Q: I wear a wetsuit and barely kick my legs when I swim in open water but I’ve been told I need to do more kicking with a float in training. Why?
In long-distance freestyle swimming, most of your propulsion comes from your arms. If you wear a wetsuit, this helps your legs to float, keeping them behind your body and therefore not causing too much drag. For some swimmers, the best thing to do with your legs in this scenario is as little as possible. Kicking will use a lot of energy for very little extra speed. If you have poor kicking technique, it may even slow you down.
But that’s not to say your legs are useless. If you have good kicking technique, then a gentle and well-timed two-beat kick or six-beat flutter helps your balance and rotation. With the right timing you get a full-body connection that helps power you through the water. This becomes more important when not wearing a wetsuit.