Avoid the Four Common Flutter Kick Mistakes That Triathletes Make

Kyle demonstrates a common mistake where the swimmer keeps their head very high, resulting in hips sinking low in the water. This creates significant drag and resistance, making it harder to move through the water and expending more energy than necessary. Maintaining a high, flat body position is crucial for efficiency.

Another frequent error is generating power solely from the knees while flutter kicking. Although the body position might be good, kicking only from the knees causes water to be pushed back and forth instead of up and down. This results in less propulsion, a lot of splash, and significantly reduced speed compared to using the whole leg.

Kyle illustrates the mistake of kicking with a flexed ankle, where the ankle forms a 90-degree angle. In this position, the swimmer is unable to effectively catch and propel water, leading to little to no forward movement. The video emphasizes the importance of a loose and fin-like ankle to optimize propulsion.

By changing the ankle position to be loose and fin-like, Kyle immediately starts moving fast. This demonstrates the critical role proper ankle flexibility plays in generating effective propulsion during a flutter kick, allowing the swimmer to go from stationary to rapid movement.