Front Crawl Coordination

I need help with my front crawl coordination. The corodination between arms and feet is my problem. I use 4 kicks but seem to slow down when just kicking than when I just use my arms. I can feel more resistance when I am kicking?

It is very common to feel resistance when just kicking, especially if you use a kick board because the board itself causes the resistance.

Also if the kick is not relaxed enough then the legs will feel heavy and the downbeat of the kick will not provide enough propulsion to maintain movement through the water.

Having said all this it must be noted that the power and propulsion for front crawl is provided by the arm action. The leg kick provides little and in the case of competitive swimmers, no propulsion at all, as the legs are there mainly to balance the arm action.

The coordination between arms and legs is something that is individual to you. A 4 beat cycle is the most common, however some faster, shorter distance swimmers can use a 6 beat cycle but this is more energy consuming and requires a higher level of stamina.

Over longer distances a 2 beat cycle is best for front crawl as it is less energy consuming and allows the arms to provide most or all of the power.

If you wish to develop your front crawl leg kick further you may consider trying some fins. They will help you to kick in a relaxed way and help develop your leg kick technique.

Our best-selling book 'The Complete Guide to Swimming Front Crawl' contains over 20 separate swimming exercises to help all parts of freestyle, including timing and coordination. You can download it, print out the parts you need and take them to your pool to try out. Click the link below for more information.

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