How to Kick While Swimming Freestyle

Kicking with freestyle is not as easy as it seems, as most of the oxygen eaten up by your body is done through the big muscle groups in your legs. Use these techniques to kick while swimming freestyle, and you will conserve energy, swim faster and longer.

Instructions

    • 1

      Most of the oxygen in your body is used by the big muscle groups in your legs while you swim. This causes fatigue faster, resulting in shorter, slower swims. Your kick should use your entire leg with a slight bend at the knee. To begin, use a pullbuoy between your thighs and kick slightly, using your upper body mostly. Concentrate on using your entire leg. The pullbuoy will prevent you from over-kicking since you will lose the pullbuoy if you do.

    • 2

      Practice the kick without your arms using a kickboard. Remember to use your entire leg with only a slight bend in the knee. You should splash the surface of the water slightly.

    • 3

      Put it all together without the kickboard or pullbuoy. Your body should be parallel to the surface of the water. Your feet should break the surface of the water with a slight splash as you kick using your entire leg. You should not tire easily.