By Olivier Poirier-Leroy on SwimSwam
Dolphin kicking!
It’s awesome when we can do it right.
Not-so-awesome when it’s clunky, timing is off, and we surface like a cork instead of like a dolphin.
And training it can be frustrating as there is so much that goes into doing it well.
So how about elite swim coaches…
How do they train it?
Great question!
How Swim Coaches Train the Underwater Dolphin Kick
A recent survey (Thompson et al., 2022) asked 66 UK swim coaches—from national-level coaches to international team coaches—how they develop the underwater dolphin kick with their swimmers.
Lots of interesting takeaways, but here are four that stood out:
Dedicated dolphin kick training
Each week, swim coaches did an average of 1.6 hours per week specifically training the underwater dolphin kick. These were dedicated dolphin kick sets and skill development sessions.
Basically, the dolphin kick is treated as a “stroke” or skill in its own right and not just left to be worked on off the walls.
Given the importance of the underwater dolphin kick, particularly for short course swimmers, dedicated sets and training make a lot of sense.
Yes, you can get lots of kick reps in under your belt off turns and push-offs, but dedicated sets give you an opportunity to isolate the skill and really get after it.
See also: Bob Bowman’s Favorite Set for Faster Underwater Dolphin Kicking
Coaches focused on three variables the most
The three most important variables coaches took into consideration when trying to improve the dolphin kick were:
Kick frequency – how quickly swimmers could complete the kick cycle Kick symmetry – how balanced the kick was Coordination – the phase timing of the limbsThese three variables cover a lot of what goes into excellent kicking.
Kick frequency is a good proxy for how conditioned your kick is. Generally speaking, the more often you can kick forcefully in a set period of time, the faster you are going to go.
Kick symmetry signals that you are kicking like a boss during both the upkick and the downkick. It also reflects fasts transitions between the two phases. In one intervention, competitive swimmers improved kick speed by 8%, largely by cutting transition time ~40% (Ruiz-Navarro et al., 2017)
Coordination is what leads to smooth undulation—very essential for fast kicking. Undulation “pumps” energy down the body in a wave-like motion, leading to propulsion (Hochstein et al., 2014).
Put those three variables together and you’ve got a sizable chunk of what makes a dolphin kick go vroom-vroom and PBs go bye-bye.
Build the physical characteristics for fast kicking
Over 90% of the coaches reported using some form of training outside the pool to support underwater dolphin kick performance.
The biggest priorities that swimmers should focus on?
A stable trunk– Stabilize the pelvis and spine so that you can exert and transfer force more effectively. Essential with the dolphin kick as the body wave travels down the chain. Hip power – The hips are a major driver of the dolphin kick, becoming even more active as kick speed increases. (See also: Why Strong Glutes Improve Underwater Dolphin Kick) Mobility – Hip flexors, quads, calves, and ankles give you the range to displace more water with each kick.A stronger, more coordinated body makes it much easier to transfer force smoothly through each kick cycle.
The hardest part is coordination
The biggest challenge coaches identified for coaching kick-butt underwaters was not ankle flexibility or strength or strength. It was coordination.
A fast underwater dolphin kick requires clean timing between the trunk, hips, knees, and ankles in one continuous wave. When phase timing is off (e.g. we kick from the knees), vortices break, propulsion peels off, and we end up with a kick that is expensive, clunky, and underperforms.
Learning and teaching the movement is hard given the constraints, too. Swimmers are underwater, holding their breath, and the movement itself is surprisingly brutal in terms of metabolic cost.
So perhaps a bit unsurprisingly, the survey found that coordination was the performance factor coaches struggled most to improve.
Wrapping Things Up
A key insight from the coaches was that more than half understood that there is not a single “perfect” underwater dolphin kick technique.
Instead, they focused on helping swimmers master the basics—good timing, rhythm, coordination, and the physical attributes to support a fast kick—while also giving space for each swimmer to develop the movement pattern that best suited their body.
So do all the big things to improve your dolphin kick.
The sets. The dryland. The technique work.
But remember to build the dolphin kick that works best for you.
Happy kicking!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national-level swimmer, 2x Olympic Trials qualifier, and author of several books for swimmers, including The Dolphin Kick Manual: The Swimmer’s Ultimate Guide to a Fast Underwater Dolphin Kick.
The book is a beastly 240+ pages of actionable insights and research into elite dolphin kicking technique and performance. It details everything from mastering undulation to vortex recapturing to structuring a dryland program for dolphin kicking success.
The Dolphin Kick Manual combines evidence-based insights with a collection of 20 ready-to-go sets and a 6-week Action Plan to help swimmers set a course for dolphin kicking success.
Train smarter and kick faster.
Learn more about The Dolphin Kick Manual
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