Want a Strong Dolphin Kick?

Dolphin Kick is a Game Changer

Want to get faster and smoother in the water? Don’t know where to start? Tap into your strong core muscles with a stronger dolphin kick.

Among many swimmers, the dolphin kick is known as the fifth stroke. That’s because it’s so important in helping you increase speed, especially in short-course swimming races. Every time you push off a wall after a turn, you should be using the dolphin kick to grab a few fast yards and capitalize on the speed you’re gaining from the wall.

What Is the Dolphin Kick?

If you’ve ever seen a dolphin swimming with the smooth, undulating motion that propels them forward so quickly, then you’ve seen a superlative example of a dolphin kick.

You can use the dolphin kick whether you’re swimming on your back or your stomach, and in either instance there are three main stages of the kick you need to focus on when building a stronger and faster dolphin kick:

• The down-kick
• The transition
• The up-kick

If you’re dolphin kicking on your back:

• The down-kick happens when your heels are moving downward toward the bottom of the pool. In this position, your heels push the water down and inwards generating forward momentum.
• The transition happens when you move from the down-kick to the up kick. The legs should be strait with knees fully extended.
• The up-kick happens when your feet flick back up toward the surface of the water. This movement leverages the surface area of the top of the foot to push water up and create propulsion.

If you’re dolphin kicking on your stomach, the movement is the same, just flipped over:

• The down-kick happens when the tops of your feet push downward toward the bottom of the pool. The tops of the feet pushing against the water is what generates forward momentum.
• The transition happens when you move from the down-kick to the up-kick. The legs should be strait with knees fully extended.
• The up-kick comes next when the bottoms of your feet come back up toward the water’s surface, generating another flick of propulsive power.

The Trick to Going Fast

One of the biggest components of the dolphin kick is learning how to kick and move water in both directions. And here’s the real trick: your feet should always be moving.

When you’re dolphin kicking, your feet should constantly be moving through the cycle of up-kick, transition, down-kick, over and over again.

As you move through this pattern, pay attention to how your feet feel against the water to get sense of how your feet are moving against the resistance of the water. Focus on moving water in both directions to help improve your confidence and to build speed when dolphin kicking.