I like the Han's Groover paddles. My personal favorites.

we use them for EVERY workout here in France. I love 'em. Lately, after reading some swim/technique questions on slowtwitch, i have been focusing on feeling the water. It works great with the paddles. I started with a small paddle and worked up to bigger ones. we use them with a pull buoy and without-depending on the season.

I have been advised to start the catch at a 45 degree angle and to exit the stroke early so that you do not hurt your shoulder. man, i just fly with them.

I would get them only if my form was somewhat polished. And after that use them w/o pull buoy. To many props can alter your stroke I have found as a former pull buoy junkie

Not to mention increased shoulder injuries. I skip 'em.

my coach has me doing almost all of my swimming with paddles/buoy. do a search from posts with ironguide and you'll get all the info you want.

i use a pull buoy & paddles during almost every workout, and sometimes for almost my entire workout. it's great, especially since my legs are usually already fried from biking or running.

Personally, I don't see any real difference between using a pull buoy and using a wetsuit...so I feel like I'm practicing how I'll race. The paddles just make me stronger.

I have the finis freestyler paddles. they are nice because they force you to use proper form and aren't as taxing on the shoulders as other models I've tried. I took ironguide's advice as well. it made swimming more enjoyeable for me.

Exactly - using a pull buoy will simulate the way that you race, assuming that you race with a wetsuit (particularly a full leg one).

One will only encounter the possibility of shoulder injuries if they (1) are not using them correctly, and thus are "mashing" down on the water, of in a state of fatigue, stroke technique begins to slip. Unlike fins, when using paddles one should pay extra attention to their stroke technique (particularly the catch and finish) - they are a great tool for technique.

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Are you being hearing the sound of thunder?

We did sets of 150's, 100's and 50's (2,000 yds hard in total) today with them - no kicking all upper body. I think they're good to used on a limited basis. I like to do hard sets with them - my arms were fried today - I get a lot of my swimming strenght from kicking and hip rotation, so they help isolate my upper body and make it stronger. I probably only do 20% of my overall swimming with "toys"

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People I've loved, I have no regrets
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like some others have said - if you have good mechanics and no shoulder problems - use them as you like

if your mechanics suck or you are injury prone - stay far far away from the paddles

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rob reddy

if you have ok technique t is pretty easy to go at an ok pace without too much effort using paddles...swim without paddles more..

Highly recommended. You need to build up to using them to prevent overly stressing your shoulders, much like lifting weights. Paddles don't necessarily do the some thing as fist drills, which you mentioned, but both have benefits to triathlon swimming. Paddles will make you a better swimmer if used properly. I have and recommend the TYR paddles because the hole in the middle allows you to 'feel' the water even while wearing the paddle. If it is your first experience with paddles, I would stick to a smaller size both for limiting the stress on your shoulders and more closely resembling your normal swim stroke. Some things to think about while using paddles are keeping a long, powerful stroke and your body's rotation. Also, if used with a pull-buoy make sure to eliminate your kick. Many times people want to kick to balance their body, but if you can swim without kicking at all it will give you the biggest benefits.

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Geoffrey Nenninger

That hole in the center for feeling the water sounds good.

What about the shape of the paddle?

I've never used "toys" of any kind, seems like it's cheating. I swim with pretty minimal kick, maintain high hips/feet, have no shoulder problems. My form probably rates OK overall. I learned to swim as an adult. I'm slow, but not quite as slow as I was when I started 5yrs ago.

I'm thinking I need to get stronger up front, and make my catch and pull more effective.

I'll look up ironguide's posts for more tips.

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The Ride of Truth - OWN your ride.

i recommend paddles and a pull buoy. during the main part of the build and racing season, i do about 25% to 15 % of my total yardage with them. but it is essential that you use the right ones--some paddles are worse than useless. i don't have any connection to the company that sells or makes these, but this is what i suggest:

http://mplx.com/hans/original.html

or, if you are very big, very strong, or an advanced swimmer, then these:

http://mplx.com/hans/gripper.html

what's better about these paddles? well, they have holes, which helps smooth the water flow, improves feel of the water a bit, and reduces the load of the paddle (and the load on your shoulders). and they are simple and cheap. but most important: they don't have any tubing around your wrist (which 95% of paddles do) and they are designed to be used this way.

why is that important? well, you have to try it to understand. if your stroke is flawed a lot or slightly, having paddles strapped to your hand will do almost nothing to correct those flaws. on the other hand, if you use these paddles, many of your stroke flaws will cause the paddle to "peel off" your hands and wrists, which will force you to correct those flaws by teaching you to swim in a way that keeps the paddles pressed to your palms. that's the simple explanation. and this advice comes from me, who used to be a back-of-the-pack swimmer and is now a off-the-front-of-the-pack swimmer. and i have coached others to have similiar huge improvements in the water. so i ain't making this up.

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Where would you want to swim ?

I use to use a pool buoy all the time, I was faster with it than without it. Then I realized it was just a crutch for bad body position. It wasn't making me better, just enabling my poor position. I still use paddles, but discarded the pool buoy.

too many triathletes rely on the pull buoy. they shouldn't be relied on. try doing pull without a pull buoy, ie with little or no kick.

I do not recommend paddles, as a rule, but they can be useful as a technique aid. get the smallest ones you can find, and wear them with only a loop over the middle finger (no wrist loop). if you don't finish your stroke properly, they will come off, or at least flap around a lot, which gives you some feedback.

If you use the big ones you are begging for shoulder problems.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

You're a coach now? You're sure it's not between 26% and 14%? How does it feel when somebody is a total prick to you, just like that, out of the blue?

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smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

I have tried many "gadgets" (nearly all of them) in a pool, and the ONLY one that is really helping me (to a big enough extent that I can see improvements from one week to the next) has been the FISTGLOVES !!!

Just take them off if you want to use paddles :-)

I teach all my classes with paddles. I introduce them after they have mastered kick technique.

I use Fulcrum paddles by Finis only. Their design eliminates any chance of shoulder injury because their focal point is the palm of the hand and not the finger tips. I use only one band (for the middle finger) on the paddles. With one band for security the paddles float on your hand. If there is an error in your stroke the paddles go wild. They turn to the side or fall off. It is difficult to get the paddle out of the water incorrectly.

These paddles give you instant feedback on your stroke. They are like having a coach on your hands at all times.

I never use a pull buoy during a paddle set. I use a center snorkel so that I can focus on my stroke without the interference of turning my head.

By the way, if you experience shoulder pain on the inside of your shoulder it is usually from pulling too hard before you have set up your stroke. The paddle did not cause the injury your incorrect stroke did.

DougStern

we used to bind our legs together by wrapping velcro strips around them and do pull sets that way when I swam for a club team. The college team has big buckets that they pull behind them.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD