Re: Proper form for using a kickboard

>>And there's no reliable correlation between VO2max and performance. In both
swimming and running, the most economical elite athletes have relatively
unimpressive VO2max scores. It's the less efficient athlete who NEEDS more
physiological capacity to compensate.<<

The great debate about training vs. technique.  Will reply later regarding
swimming, but the above statement is clearly incorrect with respect to running.

e.g.

1: J Sports Sci. 1997 Aug;15(4):403-10.  

The relationship between 3 km running performance and
selected physiological variables.

Grant S, Craig I, Wilson J, Aitchison T.

Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University
of Glasgow, UK.

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship
between a number of physiological variables and running
velocity at 3 km (v-3km) in a group of male runners.
Sixteen well-trained middle- and long-distance runners
(mean +/-s: age 22.4 +/- 4.2 years, body mass 63.5 +/-
6.2 kg, VO2 max 73.3 +/- 6.7 ml kg-1 min-1) underwent
laboratory treadmill tests to determine their maximum
oxygen uptake (VO2 max), running economy at three
submaximal velocities (12.9, 14.5 and 16.1 km h-1 or
14.5, 16.1 and 17 km h-1), predicted velocity at VO2
max (v-VO2max), velocity (v-Tlac) and VO2 (VO2-Tlac) at
the lactate threshold and their velocity (v-4mM) and
VO2 (VO2-4mM) at a blood lactate concentration of 4 mM.
Distance running performance was determined by 3 km
time-trials on an indoor 200 m track for which the
average time was 9.46 +/- 0.74 min. The mean (+/-s)
velocities for v-Tlac, v-4mM and v-VO2max were 16.0 +/-
1.8, 17.1 +/- 1.9 and 20.7 +/- 2.1 km h-1 respectively,
all significantly different on average (all P < 0.05)
from that for v-3km (19.1 +/- 1.5 km h-1). Many of
these physiological variables were found to be
individually (and significantly at 5%) related to
v-3km. The best single predictors of v-3km were v-Tlac
and v-4mM (both with a sample correlation, r2 of 0.93),
while v-VO2max was slightly poorer (r = 0.86). Neither
VO2 max nor running economy was strongly correlated
with v-3km. A stepwise multiple-regression analysis
revealed that v-Tlac alone was the best single
predictor of v-3km and explained 87% of the variability
in 3 km running velocity, while the addition of any of
the other physiological variables did not significantly
improve the prediction of v-3km. We conclude that, in a
group of well-trained runners, the running velocity at
the lactate threshold was all that was required to
explain a large part of the variability in 3 km running
performance.