Compared with the elaborate and costly equipment bicyclists and kayakers use, swim gear is humble pie. Kickboards are basically buoyant foam boards, but they play an important role in improving swimming technique. The next time you head for the pool, take a kickboard along and try some drills to help improve your technique and build endurance and strength.
Building Leg Strength
Swimming is an upper-body intensive sport, and you build shoulder and upper back strength every time you take a stroke. Kicking with a kickboard allows you to focus on your legs exclusively. Hold the kickboard out in front of you for basic flutter or freestyle kick, breaststroke kick and dolphin kicking. You can hold the kickboard at its far end for maximum support of your upper body, or hold it by its nearest edge to keep you lower in the water. Hold the kickboard with your arms extended past your head for backstroke kicking.
Improving Position
Kickboard drills can help you improve your position in the water. Push off from the side of the pool, facing toward the bottom of the pool with the kickboard held out in front of you and both hands flat on top of it. Move one hand under the board before starting your pull, and then return your hand back on top of the board after you complete the stroke. Repeat with the other hand. Pay attention to your streamline and body rotation during the drill. Hone your backstroke kick by flutter kicking on your back while holding the board just above the surface of the water at the level of your knees. Kick deeper and straighten your knees out if you knock them against the board.
Resistance
You can add difficulty to kick sets by holding your board perpendicular to, rather than parallel to, the surface of the water. The flat surface of the board creates resistance and requires you to kick harder against it. Two swimmers can battle it out in the water for territory gained when they each take hold of one end of a kickboard held flat in the water, and kick hard in opposing directions. The stronger kicker advances and the first to tire loses aquatic ground.
Considerations
Using a kickboard can make your legs stronger and improve your fitness, but it also can give you a stiff neck. The board keeps your head and shoulders elevated in the water and the prolonged strain on your muscles bothers some swimmers. Alternate your head position during kick sets, turning it to one side then the next to relieve stress, or lower your face into the water between your shoulders, lifting it only when you need to take a breath.
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