Students should push up off the bottom of the pool as hard as they can to get the body high out of the water. Have students use only muscle power to kick the leg as high as they can and then return it from the kick. The rest of the body should stay in good postural alignment. The top part of the body should barely move. This will increase the demand for oxygen in the leg muscles.
Participants can move forward and backward or to the corners and back.
If students usually can move four feet forward in eight kicks, challenge them to move five feet forward in eight kicks. This will force more muscle fibers into action and therefore increase the oxygen consumption. Push participants to achieve the largest range of motion possible in the time allotted to do each kick. These should be done without jerking at the joint, moving out of alignment, or leaning forward. The more muscles involved, the more oxygen will be required.