By Olivier Poirier-Leroy on SwimSwam
Swimmers love to use their training fins—author very much included—to work the legs and improve their kick.
This is especially true with the underwater dolphin kick, where the enterprising dolphin kicker can better feel both “beats” of the kick, work better undulation, get a sense of how to position their body at higher velocities, and simply have fun by going fast!
But fins aren’t just for going vroom-vroom.
When paired with the right amount of resistance, they also become one of the best tools for building a stronger, more powerful dolphin kick.
Let’s jump in!
A Dolphin Kick Set for More Powerful Underwaters
A recent study by Wang et al. (2025) had a group of swimmers do resisted kicking with and without fins.
When wearing fins, the swimmers’ load-velocity profile shifted to the right. More importantly, the added surface area on the fins allowed them to handle more resistance before their kick mechanics started to break down.
Without fins, swimmers resorted to shorter, choppier kicks as resistance increased, instead of the long, powerful body wave we’re chasing.
That’s the idea behind this workout. Power and long, PB-smothering kicks.
We’ll use fins to increase the propulsive surface of the feet, sprinkle on just enough resistance to overload the kick, and then gradually drop the gear so that the extra wattage transfers over to your regular dolphin kick.
Here’s the set:
Pre-Set
6×25 fish kick with fins – 20s rest per rep
This is all about amplitude. Fish kicking (lateral kicking or simply “dolphin kicking on your side”) naturally encourages a larger body wave and is a great way to work on undulation. Focus on long, relaxed kicks and feeling pressure on the feet during both the upkick and downkick. Build the last two repetitions to fast.The Main Set
Alright, into the fun stuff:
Part 1 – Load the Curve
8x15m fast underwater dolphin kick
Fins Small-to-medium drag chute or light resistance from a power tower 60-90s rest between repsGo as fast as you can go without tightening up the kick.
Think long, powerful kicks, not short, snappy ones. We’re chasing one big, nasty body wave from the chest to the toes. If your kick tempo spikes, resistance is probably too high. The sweet spot is loading the kick and also retaining significant forward velocity—aim for being able to kick at 70% of your unloaded UDK speed.Part 2 – Contrast the Curve
4-6 rounds:
15m resisted underwater dolphin kick with fins Drop the resistance (20 seconds or so rest) 15m dolphin kick with fins – fast! 60-90s rest between roundsTime to cash in on that power.
The resisted rep teaches you to produce more force with each kick. Remove the resistance, and your nervous system suddenly has a chance to unleash that force and same long, connected body wave at much higher speeds.
Part 3 – Race-Day Transfer
Ultimately, fins, drag chutes, and power towers are just tools.
The goal is to be a faster underwater dolphin kicker without them.
Follow up the previous two parts with some transfer-focused work:
6x15m max effort underwater dolphin kick
No fins No resistance 45-60 seconds restTry to recreate that some long, powerful body wave you worked on during the earlier parts of the workout.
Don’t stress about speed so much as moving more water with each kick. Speed will naturally follow.
Why This Set Works
The best kind of resisted swimming doesn’t bring you to a crawl (ha—swim pun) in the water.
It slows you down just enough that you can overload the movement that you want to use on race day without changing how you move through the water.
Research (Keating et al. 2025) comparing tethered vs semi-tethered swimming saw that moderate resistance better preserves race-specific technique and was much more strongly linked to sprint performance than excessively heavy loading.
That’s what the “Shift Right” workout above is designed to do.
So:
Slap on some fins.
Load that dolphin kick of yours.
Shift the curve to the right.
Then leave the equipment and the competition behind with that newfound power.
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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