The fastest way to move through the water is with a perfect underwater dolphin kick in a tight streamline position. You should practice this every single time you push off the wall after starts and turns.
Watch our video for tips and workout ideas to perfect this skill:
Listen to podcast:
This Workout of the Week is a 1,600 yard session I completed with the MySwimPro app on the Apple Watch. In the video below I’ll overview the workout strategy and walk you through a set-by-set analysis of all the data captured in this MySwimPro workout!
What Is Streamline?
Streamline means holding your body in the most aerodynamic way, to glide as far as possible with the least amount of physical exertion.
Related: How to Swim Butterfly with Perfect Technique
When you push off the wall during a start or turn, you will extend your arms over your head, while overlapping your hands in a tight and compact position.
What Is Underwater Dolphin Kick?
When you push off the wall, you are allowed to swim 15 yards/meters in an underwater dolphin kick. It is similar to a kick that you would do in butterfly, but a few feet underwater. This is a very compact, and efficient kick, so make sure your legs are together, your arms are squeezed against your ears, and you keep your core solid.
See also: 8 Benefits of Swimming With Fins
Below are three fundamental concepts to improve your underwater dolphin kick:
- 2-Directional Kicking: Kicking in both ‘up’ and ‘down’ motion to engage both sides of the diaphragm.
- Train All 4 Planes: Front (FLOW), Right Side, Left Side, Back (SLOB).
- Flexibility: Focus on improving ankle mobility and building functional strength.
Related: How to Swim Perfect Backstroke
It is very important that your kicks are not too big, or else you will add more resistance in the water, and your kick will actually slow you down. Get more tips for how to improve your under water dolphin kick here.
Practice The “Flow” Drill:
In this workout, we are focusing on the Flow Drill. It helps to use a snorkel with this, so you can focus on your kicks instead of your breath.
Start on the top of the water, put your head down, and raise your arms above your head in a superman position. Push your chest forward and practice your dolphin kick on the surface, forcing you to exercise your core and focus on your balance.
Next, turn on your side and do the same movements on your left and right sides. This version of the drill will require you to dip at least 1 foot underwater.
Watch the video above for a full tutorial, and an analysis on this drill and workout.
If you thought this workout was helpful, checkout the MySwimPro app for iPhone and Android. Get started with a personalized training plan with awesome workout variety to reach your goals! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or email me directly: fares@myswimpro.com.
4 Comments
Thanks for posting this video of Fares getting totally gassed! It helps to know that he’s human sometimes, lol!
Question: When swimming freestyle (in the video) are you still dolphin kicking or regular?
Hi Lori!
When you’re swimming freestyle, you’ll do flutter kick as you normally would. However, you will want to focus on getting a solid dolphin kick off of each wall in streamline!
Nice workout but I have a problem – I can’t swim using the snorkel. Any hints on how to breathe with a snorkel? Thank you
I started with a nose clip so you’re just breathing in & out through the snorkel. A few weeks ago I had a workout that I needed my snorkel and lost my nose clip so I practiced breathing in thru the snorkel out thru the nose (like normal swimming) for a few minutes, It worked & I no longer use a nose clip! Fresher oxygen too!