How to NOT Suck at Kicking in Swimming

[@GrubbShowMedia]

the reason people bend their knees when they swim has a lot to do with the mechanics of walking. We have spent our entire lives on dry land, upright, walking and running. When teaching swim lessons with children, I take hold of their ankles while doing flutter kick practice from the wall to physically guide the student through the exercise. As an adult swimmer for fitness myself, I often ask other swimmers to watch and critique my stroke and form to help me find ways to improve my own swim. Swimming can be challenging if we are not in the water constantly. Swimming is in my opinion an exercise in being humble and patient to learning, yet a passion of love and persistence. Love MySwimPro, the content has helped me tons in improving my swimming and understanding of swimming.

[@HeheHom]

Thanks for the essay!

[@flammable-man]

Theories are logical, but practises are hard

[@alitaif2281]

Step by step you can do it bro

[@coachjoachimroomaney793]

actually , its not at all close

[@A_Linderman6974]

Disciplina y constancia es la respuesta

[@whatisahandle221]

Simple, not easy.

[@PedroRamirez23769]

Deep

[@a.garcia7127]

Narrow and fast kick as opposed to a wide kick; and kicking from the hip as opposed to the knee it's all I needed to hear. And the drills are awesome. I love the way you explain things. My HS coach was a grumpy old lady who will yell at you and she even chastised me on my kick. I haven't been in the water for about 25 years and they opened a new YMCA in my neighborhood in the south Bronx and I started using the pool. Your instructions are not only scientific in a way, but you also give a mental reference, in this instance kicking in a bucket. Please keep this important content coming. Thank you once again and stay well. Greetings from the Bronx, USA🗽🇺🇸🏊‍♂️✌❤

[@BrendanPramjee]

Awesome and I agree.. a teacher that has patience and explains things like this was all I needed... Great video and comment.. all the best 💪

[@checka1963]

One tip from me added, really try to feel the water around your leg and feet as you move up and down. If you arent feeling the pressure of the water against your skin, your kick is probably ineffectual.

[@robohippy]

Well, a couple of points. One you don't mention, but do, and perhaps more on your vertical kick than on your horizontal kick is go pigeon toed. Especially for those of us who have stiff ankles, turning our feet in when kicking will give us 10 to 20 more degrees of toe point/dorsi flexion. It also allows us to use the entire side of our foot for propulsion, which is far better than a gymnastic type toe point. There is a subtle difference between the back stroke flutter kick and the freestyle flutter kick. If you try to do the exact same 'mechanics' on both kicks, when doing back stroke, you knees will be coming out of the water. With freestyle, in order to get the foot into a better position/angle to provide thrust, you have to flex at the hip a bit, so a little flex at the hip and a little flex at the knee. With back stroke, you end up flexing a bit more at the knee , and almost no flexing at the hip. The kick 'action' is very similar to kicking a football/soccer ball. Some hip rotation, a little wind up, toes pointed in, and a small kick, not an all the way down the field kick.

[@whatisahandle221]

Awesome food for thought… Thx!

[@harrynp1]

Great advice! I am 68 and swimming is my only exercise. I need to improve my techniques so this helps a lot ! Thanks very much

[@myswimpro]

You are so welcome! Keep up the great work and happy swimming :)

[@rushman007]

Thank you, Taylor Holmes! Your recent videos on freestyle technique have directly helped me find a new gear in the water. You all make the best video content!

[@myswimpro]

You are so welcome! Keep up the great work :)

[@GoodDay-yw7qe]

Thanks sweetie, I am learning to swim and your tips are helping me

[@noelarmstrong1917]

fantastic advice, you're such a good teacher !

[@taliakatouzi306]

Thank you for teaching us the right tecnique.

[@robohippy]

For kicking drills, I like to vary amplitude/height and cadence. Some laps I will kick using bigger kicks to develop strength through the whole kick range, and these laps are generally at a slower beat. I kick some laps at a much higher beat and lower amplitude. Basically mixing things up. I do not use a kick board at all. Maybe if you are just starting, but a snorkel is far better as you can keep good body position/posture. Some laps are in 'superman' position with arms extended in front. I use standard shoulder rotation to about 40 or so degrees, and I also extend one hand into the recover entry position and draw the other arm back a bit. This is practicing like I swim. Some times I will swim in stream line position, and again use the same rotation that I use when swimming. With dolphin kick, I will do one length at slow speed with high amplitude, and the next length with fast speed and low amplitude. The high amplitude/slow speed, is for maximum distance per kick/fewer kicks per lap, and the low amplitude/high speed kicks are for high speed. Can't do whip or the old frog kick. My feet just won't turn out like that....

