Choosing the Right Kickboard

Video Transcript…. Hi and welcome to Simply Swim.com. Today we're going to take a look at kickboards and how to choose the right one for you. Kickboards are a great training aid, whether you are an advanced or beginner swimmer. For the beginner swimmer, you can use them to keep afloat in the water until you're confident an have a good control technique, and for an advance swimmer, they're an ideal way of training your legs, doing your leg technique and getting a total body workout. Now as you can see we've got a wide range of kickboards here and there are plenty to choose from. So what we're going to go through is just the key points you need to  consider when choosing a kickboard. Choosing the Correct Size The first thing you should consider when choosing your kickboard is the size. There's a few key points to consider when deciding this. If you turn the kickboard over, hold the top on either side. The measurement of the kickboard at the bottom should come to between half way on your bicep on either side. This is going to help with your stability in the water and will keep you aligned. If you hold it on either side with your arms stretched out, it should measure a shoulder width apart to keep you comfortable and as buoyant as possible when in the water. As you can see this is a standard kickboard. We're going to go through a variety of kickboards and just go through their key features. Pull Kick So this is a pull kick, and it is specifically designed to strengthen your upper and lower body muscles as well as enhance your swimming technique. It's got a nice, compact design which makes it ideal and buoyant in the water. It also has a 2 in 1 design so you can use it as a kickboard and a pool buoy. This kickboard features indented hand grips so you can use it like so to work your legs, and the leg channel in the middle works as a pool buoy so you can fit it between your legs and work your arms. So the main benefit is obviously that you can work both muscle groups with one bit of kit, and it's nice and compact, will store in your bag very easily as opposed to taking a pool buoy and a kickboard. Sprint Board As the name suggests, it's specifically designed to enhance your sprinting technique. It strengthens your lower body and tones your legs and core muscle groups. It has got an extremely streamlined shape to it, so when you're holding it out it's not going to cause any drag which makes it ideal for sprinting. So you've got multiple hand positions all around so you can hold it in the middle, at the sides and at the front. It also features a little dipped area just to make sure it's going to be nice and comfortable  It's a great addition to any kit bag and is great when you are trying to enhance your sprinting technique. Alignment Kickboard The alignment kickboard is specifically designed to enhance your body's position whilst you are in the water, It can be used for multiple swimming techniques, however unlike most other kickboards it can be used for the butterfly technique which is obviously a great added feature. It's got a nice streamline cut to it, and features a unique hand strap on the front which will give you the utmost control whilst you're in the water. You can hold it in many different positions, however the best position they advise is to put one hand on top of the other so when you've got it in the water, you've got the most control over which way you want to position it. Also worth noting, it has a submergible design and what this means is that it's not going to flat on top of the water like most other kickboards, it's going to sink about 2 inches under the water to give you a more natural feel whilst you're in the water and it's not going to keep you floating too much, and again it's going to help you keep that alignment. It's great to keep in any kit bag whilst you're out at the pool and it's nice and compact so that it can slot in very easily. It's great for anyone who is hoping to perfect their alignment. So in summary:

1. Kickboards are a great training aid for beginner or advanced swimmers.
2. You must ensure you choose a kickboard which is the correct measurement for you.
3. Kickboards come in many different varieties so ensure you choose the correct kickboard for the right purpose.

  So that's some of the key points to think of when choosing a kickboard! Check out our full range of kickboards at simplyswim.com. For more videos visit us on Youtube