At that speed kicking is giving you very little, if any propulsion, and is more about balance (I would also say this to faster swimmers as well, IMO you get very little return on investment for kicking especially at the 70.3 distance). You are right, your kick most likely tires you out and provides no propulsion

My .02, and especially so with a wetsuit, is don't worry about it. If someone is kicking hard enough to cause tired legs on the bike they are kicking WAY too hard.

For a 70.3 swim it's typical to use a gentle, 2-beat kick. It's not for propulsion, it's for better body position (even with a wetsuit) and to help drive the body rotation during your pull.

Personally, I wouldn't waste time on kick sets; but do work on having that 2-beat flutter kick vs. just letting your legs sit there (which will add stress to your core), and keep your toes pointed so your feet aren't acting like brake flaps on a plane wing.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Thanks for both replys I will work on it for sure

Some good points here, and let me try to add some science to this topic...

Keeping your toes pointed will eliminate a TON on drag (about 40%) compared to letting your feet hang behind you. This is something that my company has tested with a PDM (propulsive drag meter), and it's the biggest culprit of drag for any swimmer. Increase your ankle flexibility to help you point your toes

On the front end (your arms), if you can maintain a hip driven freestyle, you can get away with kicking a little less, just a little harder, or keep your stroke rate high, and then you can use a lighter style of kick.

Bottom line, legs either help you or they can really hurt you. I would recommend doing some kind of leg conditioning in the water. You should notice a pretty decent drop in time in your workout pace if you have stronger legs. When it's time to race, you won't need to use them, but you know that they could help you if you really wanted to push the pace on the swim

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Troy Marcikic
Personal Swim Coach

Are you related to coach Sickie at UCSD? I just started the Masters program last month beg swimmer building endurance and knowledge in the sport

Thanks so much

Yes I am!

I've been coaching at The Race Club lately

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Troy Marcikic
Personal Swim Coach

Kicking doesn't help you in a directly propulsive manner as much as it will work in conjunction with the pull to offer a "propulsive burst". That is, WHEN IT IS TIMED CORRECTLY.

Kick timing is what you should focus on, not your specific beat of kicking. 2 beat, 4 beat, or 6 beat kicks all have the same proper timing. And more to the OP's question, a 6 beat kick is not necessarily 3x harder on your legs nor does it require 3x the energy. I can thrash myself with a 2 beat or swim easy all day with a 4 or 6 beat.

ohh sweet dude!
Sickie is a legend, love his socks I attend his 730 sessions
Paul K