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強壯的踢腿 = 更快速的游泳
完成所有針對腿部工作的目的不僅僅是為了獲得有力的踢腿而發展出強而有力的踢腿；而是為了提高你的整體游泳水平和速度。
A STRONG KICK = FASTER SWIMMING
The point of doing all the leg-specific work isn’t solely to develop a strong kick for the benefit of having a strong kick but to improve your overall swimming level and speed.
為什麼踢水很重要？
游泳是一項全身運動，效率來自於發展上半身和下半身之間的協調。踢腿提供穩定性、改善身體位置和推進力——所有這些都是更有效率的自由式和其他泳姿所必需的。
Why is the kick important?
Swimming is a full-body movement, and efficiency comes from developing coordination between your upper and lower body. The kick provides stability, improved body position, and propulsion--all components necessary for a more efficient freestyle and other strokes.
提升你的踢腿應該符合成為更快游泳者的整體計劃。
Improving your kick should fit in the overall plan to become a faster swimmer.
對於許多游泳者來說，腿只是拖在他們過度勞累的上半身和手臂上的兩塊浮木，無論是因為他們覺得自己注定永遠踢得平庸，還是因為他們不喜歡而避免踢腿及不擅長踢腿，這些游泳者錯過了踢腿訓練提供的一系列強大的好處。
For many swimmers, the legs are just two pieces of driftwood that trail their over-worked upper body and arms, and whether it is because they feel they are forever destined to have a mediocre kick, or whether they avoid it because they don’t like not being good at something, these swimmers are missing out on a powerful range of benefits that a good kick provides.
麥可.菲爾普斯的教練Bob 不斷強調踢腿訓練的重要性，對他來說踢腿比划手訓練更來得重要，同時建議高強度快速的踢腿訓練效果最好。
1. 有力的踢腿讓你的身體位置更好（也就是更少的阻力）。
當你的踢腿速度變慢時，我們的臀部經常會下沈，讓我們的肩膀首當其衝，因為你的腿和腳向池底傾斜，從而增加了阻力。
1. A STRONG KICK GIVES YOU BETTER BODY POSITIONING (A.K.A. LESS DRAG).
When your kick slows, all too often our hips drop, leaving our shoulders to take the full brunt of the workload with the added drag of our legs and feet angling towards the bottom of the pool.
快速的游泳者認識到，持續、有力的踢腿使他們的身體沿著水面保持水平，同時也最大限度地減少了對游泳者推進力造成的額外阻力。
Fast swimmers recognize that a consistent, powerful kick keeps their body flat along the surface of the water, while also minimizing the additional drag that can be crushing to a swimmer’s propulsion.
2. 強壯的踢腿提供動力。
2. A STRONG KICK PROVIDES PROPULSION.
你看看任何優秀的游泳運動員，他們的腿絕對是強壯的。
You look at any elite swimmer, they have absolute powerhouse legs.
麥可.菲爾普斯可以進行 20 次深蹲 300 磅。 Ryan Lochte 可以在 23.49 秒內將海豚在水下踢出 50m 長的距離。另外亞歷山大波波夫，可說是歷史上最偉大的短距離自由式游泳運動員，他可以在50 米/長池浮板踢水踢在 27 秒內。
Michael Phelps could box squat 300 pounds for 20 reps. Ryan Lochte can underwater dolphin kick a long 50m in 23.49 seconds. Alexander Popov, probably the greatest sprint freestyler in history, could kick 50m with a kickboard in 27 seconds. Long course.