[@es-hs9fd]

Thanks so much! The advise about keeping the kick narrow as if kicking in a bucket was very helpful. Now with that visual engrained in my head I’m hopeful that it will help improve my kick. Of course practice makes better. :)

[@myswimpro]

Great to hear! Keep us posted and happy swimming :)

[@masakonagaoka6533]

I get it

[@SibongileNkambule-tz5tj]

Your tips are simple and easy to follow many thanks

[@olgaxtap472]

what's wrong when I have the board and while I'm hitting my feet I'm not moving forward?

[@gustavoyacante5126]

Me encanta tu estilo de comunicación .Gracias por ayudarnos en nuestra natación . Saludos 😀

[@auroraabad5087]

Thank you for the many tips to improve my swim skills, Taylor!

[@myswimpro]

You're so welcome! Happy swimming :)

[@A.I8I.M]

The same in 'martial arts'. [kicking from hips] but we add + rotation to be more powerful. A kicking just like with feet is called 'snapping'.

[@vedeshsingh8680]

Many many thanks for inspiring us and unleashing secret for swimming.

[@parthsalat]

Thanks! Now that my left shoulder is injured, I'll spend time practising kicking!

[@ivan.rosarioargentina3626]

Knees under the water… hips sparkle the kick… abs worked out for sure… thank you…

[@tolgagenc6634]

Thank you very much. I must learn English, then swim.😊😊😊

[@kuladeeluxe]

Excellent presentation. Will try those tips.

[@cmctrade4098]

This vdo is helpful I will apply this kick practice

[@myswimpro]

Good luck and have fun!

[@shaileshjadhav5987]

very classic advice

[@johnarrowsmithwilhelmsen2500]

Superb instruction - thank u!

[@AlbanBytyqi]

Thank you

[@hansjessulat7678]

Very informative

[@carolinavera1261]

Thanks, I have a lot to improve but I will try

[@BrendanPramjee]

Great video!!! I'm going to try this out 🎉

[@KimberlyNguyen-h4s]

I did that I feel relax 😌 for swim lesson!

[@RussKarlberg]

Thanks, I am going to try this today. But I hope it is that easy as a nice calm pool... I swim in the ocean...

[@CARS63]

Thank you😊

[@hamadalkhalifa2323]

Thank you. Amazing video.

[@kavyaphophalia3270]

This is amazing. M facing tremendous issue with kicking from glutes/hips. When i work with board I can't move ahead. Any other tips?

[@AntonioFerreira-fb5dr]

Thank you for the tips!

[@MrTlewen]

I heard that the toes should be pointed inwards also. Maybe it is mentioned somewhere in the video, but I missed it in that case.

[@BKShort]

Thanks for, it is a great help. I am wondering what to do with the ankles? Should they be stiff, relaxed or trying to flutter up and down.

[@prsr8189]

Great technique... Thanx sister 👌👌🙏🙏

[@WAYWAY92]

Thanks

[@Mia77442]

Love your instructions!

[@myswimpro]

So glad you like them! Happy swimming :)

[@Muth-cn5bx]

Good tips and tricks 👍

[@moustafaismail503]

Thanks a lot .. Great drills 😊👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@AnubhavAnkitGeorge]

Great tip mam, can you make video on how to swim in deep lake and over come the fear if deep lake. Is there any swimming techinque for lake. Plz respond.

[@myswimpro]

Hi there! Check out this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHOvaqNne86trbM

[@Drew_Herdz]

Just found this channel. Love it.

[@myswimpro]

Welcome aboard and happy swimming :)

[@austen44]

Good afternoon…. My kick sucks

[@Doorsjustbetter]

No kidding

[@urba-link3576]

I absolutely love the title of this video. It's exactly what I had in my brain "Look for video teaching how NOT to suck at kicking."❤

[@myswimpro]

Keeping it real ;)

[@kenschweigert7864]

Are there any "dry land" exercises we can do to help strengthen the muscles for kicking? Things that I can do on the floor watching TV and not having to go to the gym would be a bonus. Thanks!

