The Dolphin Test

What is it?

A 25m dolphin kick sprint, from a push, for a time. On Wednesday night we put National Squad through six reps to establish a ball park figure for next seasons early training cycle. We don't really have much to compare this to for context, but as an opening attempt 17.30 looks pretty fast; 18s probably are too, we'll find out next time.

So where to go from here?

Improvement comes from purposeful practice. Work those dolphin kicks off the wall in training, and during kick sets. Experiment with different amplitudes (big and fast, or small and fast). Are you better off utilising a large kick at the beginning of the effort or a smaller kick? Think about how you might use gears on a bike or car. To get moving you use a smaller gear, then to reach full speed you need a bigger gear - is it the same in the pool? Don't forget that the fastest you will travel should be the beginning; pushing off the wall should be the fastest part. Your dolphin kick is a doomed attempt at maintaining that initial fast speed. Does that mean big gear to start with and smaller gear later?

Some of the British Swimming coaches at Loughborough Uni were looking at this in 2021, they even commissioned studies by bio-mechanists to work out it out. The evidence either way appears contradictory, but don't let that put you off trying to work it out for yourself. It's likely different for everyone (body types, limb lengths, flexibility, etc).

What we do know, is that for those who get it right, it's a race winner!