Flutter kick in Backstroke vs Freestyle.

[Ian]

Is it common for flutter kick to be faster on the back than on the stomach?

If so, is there a common solution to even this out?

In my particular situation, I’m trying to work my kick for 50m Freestyle and am playing around with the up-kick. Because the hips are flatter, I feel the up-kick is just breaking through the surface and grabbing air. Then upon reentry I feel less hold on the water for the down-kick.

Focusing on the bottom of the foot in Backstroke gives me better body position and it doesn’t detract from propulsion of the top of the foot. I wish I could take this dual efficiency over to Freestyle.

Discussion

[Gary]

The kicking dynamics are tricky…different on the surface than underwater. Dolphin and flutter kick are faster on the back underwater, yet slower on the surface. The reason is because a swimmer cannot play off the vortex from the up kick on the surface, as one can underwater. Using the up kick on the free kick on the surface is important, but the peak acceleration occurs just after the two feet pass each other. Most of the propulsion is derived by the foot moving down, not up.

Don’t overthink the up kick but rather concentrate on keeping the kick tight and holding water with your feet. Hope this helps.