[@lucaschuster2824]

Hi, allow me to give you some exercises I do with my team: - first one is flutter kick. Regarding the difficulty you can do this with your elbows on the ground, in L sit with arms in streamline or laying on the back arms in streamline - second one is for the counter muscles. It is called „radish chopping“. Lay on your stomach, doing flutter kick and move your arms straight in front up and down. Knees and arms do not touch the ground while doing the excercise Both excercises help you to initiate the movement from your core. You can implement them into a core workout by doing them 30-60 seconds. In general I recommend the core videos from skills nt they work well not only for flutter kick gut also for dolphin kick and general core stability in swimming. - If you want to train your kick to be more narrow you can do flutter kick on a Swiss Ball. So be in Plank position, your feet on the ball and kick very fast! You need good core strength and speed to keep the frequency high. Do it for 10 seconds only to train stability and speed, this is a very hard excercise. In you want to train endurance with high intensity you can do it up to 40 seconds. - Last but not least you also learn narrow kicks by doing very fast kick in the Pool. So do 25's with a board as fast as you can. Vary the width of your kick so you get a feeling which width suits the best for high speeds. In the end its always up to yourself to grasp the feeling of your technique.

[@idontknowwhatidontknow]

Great 👍 thanks 🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️

[@paawian]

Nice one, thanks

[@sof8309]

Merci 👍

[@primroseOM]

Great video

[@petermcdevitt3984]

Thank you for these drills. My kick is terrible. Also, being older, using a flutterboard kills my back when trying a 50m kick drill. Also, am a runner ... and old ... so there are some stiff ankles. I will try these drill to see off they help ☺

[@JJBpilot]

Sit on your feet! Stretch out the ankles and anterior tibialis.

[@anuronguha0898]

​@@JJBpilotlike doing squats?

[@zhozan13]

Hi, I know this is late, but one thing I did to strengthen my ankles was to stand on tippy toes and then heel 20 each day, and after ankle twirls doing the alphabet forward and backward. It Prevents ankle sprains while running and walking as we get older.

[@shelljacobs8956]

What snorkle are you using?

[@Mini-Me]

❤❤❤ thank you 👍

[@vinegrace8538]

Am enjoying

[@Paul-kl2mn]

Thanks for the video. But we tried this drill on back hands on the side, miserably not propelling at all no matter how much kicked. Instead at times move a bit and stop on opposite direction.... that was a sure signal the technique is completely wrong, can you advice?

[@tbarrett1984]

How profitable is it to kick? I've been swimming for roughly 8 years. Only swam front crawl with my upper body. But I'm over taking swimmers whilst they're kicking. How much would i gain to start kicking?

[@interviewsbydr.latoriawhit9243]

Really helpful

[@mouhcine8459]

Many thanks,it's a great tips.

[@myswimpro]

You are so welcome! Happy swimming :)

[@aungbhonepyae289]

Buzz Light Year !!!

[@naveenbabuful]

Superb

[@samikshadey7422]

Impressive video, Madam, my kick could not reach on surface of the water. If you please guide me. I am new swimmer and 60 years

[@nancytripp2024]

Thanks for your advice: Find what works for you and Keep consistent! I will!

[@aviviapatrick707]

I cannot tread. Can I still try vertical kicking?

[@ironsidesct]

Any advice on how to fix a scissor kick in front crawl

[@dawnmackey4182]

what about kicking with fins, also short and fast? Thanks

[@hariz86]

So I’m pretty sure this was filmed at Thanyapura, right???

[@hassanawang6823]

Love it and love you❤

[@gary4451]

Hope you don't mind my asking a question. When you say kick from the hips or with the hips, are you referring to the point where the leg bone enters the pelvis or do you mean kicking with the glut?

[@robohippy]

Body rotation adds to the kick power. When kicking to the front side (down in freestyle, up in back stroke), you rotate from the hips and down to the foot, which uses the quads and hip rotation. When kicking to the back side (up in freestyle, and down in back stroke) you use the gluts.

[@gary4451]

robohippy, thanks for the reply. Based upon the explanation that you provided, the "hips" refers to the entire butt/pelvis, not just the point where the leg bone enters the socket on the pelvis. When I kick down with the right leg, are you saying that I rotate the right side of the butt/pelvis down as part of the kick?

[@robohippy]

I had to think about this for a bit. I differ from MSP, and some others, in that I figure the shoulders drive the hip rotation, not the other way around. So, pull with right arm, the right leg is 'spring loaded' and the right arm anchors you so you can rotate all the way down your spine and hips, and the down kick is at the end of that spiral. Not sure if that makes sense to you or not. The pulling arm gets to about 25% of the way through the pulling arc when the foot kicks down.

