Why Triathletes Should Rethink the Kickboard

The set every triathlete skips

Ask a room of triathletes about kick sets and you'll get the same answer. "I save my legs for the bike."

Fair. Nobody's winning a race on their flutter kick. But skipping kick work entirely misses what it's actually for, and the standard kickboard is a big part of why it feels pointless.

I redesigned ours with that in mind.

In triathlon, your kick is about position

For most triathletes, the kick isn't an engine. It's a stabiliser. A light, steady kick keeps your hips up, your body long and your stroke connected.

Let your legs drop and everything gets harder. More drag, more effort from your arms, more energy spent before you've even reached T1.

So the point of kick training isn't to build a powerful kick. It's to build an efficient one that holds you in the right position without costing you.

Why a standard board works against you

A flat foam board pushes your chest and head up and drops your hips. That's the exact position you're trying to avoid in open water. Spend 400m like that and you're rehearsing a bad habit.

The THEMAGIC5 Kickboard does three things differently:

It keeps you low. You kick in a neutral, streamlined position, much closer to how you sit in the water mid-stroke.

It's contoured. The shape supports alignment through your shoulders, torso and hips, so the kick you train links up with your stroke.

It spares your shoulders. Holding a board high and out front loads the shoulders, and triathletes already ask a lot of them. A lower position keeps the work in your legs, so you can add kick volume without adding shoulder fatigue.

How to fit it into your training

You don't need long kick sets. You need short, focused ones that reinforce position. A few to try:

1. Warm-up primer: 4 x 50 kick, easy, 15 sec rest. Focus on hips high and a relaxed, narrow kick.
2. Position check: 4 x 25 kick on the board, each followed by 25 swim. Try to carry the same body line into your stroke.
3. Steady endurance: 200 kick at an even, sustainable effort, the kind of rhythm you'd hold in a race.

Keep it controlled. If your legs are burning, you're kicking too hard for triathlon.

Train the way you race

The swim sets up your whole day. Come out of the water having spent less, with your shoulders fresher, and the bike and run start from a better place.

A kickboard won't make you a swimmer overnight. The right one will stop you training the wrong position.

— NH