The Swimming Kick: Don’t Let It Drag You Down

So what’s so important about the swim kick if you are a triathlete?

A proper kick in swimming is important for many reasons. First, kicking improperly can pull you out of ideal body position (parallel to the surface of the water). If you are kicking from your knees instead of your hips, you will have the tendency to drop your knees to keep your feet from coming completely out of the water; this will cause “uphill swimming.” Knee kicking is one of the most common mistakes made by triathletes who did not swim competitively growing up. The kick should come from the hip flexors and gluteus muscles, with only a small portion using the quadriceps. Think of a long lever and the tops of your legs being the origin of the motion, with the thighs moving back and forth, not just the part of the leg below the knee.

Over kicking, and using too much energy for the swim, is not something you want to do either; nor is kicking with too great a range of motion. The kick should be kept small and tight, keeping the legs in line with the torso, as close to the surface as possible; hence the term “flutter kick”. Think of trying to keep the legs inside the tube your head and shoulders create as you move forward thru the water. The hips should rotate back and forth and the legs should stay perfectly in line with the hips. If the legs and feet end up too far apart, they can actually create drag and slow the swimmer down. Twisting the body, rather than rotating,
will cause the legs to also play apart, and is thus not desirable.

Proper kicking can greatly aid in forward propulsion by keeping the legs up and holding proper body position, but is often overlooked as the generator of power for the rotation of the hips and body. Kicking from the knees hinders rotation and may cause a twisting of the body as the hips try to remain neutral. Proper kicking from the hips actually creates an easy way to rotate the body back and forth for each stroke by keeping the body properly lined up and optimizing the reach of each stroke.

A great way to know if you are guilty of “knee kicking” is to see if you are propulsive using a kickboard or kicking on your back. If you are on your back you should not see your knees popping up out of the water, but your feet should be right at the surface at the upward stroke of the leg. Ask someone to watch you or arrange for underwater video taping.

Becoming proficient at the flutter kick, if you are not doing so already, will help you swim faster with less drag, as well as give you another gear if you need to turn it on during a race. Kicking harder with the knees dropping will only waste energy and make you tired. This is a very good area to work on during the fall and winter months, as you work on limiters during the off season. The next swim article will focus on the importance of engaging the core muscles; another great way to improve not only the swim, but the bike and run as well. Without the core actively connecting the upper and lower body during the swim, proper kick and rotation are not possible.