The Elephant in the Pool: Kicking

So far, I've complained about your junk yardage, your fear of speed work, your over-reliance on the wetsuit, and even how many strokes you're taking per length, all without even mentioning kicking. Why?

Kicking is the most neglected part of swim training for most triathletes, and there are some coaches and plans out there that advise you to skip it entirely. Throw a pull buoy between your legs, let your arms do the work, and save your legs for the bike and run.

It is true that there are savings to be had there. Skip the kick and you save some time in the pool, you save some energy, and your legs come into the bike feeling fresh. Strap on a buoy for every set and you'll even swim a little faster in practice, since the buoy floats your hips up for you.

Kicking Is Not Junk Yardage

But I wouldn't do it, so I can't tell you to do it. The TRI Swim Club way is not about doing the least possible training. It's about doing the right training with the least possible waste. The whole lesson of this blog is that you don't have to swim huge volumes to get fast, you just have to cut out the junk. And for the most part, kicking is not junk.

When I was planning training with Joe Skipper, I told him I wanted to try something no other triathlete I knew of was doing. We spent six weeks focused on his kick. It's not the cheapest training block for an Ironman athlete, since every bit of leg work in the pool is leg work you'd normally save for the bike and run. We were both a little worried about it. But it turned out to be some of the best value for the effort we've ever found. We picked one heavy kick session a week and made it his first workout of the day, so his legs were fresh for it, and his bike and run held up fine. His kick improved dramatically, and before Ironman Austria, his 300m broken swim test came in about 10 seconds faster than it was going into Ironman South Africa, the race before.

Kicking With Joe Skipper

That's because a good kick holds your whole stroke together. It gives you balance. It keeps your hips and legs up near the surface, which means less drag. And it ties everything into one rhythm, so your whole body is working instead of just your arms. Think about running with your arms pinned to your sides. You'd be a lot slower, not because your arms are doing the running, and not because you need big strong arms to run fast, but because it throws off your rhythm and your cadence and stops you from using your whole body. That's swimming without a kick. Joe's training partner, who was fairly new to swimming and had never done a triathlon, did the same block and dropped almost a full minute on his 300m test. Then he won his first ever triathlon and led out of the water.

The only caveat to all of this feel-good kicking talk is to remember that the kick is still expensive. Your legs are big muscles, and they burn a lot of oxygen. In a race, especially in a wetsuit, you won't be kicking hard, and you shouldn't be. You train the kick so it can hold you level and keep your rhythm, not so you can sprint with it. And the gains are biggest for newer swimmers, since they have the most room to adapt. That's why Joe found 10 seconds and his training partner found a minute. Expect your results to land somewhere on that range, depending on where you're starting.

Try Running Without Using Your Arms

So before you write off the kick, I'd suggest you go about it the old-fashioned way, the way swimmers always have: a little bit, often. Touch some kick once or twice a week, somewhere around 200 to 600 meters depending on your level. And at some point in your season, give it a training phase of its own, a few weeks where kick gets real attention. When you do it, don't get discouraged by how slow you are on a kickboard.* Ignore the pace and focus on two things: technique and effort. Kick from the hips, keep it small and tight, and actually work. If both of those are improving, you're getting faster, and it will carry over to your swim even if you never use a six-beat kick in a race, and even if you barely kick at all when you swim. The idea of doing kick sets might horrify some triathletes who've been conditioned to think the pull buoy is a permanent part of their body, but seriously, give it a try. If an Ironman champion can fit a six-week kick block around a full Ironman build, you can fit in 200 meters.

On the other hand, if you're already a strong kicker, or your week is truly packed, then by all means keep it on the small side. Do your 200 meters once a week and spend the rest of your pool time on the things that matter most for you. You do get to choose where your training goes. You just have to keep the kick above zero, so your legs are working with your stroke instead of dragging along behind it.

*** If it helps, almost every triathlete gets passed by a kid on a kickboard at some point. It's a rite of passage. Keep kicking.

‍