A Swim Workout for Improving Kick-Pull Connection in Freestyle

Struggling to coordinate a fast kick with your stroke? Here’s a swim workout designed to improve the connection between the arms and legs in freestyle.

Swimming fast freestyle and mastering the coordination between the kick and pull can sometimes feel like you are trying to cook a pizza while riding a bicycle.

You can do both things well when done individually, but mash them together, and things get outta control.

When kick intensity when swimming goes up, the hips start to wiggle, the ankles crisscross and slam into each other, and your fast kick (on a kickboard, at least) doesn’t feel like a factor in overall propulsion.

That’s why it’s important to train the legs and kick with an eye towards implanting the fitness and technique of a fast kick into your stroke.

Nothing more frustrating than having a thunderous rooster tail of white water when kicking on the kickboard but a sputtering outboard when it comes to kicking while swimming.

The swim workout below aims to address this coordination and connection issue, pairing high intensity kicking with swimming to close the gap between being a fast kicker and being a fast swimmer with a fast kick.

Let’s dive in.

The Kick-Pull Connection Speed Set

The swim workout has got a little bit of everything, including aerobic conditioning and some speed work towards the end.

Things you’ll need:

• Kickboard
• Swim fins
• A can-do attitude

Warm-Up

• 800 swim/kick by 100 with fins
• 6×25 kick desc 1-3 (two rounds through)
• 100 easy swim to reset

Main Set

• 8×100 freestyle as 50 kick fast, 50 swim cruise – 25s rest between reps
• 8×50 freestyle as 15m free kick fast in a streamline + 35m swim maintaining kick intensity – 30s rest between reps
• 8×25 freestyle as 15m kick as in a streamline + 10m swim fast – 30s rest between reps

Warm-Down

• 8×50 choice warm-down

Set notes:

• The workout has lots of kick, as you can guess, and as such, your lower limbs will get a heck of a workout. Jumping rope and other ankle-strengthening exercises are a great option for shoring up the calves and feet.
• Through the whole main set, aim to kick with the same intensity when kicking as when swimming. Yes, this is hard, but the result is absolutely worth it in terms of building a swimming technique that has a certified Mercury outboard on the back of the stroke.
• More experienced swimmers can increase the number of reps for more total yardage (e.g. 12×100 instead of 8×100, 12×50 instead of 8×50… etcetera) or do two rounds of the main set.

The Bottom Line

Swim practice is where we go to develop and improve specific skills and components of fast swimming. It’s where we go to build a stronger pull, faster kick, more vertical forearm, and crisper body roll.

But as important as those things are separately, they need to be melted into your regular swimming for maximum adaptation and improvement.

When you go to the pool, don’t just kick to be a stronger kicker, kick to kick more strongly within your regular swimming.

More Swim Workouts Like This

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Try This Swim Workout for a Silky-Smooth Freestyle. Ready to build a smoother freestyle? Here’s a workout that will help you swim smoother than ever.