Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Want a Killer Abs Workout?

*begin cheazy infomercial mode*
Its better than 7 minute abs!
Its better than 6 minute abs!
Its even better than 3 minute abs!

Its called 30 second abs!

Thats right! Get your abs ripped in 30 seconds or less!!!

*end cheazy infomercial mode*

Well, it actually is 30 seconds or less, just done about 100 times.....in the pool.

Its called dolphin kicking. Holy WOW does that rip your abs apart! And Holy WOW can you swim REALLY fast doing the dolphin kick!

One of my off season goals in the pool is to learn how to do the dolphin kick. CHECK. COMPLETE.

Dolphin kicking is a really incredible feeling. It's so fluid and graceful.....and it beats the ever living shit out of your abs.

Basically you just need a pair of fins and wiggle your butt up and down until you become a fluid piece of spaghetti in the water. You know you have the technique down when you start to go faster than you can freestyle and you almost smack your face up against the wall (may or may not be a true story)

I found it easiest face down with my arms at my side and dolphin kicked as deep as possible in the water. As I got more comfortable I brought my arms up into a streamlined position and tucked my head and stayed more towards the surface. Kicking on my back was a bit harder and requires a lot more core strength. Its more fun face down, but you will get more of a workout face up.

Then I started to swim normally without the fins and it was sooooo effortless. Basically you are not only working your abs, but you are working your body position in the water. You feel so much lighter in the water after doing a few 100 yard dolphin kick sets.

Then I incorporated it into my freestyle swimming on every pushoff, like what they do @ swim meets. It was cheating!!! I looked back to see how far I got past the flags and it was almost too far! haha!

Here is a good intro video. I HIGHLY recommend trying it out. Working on your core and body position is your foundation and anchor in the water. Without good body position in the water, nothing else matters.



Finally, if you haven't voted yet, look to the top right^> of my blog and VOTE for a beer that I should brew next.

Happy Swimming!

14 comments:

  1. YAY I love this. My pool is still warm here in AZ. [I know, when isn't it?!]

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  2. Dolphin kicks in beer would be the ultimate - drinking AND working the abs!

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  3. Why would I do 30 seconds - there has been 6 second abs for years -

    http://www.6secondabs.com/

    Does the guy in the video have a butt hat?

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  4. We do these at master's, well, when I say "we" I mean the other swimmers. I attempt the Dolphin kicks and am okay face down, but when I try it on my back I just look and feel foolish - sorta like when I attempt to dance! You are right - they just destroy the core!

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  5. I think I will put that down as one of my next swimming goals!

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  6. I want to have great looking abs in 30 seconds:) It is too bad that I need to get into the pool! Damn!

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  7. sounds fun!! heading to the pool for some laps today and will give it a whirl...or wave! *lol*

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  8. I do them off the wall for a bit, but I never tried doing it the length of the pool. I think that would be an epic fail! Btw, your kicking drills are working their magic along with some other stuff coach has me doing.

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  9. so...yeah. this was a little more challenging than it appears :) I think having fins would have been of benefit to me on this one!

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  10. Thanks for this...gave it a breif try yesterday in the pool, gonna get some flips and work on it
    -Derek

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  11. I work out in water 5 times a week and it is an amazing workout!! Holy abs for sure! Now, if I could just quit eating candy while I'm in the pool, it may pay off:)

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  12. Did this a lot in college. Felt amazing and you are right solid core work. Thanks for the tips :)

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  13. I love dolphin kick! It's my secret weapon when I challenge my friends to see who can go the farthest underwater!

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