Turns - Underwater Dolphin

Make the most out of every pushoff and start, great underwater dolphin kicks will change your entire potential in the sport or swimming.

Why do it:
The fastest you’re going during swimming is when you’re leaving the wall.  The goal then becomes hanging on to that speed for as long as possible.  Underwater dolphins can allow you to maximize how long you maintain that speed.

How to do it:
1 – Building on our previous few lessons, leave the wall properly, dropping down into a streamline pushoff.
2 – Rotate to your stomach and initiate dolphin kicks from the hips.
3 – Keep the kicks small to start, and focus on not leading the kick from the thighs.
4 – Flip over on your back, keeping your head back, and drive from the hips.

How to do it really well (the fine points):
When learning, it’s about stability out front, and small angles in the back.  Keep the hands tight and still to make sure you don’t spend too much time going up and down.  Focusing on a very tight streamline helps tighten the core.  Once you feel that tightness, move your focus on driving the kick from the hips.

Don’t over kick, remembering that one big problem area will come from trying to drive the kick from the legs.  Pay specific attention to how much your legs are bending to kick, and keep that bend LESS than a right angle (90° for you exact types).

When learning, and everyone should be learning this, keep the underwater dolphins stable and small.  When you get the hang of it, start to experiment with larger, more dynamic movements and see what works best for you.