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Swim training with fins / flippers

Anyone tried training with flippers / fins?

I need to get into the habit of using my legs more....to improve my body position and to add some propulsion.
Have they helped?
(I mean the small swim training ones that you can buy, not the bigger diving ones)

Comments

  • shadowone1shadowone1 Posts: 1,408
    Got flipper and the pool then told me to take them as there were kids in the pool. This was a Sunday morning and there was one child in the water.........

    I went elsewhere and while I noticed they made you kick more they did not necessarily improve. Best way for me is to use a kickboard and concentrate on kicking without the fins. Usually 100m of kickboard. then 100 - 200m of pullbouy between the legs, the 100m of one arm swimming each arm etc.

    these are some of my norm drills.
  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    i have some but rarely use them as i am trying to stop myself kicking too much - it was an unfortunate habit in that i would kick until i was wrecked, and only about half way through my set... they do help to stop 'runners' foot (i.e. get you to point your toes) from what i picked up in my coaching, and i have stopped doing that. I use them if i'm doing a 'superman' drill otherwise i just sink
  • hathat Posts: 10
    The only reason to use fins/flippers is to improve you ankle flexibillity; unless your ankles are a bit stiff I really wouldn't bother with them.
  • tomtristomtris Posts: 135
    Shadowone- In refernece to your drills you may want to try to doing the kick drills with a float, then swim normally concentrating on kick for 200m or so, then move on to the next drill, swim 200m etc etc, then bring it all together thinking about all aspects of the stroke on the last 200m. This way you can use the drill that you have just been practising in your stroke, whilst it is still fresh.

    You may already do this, but just a thought.
  • KenMacKenMac Posts: 14
    I suggest folks who are struggling with their swimming may want to use fins when doing drill sets to improve their body position so that they can focus on the drill rather than gasping for the next bit of air.
    But that is a different use to helping you improve your kick.
    Compared to most of the guys I swim with of a similar age (in our 40's) I kick much better than them....
    Some go backwards!
    The difference between kicking well (i.e. being able to move through the water doing kick with a minimum of effort) and struggling (thrashing away and not getting very far at all but expending lots of energy) is I believe very small. That is I look at my lane mates and there seems to be very little difference in what we are doing in the water but the results are extremely different! and I've got small feet too. If it was one easy answer.....
    Fins can be a great tool but at the same time it's better if you don't need to rely on them. In the past I've suggested the gradually cutting down of fins.
  • diddsdidds Posts: 655
    all I can add is that one of the tri-talk.com podcasts covers kick drills and the research the guy found suggested that all that kick drills actually did was improve your ability to do kick drills!

    Echo the post that fins aid you with technique work as you are not having to thrash like mad to propel yourself when concentrating on arm placement etc.

    didds
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