

Bending at your knees and kicking only from the knees. Knee kicking is also as the name applies. Minimizing resistance (or drag) while moving forward in the water. Not only that, it’s an exhausting way to kick, takes far more effort, and you won’t go anywhere.Įasy and fast swimming is about being streamlined and efficient in the water. Related article: 11 Ways to Improve Your Freestyle Kick Others will bring them up almost to their hip so that their thighs are nearly vertical in the water. Some will bring their knees up just enough that it causes drag and it’s not too obvious. The severity of the bicycle kicking varies by the swimmers. Doing so may also make you bend at the hips, which has the unfortunate side effect of your hips sinking. When you bicycle kick, you drag your knees down and through the water, which creates resistance. A bike that’s horizontal and in the water 🙂 Kicking from the knees or ‘bicycle kicking’ is a common mistake people make while flutter kicking.īicycle kicking, as the name implies, is an incorrect kicking motion that looks like you’re pedaling a bike. Bicycle KickingĪdmittedly, this is my biggest pet peeve in swimming. And because of the delay this type of kick causes, the stroke in turn becomes delayed. Usually, because you’re trying to time your stroke with each kick of the leg. It also makes for a very start-stop motion and can impact your freestyle stroke.
Dryland flutter kick how to#
Related article: How to Flutter Kick When Swimming Freestyle Doing this lowers your hips so you feel as though you’re sinking.

However, when you try to bend your hips instead of keeping them horizontal in the water, your knees drop and typically force your legs vertically into the water. Which is sometimes the first form of swimming some people learn. It’s mostly common because it so closely mirrors the kick when used to doggy paddle. Trying to bend at your hips to kick is a common flutter kick mistake. Let your feet relax and flex your ankles instead of forcing the feet to pointĭo ankle rotations to help loosen your ankles and get them more flexible Shorten your kick so it’s more shallow, about a foot under the water

Keep them mostly straight with a slight knee bend Keep your legs straight behind you and only bend them slightly when kickingīending the knees too much when kicking so your feet are coming out of the waterĭon’t bend your knees so your shins leave the water. Trouble kicking/not going anywhere with your kick Kick with your legs out behind you and don’t try to crunch while swimming For strength development, perform 8 – 12 repetitions.Bending at the hips and bringing your knees up to your chest Lower your body weight down and back, while keeping your hip, knee, and ankle in a straight line. Next, hold onto an object and hop your front foot out as far as possible. This exercise also helps strengthen opposing legs with their legs apart, common in flutter kicking.ĭirections: Put your back foot on a surface approximately knee height with your toes pointed. Moreover, this exercise helps lengthen the hip flexors of the back leg, which are commonly tight in students (from excessive sitting). Purpose: The rear foot elevated split squat (Romanian Dead Lift) is a strengthening exercise of the quadriceps and gluteals. John Mullen of the Center for Optimal Restoration has just the exercise for those looking to be better flutter kickers!

THE kick is so important in freestyle races, especially in the sprints but is growing to be increasingly necessary for success in the distance events.
