Streamline Flutter Kick
Lie face down, arms locked overhead, and flutter kick small from the hips. It trains the long, flat body line your freestyle stroke rides on.
kick · No equipment · In Roll Cleanly
Why it works: Chapter 34, What does a long swim stroke need from your body?
The one cue
Long body, kick from the hips
How to do it
- 1
Lock the streamline
Face down, one hand on top of the other, the top thumb wrapped round the bottom hand. Squeeze your upper arms against the backs of your ears and look straight down. That is the streamline: the narrowest shape you can make. Start from a glide off your feet, or from a float in deep water.
- 2
Kick from the hips
The kick starts at the hip and runs down to the foot like a wave. The knees bend a little, about as much as when you walk, and the heels just reach the surface. Keep it small, inside the width of your body.
- 3
Loose, pointed ankles
Relax the ankles and let the water point your toes. The top of the foot does the pushing. Toes pulled up toward the shin push water forward and stall you.
- 4
Roll to breathe
Use a snorkel if you have one. Otherwise breathe out slowly into the water; when you need air, pull one arm back to your thigh and roll toward it until your mouth clears. Take one breath, slide the arm forward under the water and go face down again. Lifting your head sinks your hips.
- 5
The test
You creep forward, often slower than walking, legs near the surface, no big splashes. Barely moving is common at first; going backwards means the ankles, so check those first. When the watch buzzes at 30 seconds, stop wherever you are and rest.
Watch for
- Bending at the knees like pedalling a bike. The thighs push water forward and you stall.
- Lifting the head to breathe. The hips and legs sink, and the kick spends itself holding them up.
- Toes pulled up toward the shin. The foot pushes water the wrong way, and you can kick hard and go nowhere.
- Arms loose or apart. Water catches the head and shoulders, and the streamline is gone.