A Kick Set Designed to Drive Whole-Stroke Freestyle Swim Speed

Fast swimmers are fast kickers, and this set is designed specifically to build leg endurance that slots nicely into your whole-stroke swimming.

The set uses progressive kick-to-swim carryover, forcing the legs to stay engaged as you transition into full swimming. The goal is relatively simple: build a stronger engine in the kick and make sure it shows up when it matters most.

The set is basically a bunch of broken 200s of kick/swim. The rest on the 50s is intentionally tight to keep you working, with a light breather at the end of each round to sustain intensity for multiple rounds.

Pack a water bottle. You’re going to sweat.

The Bigger Motor Kick Set

6-8 rounds:

• 50 kick fast
• 50 kick/swim (25 kick, 25 swim)
• 50 swim/kick (25 swim, 25 kick)
• 50 swim fast with a six-beat kick
• Additional 30s rest between rounds

Intervals

Choose an interval that forces you to kick fast on the opening 50. You should only get a few seconds of rest on that first rep.

For example, if you kick a 50 fast in 42 seconds, round up and use a 45 second interval for all the 50s. The rest of the round will feel tight in terms of rest, but that’s the point, so get after it.

Set Notes

• Treat that first 50 kick as the tone-setter for the rest of the round. Push the legs early and maintain the intensity as swimming is added.
• The kick/swim and swim/kick transitions will test your ability to deposit and collect a kickboard at the wall, but more importantly will challenge your leg output while changing movement patterns.
• On that last 50, avoid the urge to coast. Attack it and hold a six-beat kick. Don’t shorten the kick or slip into survival mode.
• If kick speed crashes across the round, loosen the interval. Adjust slightly, but keep pressure on the kick!

Why This Work, Works

The set builds kick endurance and gives you lots of opportunities to carry that full throttle kick into full-stroke swimming.

Strong legs are great, but strong legs within whole-stroke swimming is best.

Happy kicking!

ABOUT OLIVIER POIRIER-LEROY

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national level swimmer, 2x Olympic Trials qualifier, and author of several books for swimmers, including YourSwimBook, Conquer the Pool, The Dolphin Kick Manual, and most recently, The 50 Freestyle Blueprint.

The book is a beastly 220+ pages of evidence-based insights and practical tips for improving freestyle sprint speed.

It details everything from how to master stroke rate, technique, build a thundering freestyle kick, improve your start and underwaters, and much more.

The 50 Freestyle Blueprint also includes 20 sprint sets to get you started and a bonus guide on how to master the 100 freestyle to complete your sprint preparation.

👉 Learn more about The 50 Freestyle Blueprint today.