by Anthony Nesty
The muscles in your legs are the strongest muscles in your body; therefore, you cannot use your legs enough. Many swimmers, regardless of their age, don't use their kick enough. I always tell my swimmers that "your legs will take you to the promised land." I cannot stress this point enough.
Look at the four swimming strokes -- fly, back, breast, and free. These four strokes all evolved with a strong kick in mind. The greatest swimmers in the world today have several distinctive qualities that make them great. Kicking is one of them and is an intricate part of their training.
The majority of the swimmers today treat a kicking set as a time to relax or rest. I think if you are serious about swimming and want to be successful, you have to work your legs as you do your arms. Many swimmers use their pulling equipment more than they should. Instead of pulling every day, try to pull every other day and get your legs involved in your training. Not only should you work your legs on a kick set, but also get them more involved in your swimming sets. It will make your practice harder, but the results in your meets will be phenomenal.
Ways to improve your kick:
These types of kicking exercises will do the job of making your legs stronger and your kick faster, if you do them often. Again, try to stay away from your pulling equipment. Begin swimming only with your body where you force your legs to do equally as much of the work out as your arms.
Remember... practice makes perfect. If you use your legs in practice on a consistent basis, you will see the results when you get to the swim meets. Do not take it easy during the kick sets because a weak kick will not improve your swimming.