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Turns - Dolphin Kick on Your Back

Posted by Glenn Mills on Jul 05, 2011 07:06AM (15,253 views)

Developing a great underwater dolphin is something swimmers can work on every day.

Why Do It:
The "fifth stroke," underwater dolphin, is the separator between good and great swimmers.  Incorporating this frequently into training is extremely beneficial to your performance.

How to Do It:
1.  During any training session, drop the board and get into streamline.
2.  Kick dolphin kick in this position for the duration of the set.
3.  Keep your hands held tight and eyes as close to the surface as possible.
4.  Try to keep your knees at, or below the surface.

How to Do It Really Well (the Fine Points):
Gaining speed during training is important.  When performing this drill at top speed, grab some air and then submerge just under the surface.  This allows you to go faster, as well as gain an understanding of how to control your depth in the water, and your ability to control your air.  Being on your back also allows you to get as much air as you need.


Tags dolphin kick, dolphin, underwater dolpin, training


Responses

Responded Jul 05, 2011 02:00PM

Great post Glenn... everything related to underwater dolphin is much appreciated. Any chance to get posts on controlling or improving the breathing while performing dolphin? Thanks!
Responded Jul 05, 2011 04:17PM

Very good Glen, could any body comment if the olphin movement shall be created just from upperbody pushdown and up, or if it requires as well an active hips movement?
Javier
Responded Jul 05, 2011 04:52PM

This is fantastic - always been a weak spot of mine, and something I never quite knew how to start tackling. Thanks Glenn!
Responded Jul 05, 2011 04:53PM

Shouldn't you be doing pushups? ;)
Responded Jul 05, 2011 05:14PM

Oh I forgot, Glenn, can this be done also facing down with the help of the snorkel? Going on the surface and then submerge, etc, like described. Thanks!
Responded Jul 05, 2011 06:06PM

Very happy about this focus on back dolphin kicking. Thanks a lot for this drill, Glenn! Need to work on this. My body seems more flexible and faster while dolphin kicking on front than on the back. With short fins there is no problem on back. I need to spend a whole hour on this to get the "fine points" !

Responded Jul 05, 2011 06:11PM

@Glenn - Ha! Yes... 3k-plus (sniffle, sob)
Responded Jul 05, 2011 08:45PM

Javi - The focus of this is on the back simply so people know they can work this skill all the time, or as often as they like. I find the trouble with using front facing dolphin during kick sets with young swimmers is that the swimmers end up swimming more than they end up kicking. All of the sudden, they're breathing every 4 kicks, and using their arms to get to air. This way... plenty of air, no need for arms... all kick. Sure, the snorkel can help, but this is for those without snorkels, or 30 kids in the pool at once.

For those who don't know... Trev promised 1-pushup for every $1 his company earned for an event they have going on. Obviously, they raised over $3,000... so....

Moral of the story? Be careful what you wish for... you just might get THREE THOUSAND OF THEM! :)
Responded Jul 06, 2011 12:10PM

Very interesting points, that make me wonder a lot. At the beginning of the video, the swimmer always keeps her face out of the water : is it just at the time she was filmed, or is it a hazard ? I didn't know we had to go just under the surface.
Other point I wonder : the swimmer seems to perform small and fast quicks. It seems difficult to me to keep this tempo "for the duration of the set" !
Maybe we've come to the point that "separates good and great swimmers".
What would you set the goal to be for a good swimmer (I'll ask the question for great in another life...) : time and number of kicks for 25m ?
Responded Jul 09, 2011 06:10PM

I have to thank you because in a month's time I've learned underwater kick, something that I considered imposible the first time I tried to. I followed the step-by-step video series and it really worked for me. It's a great feeling swiming underwater with your entire body and moving so fast. A pity I didn't learn it before. Obviously I still have to develope a more powerful stroke, but I'm happy with the results by now.
Responded Jul 10, 2011 01:41PM

Ok, that's something I need to work on... seriously.

On a lighter note, all this talk's reminded me of a youtube video I saw a while back. Quite amusing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4py9HjKuvQ...
Responded Jul 13, 2011 11:46AM

We do fly kick ont he back everyday. It is part of our warm up :). Fly kick cannot be pointed out enough. so essential!
Responded Jul 13, 2011 02:00PM

On which distance do you warm up with dolphin kick on your back ? How many kicks per lap (many small or few bigger) ?
Responded Jul 20, 2011 10:03AM

so nice.

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