Why Kick On Your Side?

Kicking on your side drills are normally performed with fins, with your lower arm extended out in front of you and the upper arm resting by your side. Your shoulders and your hips are fully rotated onto the side with both at 90° to the bottom of the pool. In this position, gently kick with the fins to push you down the pool:

There are 3 reasons why kicking on your side is very good for your freestyle:

1) You become accustomed to being on your side, this makes rotation more comfortable in your full stroke. Good rotation adds power and efficiency to your swimming.

2) You can practise getting in a good arm and hand position before you start the stroke. Do this by holding your elbow slightly higher than your wrist and your wrist slightly higher than your fingertips. Make sure you have a flat hand, don't bend at the knuckles:

This setup position is great for improving your catch and feel for the water - increasing your propulsion for the same effort. Don't underestimate how important this setup position is if you want to swim faster!

3) You get the feel of holding your body straight in the water and holding your lead arm straight out in front, this is especially useful for removing cross-overs at the front end of your stroke.

Tip: Whilst kicking along on your side, you can briefly raise your head slightly and look forwards, check you arm is extended straight and your hand is in that cocked wrist position.

Two classic Swim Smooth drills employing kicking on your side are 6-1-6 and 6-3-6. If you have the Swim Smooth DVD Boxset or used one of our training programs you'll be familiar with them. Insert some 6-1-6 and 6-3-6 in your drill sets and you'll be on the pathway to faster, more efficient swimming.

Swim Smooth!