Egg Beater Swimming – A Complete Guide To Egg Beater Treading

The egg beater swimming motion is one of the most efficient methods of treading water. Although mostly used by water polo players, triathletes often use this technique during open water swim starts. It allows the triathlete to remain stable in the water when needing to stay afloat before the gun goes off.

Whether your out in the open water or at the start of a triathlon event, the eggbeater swimming technique is one of the most efficient ways to tread water.

In this guide, we show you how to practice the eggbeater kick and master the eggbeater swimming technique for treading water.

Egg Beater Swimming – A Complete Guide

The eggbeater kick is a useful technique to learn when swimmers need a strong and efficient way to tread water. When performed properly, the kicking style proves to be one of the most efficient swimming methods for treading water.

The lower leg movement involves a circular kicking motion that helps to lift the body high in water. This makes it suitable for deep-water buoyancy, water sports, and triathlon race starts.

The eggbeater movement is also a style that is widely used with synchronized swimmers. Since control and stabilization are needed to perform manoeuvres and acts in the water.

Apart from triathletes and synchronized swimmers, this technique is also used by lifeguards around the world. It gives them better stabilization of the upper body and improved use of hands when rescuing people.

Eggbeater Kick & Treading – Getting Started

Those who are learning how to tread water can often find it uncomfortable and difficult to get started. However, once learned, it allows you to tread water for long periods more efficiently.

Since the eggbeater kick is one of the best techniques for treading water it is often used by triathletes during swim starts that aren’t located on land. Because of this, it should be developed by the beginner triathlete when learning to swim. Alternatively, beginner swimmers looking to practice open water swimming are recommended to learn this technique.

If you are a beginner learning to tread water you can also use other methods to help you get started quicker. Movements such as the flutter kick, scissor kick, or breaststroke leg action can help you get started before moving into the eggbeater technique.

While the above movements can help to keep you afloat, if powerful water treading is needed, the eggbeater kick will lift the body higher in the water and be more efficient.

To get started, keep the body in an upright position and arms below the water surface. Here are the steps you can follow to learn this technique.

1. Go to the deep end of the pool so that the legs don’t touch the bottom. Assume a position so that your knees are spread apart and thighs parallel to the water surface.

2. Bend the knees at about a 90-degrees angle and kick each leg in a circular motion away from the body.

3. Move the left leg in an anti-clockwise motion and the right leg clockwise to do this kick. As one leg drives, the other one should recover.

4. The leg and body positions can be altered to allow you to travel forward in the pool. This can be done by focusing on a more circular action by using the lower leg and the inside of the feet to provide propulsion.

To practice this technique, start by treading water using the breaststroke kick. Then move the arms from side to side, and focus on kicking during the power phase. Alternatively, you can use the edge of the pool for support when learning the kicking motion.

As the kick gets stronger through repetitions and practice, you can stop using the hands to propel yourself, and once you get better with the kicking movement, the body will move higher up in the water.

Eggbeater Swimming Technique

The eggbeater swimming technique provides continuous support to the swimmer, whether taking a break during an open water swim or waiting for the gun to go off in a triathlon. It also allows the swimmer to remain in a stable upright position which is useful when sighting during an open water swim.

The technique comes from the breaststroke kick and follows a similar movement but involves only one leg at a time. The swimmer rotates the leg in a circular motion with the feet angled. This allows the water above the foot to move faster than the water under the foot. That movement and foot angle ultimately generates the force that propels the swimmer upwards. This means the faster the swimmer moves their feet, the higher is the upward propulsion will be.

A perfect eggbeater swimming technique creates propulsion from the hips. So it is important not to overuse the knees in the kicking motion. Doing so can sometimes cause injury from overuse or bad technique. It is important to remember that the knees are meant to change the direction of the kick and not to power the propulsion.

Egg Beater Swimming Drills

The egg beater kick is generally used for drills in water polo and buoyancy in open water but it is also useful in swimming. Since the technique propels the body and helps build leg strength using the natural resistance of water, it is a great drill to keep the glutes, calves and shins strong. Practicing it on a regular basis will help improve your kick, which will in turn help improve your speed and performance.

Below is a great dryland egg beater swimming drill to help you to develop the right technique before you start practicing the movement in the water.

Egg beater swimming drills in and out of the water also help to develop core strength. So it is also a good core strengthening exercise for triathletes that are injured from running.