How Katie Ledecky Changes Her Kick For Maximum Efficiency (And How You Can Too)

Katie Ledecky is one of my favourite long distance swimmers to watch. Her ability to drive from her hips and change her kick from 2-beat to 4-beat or 6-beat depending on the race is amazing.

This is one of the more challenging things to develop in your stroke which is why it's part of the final Core Principle of Fast Freestyle - Find Your Rhythm And Timing.

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[michaelschaeffer]

I keep hearing KL uses a 2-beat kick but it looks more like a 1-beat kick to me. The right leg looks still. Amazing.

[glenn]

It's amazing how she used a 2 beat kick and gained quite a lead on the other elite swimmers. (Pretty much a 1 beat kick) I guess it shows how efficient and strong her pulls are. Thanks and great analysis!

[Coconutien]

Thanks so much!!! Probably the greatest improvement in my swimming/triathlon career. For the same effort I swim around 10 sec/100 m faster on my long distance pace, going from a 6 beat kick to a 2 and 4 beat kick. My position in the water is so much better and using my arms a lot more and my legs less it’s much more energy efficient.

[seiti]

It's amazing what they can do at such high level. It's like F1/Le Mans, many small details make such a huge difference.
Feedback about the audio: the music is MUCH louder than your voice.

[matthiaszucchet]

Just watched the women’s 1500m free heat 3 at the Paris Olympics and noticed that change in her kick. Great you already did an analysis on it!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 really love your content and especially your 8 weeks faster freestyle course! Keep up the amazing work! 🎉

[RoxyRoth]

I'm a 59 y.o. master's swimmer and have had a natural 2-beat cross over kick since a teenager. My masters coaches CONSTANTLY are trying to get me to stop doing that and do a 4 or 6 beat kick. I've changed my catch/pull to now be more front quadrant but can't seem to change my kick to 4-6 beat and coordinate everything.
Q: WHY do most coaches want ppl like me to stop 2-beat kicking??

[adamding]

As an amateur swimmer, I enjoy 2-beat kicks as it doesn't require much energy. I would try this "1-beat" kick next time. That's really inspiring.
It is actually still a 2-beat kick, but both kicks are done by the left leg. When the right arm pulls, the left leg kicks up. Combining with the strength in the core, that ensures a very streamlined position, so that it can use the best of the stronger right arm's propulsion.

[nealhood]

Very good video, and very good synopsis. Her feet are seldom below her horizontal body line.

[KeithHiew]

I do the 1, 500 twice to three times a week, and I always use a long course pool because it's easier to stay in count (less turns). Also, to help me keep track, I alternate the 100's by doing the six-beat for the odd hundreds, and then switching around the two-beat and four-beat at 50 each for the even hundreds.
For the two-beat I kick a little like Katie, and before watching her properly I thought I was doing it wrong, because my right leg hardly moves. Wanted to do it a bit more like Shinji from TI, but then since Katie is doing it this way, I guess it's fine!

[gk-qfhv]

Thanks man! I've been doing this for some time, and thought it was a bad technique👍

[michaelquinn]

After watching carefully AND trying to emulate this 2 beat rhythm/timing, I feel the left leg is creating the thrust for her breath and right arm entry. Both breath and entry create resistance. As I practice this, I really feel the drive of my hips and left leg through that crucial stroke segment. WDYT?

[rooracer]

Her catch, in comparison to other swimmers in the background, is incredible..

[samantarotondelli]

this kick techniques have helped drop a lot of time, surprisingly even in shorter distances!

[joequillun]

Her conditioning is phenomenal. Can't wait to watch her in the next olympics.

[observaciones]

Hey! Can you explain us how to coordinate a 2-4 & 6 beat kick? Thank you!

[stuartlichty]

Thanks for this analysis. That small pause that she does with her kicking may give her a chance to get a bigger inhalation of air that she holds on to before she exhales forcibly right after the catch, as she is pulling.

[carolineandtigger]

I learned a lot today. Thank you for making this video.

[leivajoaquin]

You should do a video explaining the loping technique in freestyle

[stefanosaltsitzoglou]

What about her hybrid loping technique and how she uses a hip driven pull on the left side and a shoulder driven pull on the right side. These points are far more interesting than how many times she kicks her legs.

[robohippy]

As near as I can tell, the 4 beat kick is a modified 6 beat kick. Instead of the 1/2/3, 1/2/3 cycle, you go 1/2/3, 1/rest/rest.