The importance of your leg kick in open water swimming.

Ever heard people saying, ‘You don’t need to use your legs in open water because you’re in a wetsuit’?? OR ‘You need to save your legs for the Bike & Run’??

These people are wrong!!

Here’s why…..

The leg kick in front crawl is like a ship’s rudder. The legs control the timing of your stroke. If you don’t  use your legs with equal rotation, then your hips will sink, and your body will end up being in the wrong position in the water. This will then create resistance and therefore make you work harder.

NOTE: YOU SHOULD BE DOING AT LEAST 250M to 500M OF KICK EVERY SESSION

Here are some helpful sets to get those legs working and make you a faster swimmer!

Kick sets:

• 10 X 25M with float – head up & head still – focus on hip rock & roll, shoulder rock & roll – kick from quads – flick ankles & toes – heals & toes breaking water surface. +20/30 rest
• 10 x 25M with right or left arm holding float – side lateral kick – with snorkel or without – same coaching points as above but use scissor kick +20/30 rest
• 10 x 20 secs in deep water – vertical kick with fins / without fins +20 / 30 rest
• 10 x 25M streamlined kick on back – arms in a streamlined position – same coaching points as above  but only toes break water surface – with or without fins – pretend your kicking your shoes off +20 / 30 secs rest

We hear people say all the time ‘When I do kick sets with a kick board, I don’t go anywhere!!!” – There will be simple fixes to help you.

Come and see the Heathwood Swimming coaching team in Cardiff, and we will give you the tools for your toolbox to help you with your kicking and help you with your swimming.