How to Mix Up Your Kicking Work with the Walk Along Set

A Fun Way to Mix Up Your Kicking Work with the “Walk Along” Set

When it comes down to kick sets, it’s not surprising that some swimmers lose focus.

Perhaps this is because with kick the work is happening behind them and out of sight. Without their arms to focus on they get a little restless and disengaged.

Jeanie Neal of Brownell-Talbot Aquatics recently shared a kicking drill/set with us that solves this dilemma. The drill has swimmers focused on the coach in order to do it properly, has them changing directions in the middle of the pool repeatedly (great for that core section!), and has the swimmers kicking at various speeds and intensities.

Here is the set.

The “Walk Along” Kick Set

  • All swimmers start with their backs against the wall, fins on, kick boards in hand. The coach stands on the side of the pool, also holding a kickboard.
  • When the coach starts walking, the swimmers start kicking. All together, side by side, in a straight line across the pool. The objective is to stay directly opposite – “with” – the coach.
  • The coach varies his/her speed, direction, and method/location of holding the board. Swimmers have to react by kicking faster or slower, turning around or laying back on their backs to go the other direction, holding the board above, below, or at the surface of the water, board on end or flat, holding it with one or two hands.
  • Sometimes vocalizations are added, barking, singing, call-and-response, etc.
  • Occasionally, the coach stops, then everyone stops while we wait for slower kickers to catch up, but mostly we keep everyone together by strategic changing of direction.

The benefits of the set include sustained kicking for a long period of time with bursts of speed and core work from the frequent changes in direction. (It’s not easy.)

It’s also a lot of fun. When ever Walk Along Kick appears on the workout board I hear a lot of groaning, but see a lot smiling.

A special thank you to Brownell-Talbot Aquatics head coach Jeanie Neal for sharing the above kicking drill with us. You can stay up to date with Coach Jeanie and her swimmers on Twitter.

Recommended Reading

The 6 Best Kickboards for Kids and Toddlers. Looking for the best swim kickboards for kids and toddlers? Here is a complete breakdown of the top kickboards for every kind of kid.

Olivier Poirier-Leroy

Olivier Poirier-Leroy

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is the founder of YourSwimLog.com. He is an author, former national level swimmer, two-time Olympic Trials qualifier, and swim coach.
Olivier is the author of the books YourSwimBook and Conquer the Pool. He writes all things high-performance swimming and is passionate about helping swimmers, swim coaches, and swim parents  master the pool. His articles were read over 4 million times last year and his work has                                  appeared on USA Swimming, SwimSwam, STACK, NBC Universal, and more. He’s also                                    kinda tall and can be found hitting noon-hour lap swims. You can learn more about                                       Olivier here.

Olivier Poirier-Leroy Olivier Poirier-Leroy is the founder of YourSwimLog.com. He is an author, former national level swimmer, two-time Olympic Trials qualifier, and swim coach.

Olivier is the author of the books YourSwimBook and Conquer the Pool. He writes all things high-performance swimming and is passionate about helping swimmers, swim coaches, and swim parents master the pool.

His articles were read over 4 million times last year and his work has appeared on USA Swimming, SwimSwam, STACK, NBC Universal, and more.

He’s also kinda tall and can be found hitting noon-hour lap swims. You can learn more about Olivier here.

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