Swim I - Class 9 & 10 - Kick/Leg Position

FOCUS – KICK/LEG POSITION

Note: to see how the legs should be positioned and what you should be striving to look like in this drill, see my post “Freestyle – Frame by Frame” and look at the kick section.

Note: The reason we do kicking work late in the course is because it takes a lot of focus and coordination, and the ability to execute the rest of the stroke well without too much thought – if you can’t breathe well, or your body position is breaking down you won’t be able to think about much else.

After the rest of the stroke had been worked through and your breathing and rotational balance was in place, we went to work on how to put the legs into position to create the least drag. This occurs when, during rotation, the leg on the side of the lower hip is raised toward the surface. This keeps the leg and foot above the low hip, reducing drag at the back of the stroke dramatically. Here’s where we break from typical INSTRUCTION about how to kick. This is how to ACTIVATE your hip to enable your kick, PLACE your leg in position USING YOUR HIP on the “UPKICK”, and FEEL the appropriate combination of hip and inner thigh muscles working to do this.

Drill Set:

Single Arm (100) – Push off with both arms overhead. You’ll pull with one arm all the way down the pool while the other one stays extended out front. Then pull with the other arm on the way back. With each pull, rotate fully onto your side and take a low breath. The GOAL is to make sure you’re rotating vs. swimming a flat stroke.

Single Arm – No Kick During Breathing Motion (100) – Now when you pull, hold your legs together as straight and narrow as possible. You may kick during recovery of the arm forward and when you’re stretched with both arms overhead, but not when you pull. The GOAL is to silence your kick for a portion of the stroke.

Single Arm – Opposite Heel Out As Pull Finishes (100) – As you pull through and rotate, LIFT YOUR OPPOSITE LEG UP WITH YOUR HIP, EXPOSING YOUR FOOT ABOVE THE SURFACE. Keep the leg straight as you do this. The danger is to simply bend the knee to get the foot out – but a straight-leg recovery upward is VITAL. You may kick to get set in the extended position, but when you pull through, lift the opposite leg. The GOAL  is to activate the hip and place the leg in perfect streamline position when the body is rotated.

Switching – 3 Strokes Right Side / 3 Strokes Left Side (100) – This is the same as the above drill, but now you must switch sides fairly often. Remember, the opposite leg rises as you pull. The GOAL is to get used to using one leg and then the other.

Switching – 1 Stroke Right Side / 1 Stroke Left Side (100) – Now you’re getting closer to a full stroke. You may kick between pulls to get balanced and ready. The GOAL is to begin to feel what it takes to do this every stroke.

2-Beat Kick (100) – Pull with one arm and lift the opposite leg, then pull with the other and lift the other leg. If you get out of sync, kick with both arms overhead and start anew. When you get it, you’ll feel yourself sliding along through the water with much more ease since there’s no drag from your legs and feet.

6-Beat Kick (100) – Some of you may decide to keep the 2-Beat kick for a while, or for the long term. Others may do better with a continuous kick. Do kick continuously, pull through and lift the opposite leg, then add a couple small kicks as you transition over and pull with the other arm. Think, “lift, kick, kick, lift, kick, kick,…”