempo trainer) initially off 1:55, then 1:50 and again build reps to 15. Then 1:36 and so on. (I don’t do CSS tests)
Goal is obviously is keep getting faster at the short stuff and bring down my IM time.
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Rotating implies 360 degrees of, well, rotation, which is probably not illegal for Freestyle, but I am sceptical if it would be faster and it would certainly make breathing a more complex undertaking.
Rotation is the term used in every swim manual I have ever read
To an extent you are correct, but only to an extent.
The legs are big muscles which use up a lot of energy and oxygen, but, other than for Breast (and to a lesser extent Fly) they do not give forward propulsion in swimming commensurate with that usage of energy.
I have been doing a lot more kick in the last year because the only competitive race I do is the 25m parents race ! But I still get knackered if I put in a big kick even for only 50m. In fact, 30 years ago when I did a lot of swimming (up to 10 hours a week) I used to do quite bit of kick, but it still knackered me out, I was actually quicker over 100 if I only put a big kick in over the first 25m, then just concentrated on my pull.
For distance swimming it’s about helping your balance and streamlining, it gives hardly any propulsive benefit, not compared with that you’re getting from your arms anyway. Even the Olympians do not put a huge propulsive kick in for their 1500m events.
Rolling seems a better word for it to me, but it’s 6 of one really.
I think I use the term “roll” because that’s what ships do, they roll from side to side, which is what swimmers should do (on Free and back stroke).
That’s not how it works.
Gary Hall Snr, Hammerer and Energie Solaire all stress that an effective kick is essential to being a good swimmer. That’s good enough for me.
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As I understand it Gary Hall Snr was a Fly swimmer / IM, not a long distance freestyler which is what Triathletes are. In addition he will have been training (swimming) a hell of a lot more than any of us.
That said, if you find putting a big kick in over 1500m makes you quicker (and doesn’t knacker you out for the rest of your Triathlon) go for it.