Try This 100 Goal Time Kick Set

A strong, fast kick is essential for success on race day. Whether we are talking about your underwaters or the kick you use when swimming at the surface, well-conditioned legs support better body position, increase stroke length and increase propulsion at faster speeds.

Beyond logging yardage on your kickboard, on your side, doing vertical kicking, and hitting the gym, here’s a set that gives you a clear target relevant to your 100 goals on race day.

The set is simple, hard, and effective.

Take your 100 goal time and try to kick 75 on a board in that exact time.

Here’s how it breaks down:

The 100 Goal Time Kick Set

4-8 rounds:

• 75 kick all-out (Target time: Your 100 swim goal time) + 100 easy to reset
• Use your goal 100 time (i.e. 51.0 for 100 freestyle)
• Grab a kickboard and try to hit 51 seconds for the 75
• Swim it out between rounds, and keep chasing that goal time as the season rolls on

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Why This Kick Set Works

A booming kick is essential for sprinters.

An elite 100 requires an elite kick. A strong kick keeps you high in the water, powers stroke length, and can add propulsion to your stroke.

At slow to moderate swim speeds, the kick contributes just 1-3% of propulsion (but is essential for stopping the legs from dragging). Once speed ramps up, the kick becomes propulsive, contributing directly 10-12% at top speeds (Silveira et al., 2016).

Legs are expensive energetically.

Compared to the upper body, the legs are less efficient and drink up more energy per meter. Which means poorly conditioned legs are the first to go when we get tired, leading to increased hip roll and shorter strokes to compensate.

Fit legs help us retain stroke length when the Fatigue Monster comes for us (and it always does).

Benchmark your kick.

I really like this set because it gives you something to benchmark your kick performance in training that is relevant to your goals on race day.

Instead of “kick faster and betterer” you’ve got a clear target to chase. Over the course of the season, as you get fitter and stronger, you’ll find yourself getting that 75 kick time closer and closer to that goal time, brewing up some legit confidence for competition.

• “Fast kicking makes faster swimmers.” – David Marsh

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 Guide today.