FINIS Tip Of The Week: Freestyle With Dolphin Kick

FreeDolphinKick

FINIS is a proud partner of Swimming World Magazine and sponsor of the FINIS Tip Of The Week. Visit FINISswim.com for more information.

Welcome to the “FINIS Tip of the Week.” Swimming World will be bringing you a topic that we’ll explore with drills and concepts for you to implement with your team on a regular basis. While certain weeks may be more appropriate for specific levels of swimming (club, high school, college, or masters), each tip is meant to be flexible for your needs and inclusive for all levels of swimming.

This week’s tip combines elements of two strokes, freestyle and butterfly, to work on coordination, body awareness, and overall body connection to improve the catch in freestyle.

Specifically, you’ll be adding dolphin kicks as a substitute for flutter kick with normal freestyle arms. Ideally, you should be taking one dolphin kick per stroke, using the propulsion of the kick to drive forward into your catch with each stroke.


Putting these two skills together develops coordination and makes swimmers think about the connection between their arms, legs, and core.  It may take some trial and error before your find the correct rhythm. Think about using the propulsion of the down kick in your dolphin kick as a way to drive into your catch, and concentrate on using your core to keep the movement consistent and even on both sides.

When done correctly, you should feel an extra bit of propulsion from the kick getting into the catch, something that is more subtle (but still important) with flutter kick. And while it is a great way to develop that connection between your arms and legs, this drill can also a different and interesting way to develop core strength.

All swimming and dryland training and instruction should be performed under the supervision of a qualified coach or instructor, and in circumstances that ensure the safety of participants.

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Colleen Ferguson
4 years ago

Jill N King you should follow this page they post good stuff!

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