Freestyle kick

Kicking is essential for freestyle. It should vary depending on the distance you are swimming. For a long distance swim it should have a 1,2,3... slow and steady type of beat to it. For shorter distance it should have a quicker tempo and greater power. The kick is so important especially coming off the wall as it provides an important burst of speed out of the turn. A swim workout should include some kick only training. Use of fins can also be fun and a strength builder. Don't overlook the importance of a good kick.

I think anyone who uses a two-beat kick is essentially "not kicking" from the perspective that the kick isn't really providing propulsion, but merely helps with balance. There have been plenty of successful swimmers that use a two-beat kick. I've never actually seen someone not kick at all. That seems like it would be analogous to running without pumping your arms.

Try to find a "real" freestyler who swims the 50 free who doesn't kick. Kicking is paramount in a spring freestyle event. It becomes less and less central to the race as the distance goes up. Kicking for most people burns a lot of oxygen, and generates a lot of lactic acid. Kicking can always be beneficial. When I was in college, I could do 100's kick on a 1:20 interval without a lot of difficulty. But it would take a couple thousand yards of swimming to work that lactic acid out of my body. If you can get a strong, efficient, kick going in a distance event... you're golden. -Rick

I agree that to have a fast 50 it is essential to have a great kick, but you also have to know your limitations. If you body won't allow you to do this then you have to make adjustments. Also you should be using your core strength to keep you feet up. If you are having to kick to keep them up then you are not using the right muscle groups. Again I really think it comes back to using a coaches eyes to help develop your stroke. Cheers dave

I've had to minimize (sometimes even eliminate) kicking lately b/c of IT band problems (pain when kicking much more than the basic I need to keep my legs from sinking)... sometimes have to do one-legged kicks or use the pull buoy for a good part of my workout. And while I'm not that great w/ kicking, my current "work around" strategies definitely slow me down! But there is an upside: the knee pain doesn't occur if I focus on what a coach once described as kicking from the hips, not from the knees... So actually this injury seems to be a good opportunity to improve kick technique.

When I was a swimmer my strength was my kick so I thought it was the most important thing. However since I have started coaching triathletes I have changed my tune. If the person has very little flexibility in their ankles then they are better off not kicking hard, rather use very small movements of their legs. The next time you swim try kicking with rigid ankles and see what direction you go in. I do agree with the previous posts saying that you must kick but there is always an exception to the rule. When it comes to adults these exceptions are more common. Cheers Dave

I'm guessing the coach may have meant that "real" freestylers (whatever that means) don't emphasize the kick. In which case "not kicking" is more like just letting your legs kick the minimum amount while you focus your energy on the arms and core muscles. As people point out, in races where energy conservation isn't a factor (like the 50), if you have an effective kick there is no reason not to use it.

I really htink this argument is nonsense. YOu should always kick. Would we be haivng this same argument if it started out, "People don't need ot roll if their role is no good."?

So what do you say to a person who has very little use of their legs. Like somebody with MS. I agree in a perfect world you need to kick but lets be honest everybody has limitations in different ways. This case could be argued for ages and that's why it is important that swimmers get to swimming coaches becasue it will only be then that they will get proper technique advise. We can all speculate on different techniques but we are all guessing what this person really needs. Remember that biomechanics is written based on a human being perfect for swimming. I would say at least 90% of people here at this forum do not fall into that catergory. Some people may be further away then others. This is the skill of coaching. Being able to adapt the biomechanical principles to help the swimmer swim their best. Sometimes we have to break rules. I coach a masters swimmer (45-49 age group)who can go around 9mins for an 800 freestyle and he does not rotate and has very little kick. I can play with his stroke (to make it look like Ian Thorpe) but it will take years for him to adapt this stroke, so he will swim bad times in the mean time. If he is swimming extremely slow for him do you think that he will continue swimming. I think not. I would rather wait for his times slow down then gradually change the stroke. There are still plenty of things that I can work on but are not what you would find in a biomechanics book.

I guess it would've been important to note that I was a distance freestyler, not a sprinter. (Actually, I used to swim breaststroke above everything else, but knee problems limit my abilities now so I'm doing more distance free.) Right now there's no masters team in my area, so I don't have a coach to give me tips.