[@TheSutov]

Amazingly agile ankles, whow

[@mangomosaics]

Thanks for these Top Tips. I particularly like the vertical kick. I'm going to play with this!

[@myswimpro]

You're so welcome! Good luck and have fun :)

[@ralphjudemaban7098]

Thanks for the tutorial haha. This is really help full i will use this in my competition in the next 3 days Thx so much

[@P2Tmedia]

Vertical kick or fluttering I am sinking Is it fine ? How many days it will take to float with vertical kick just for keeping nose above water

[@tinybarabo]

That vertical kick made me sink real fast 💨

[@swatkat5994]

Hey are we kicking the water away from us or towards us? In other words,are the feet bending towards the heel or towards the shin ?

[@myswimpro]

You want to focus on kicking the water behind you, so that your body moves forward!

[@fangvicky8599]

Where is it

[@charliegray3267]

Can you tell me how to use my Apple watch in my workout. It seems that once I set the waterlock, I can't do anything with the watch.

[@jcmt23]

what app you use for swimming

[@myswimpro]

We use the MySwimPro app for swim Training Plans that personalize to your goals, your speed, and your schedule! Check it out at myswimpro.com/coach

[@rajeshj8383]

Could you explain what is kicking on side ?

[@myswimpro]

Hi there! Kicking on your side is when you are on your side, facing the left or the right wall of the pool, as you kick. Your bottom arm will be up so your head rests on it, and your top arm will be on your hip to help balance you on your side. Hope this helps!

[@tomassafran4001]

Ok.Perfekt

[@baktijrsniper1684]

Good👍👍👍👍

[@robbyddurham1624]

My quads are sore today. Maybe that means I'm doing better.

[@namastek1901]

Thank u so ! I will be trying that deepend kick to improve my kicks. I tend to bend my knees a lot-so i've been told🙃

[@jignasamehta820]

My feet inwards during kicking of freestyle. What is the solution

[@aliasan4034]

goood

[@lahoyasrha]

👍

[@mehcinbelkacem5404]

I invite you to caming in algerie 🎉

[@read_to_me_a_book_with_samira]

Good, but it not easily

[@antoniodusper8755]

Sorry but what does it mean 4×50 at 1:45?

[@tmcelhone3308]

…from the hip. Oh! I get it now.

[@fangvicky8599]

You said head in correct?

[@toofine6]

Good tips, but if your pool is not deep enough, you can not perform adequate vertical kicks without crashing your toes.🙂

[@Yowzoe]

How deep is your pool? It seems like 3 feet would be deep enough, no?

[@toofine6]

​@Yowzoe , I am 5'8". I need at least 6 ft of depth to do vertical kicks properly. Plus, my legs are long. I've only seen young children do vertical kicks in 3 ft of water.😊

[@Yowzoe]

@@toofine6 I just started swimming laps a month ago and haven't learned to do kicks off the wall. Looking forward to learning how. Meanwhile, I thought a *vertical kick* was the same as a flutter kick while doing a crawl, which is the only kind of stroke I do. just now watching videos to actually learn how to swim :-)

[@I_am_a_Cunning_Linguist]

It's like kicking a soccer ball.

[@ArujButt-od1fu]

Hard practices

[@KonstantinGenkin]

Who hears sigma background music

[@chafouaube985]

I admit i suck. The way i use my arms and my hands, i glide around 2 meter

[@fabianrares]

It's a shame the app does not personalise to each individually. I've tried it and I've got workouts at speeds I don't even dare to drink, equally in relations of distances. It mush be great for swimmers that can easily seim at a 1:30/100m.

[@myswimpro]

Hi there! It sounds like your personalized training intervals were not entered in correctly. All Workouts should be adjusted to your pace and speed, plus every Workout can be personalized by how much you want to swim or even how much time you have to swim. If you reach out to [e-mail] we'd love to walk you through this and get everything figured out!

[@mome12accer51]

Why can't I stand in the water. Sinking

[@pcorteen]

Suggest more film of people demoing what you are talking about, instead film of you talking.

[@candid244]

Freestyle kick is very hard for me. Too abstract, too imaginary. Probably I don't hv choreography gen.

[@myswimpro]

It can take some time to get used to, and that's normal! Use a kickboard every time you swim to focus on your legs only, and kick with small, tight kicks from your ankles and toes. You've got this!