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EFV Swim Paddle Question!
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Recently I’ve been binging on podcasts Triathlon Taren and Tower 26... There is a recommended piece of gear to isolate the Early Vertical Fore arm (EFV), and promoted by Taren and Coach Jerry. Jerry has his Training Gear Bundle on sale at SWIM2000.com, (formerly known as TheSwimMall.com). However, u cant find the TechPaddle, as its called, ANYWHERE. I ordered thru http://www.TechPaddle.com, but they dont do Customer Service, or deliver anything. HOWEVER, They did process the $37 Transaction though! There is no tel, and they dont respond to emails... I called swim 2000 and their Operator thinks that SwimRite LLC, went out of business or sold the company. ANYBODY KNOW WHERE TO FIND the Tech Paddle on sale? THANKS A BUNCH! Gonna cancel my credit card transaction in a few days for non-delivery...
https://www.techpaddle.com/#/about
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [Verve4000] [ In reply to ]
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Sucks about your cash, but you can do the same thing with a regular paddle. Just turn it around and grip the end so it’s covering your wrist.

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah huh! Thanks for the idea. These are so specialized though... Went and posted on Tower26 Facebook page same question/ no bites yet :/
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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So keep the lower (well, formerly-lower) strap and wear it upside down? Been using my paddles with a single strap for a year now and feel like it made a good improvement to my catch, looking for the next step to incorporate into my training now.

ZONE3 - We Last Longer
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [Verve4000] [ In reply to ]
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Verve4000 wrote:
Yeah huh! Thanks for the idea. These are so specialized though... Went and posted on Tower26 Facebook page same question/ no bites yet :/

How about these?
https://www.finisswim.com/Bolster-Paddles

Greetings from the German Wine Route,
Roland
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [tessar] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks!
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [RolandG] [ In reply to ]
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Wow okay i will see about these...! Thanks!
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [tessar] [ In reply to ]
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tessar wrote:
So keep the lower (well, formerly-lower) strap and wear it upside down? Been using my paddles with a single strap for a year now and feel like it made a good improvement to my catch, looking for the next step to incorporate into my training now.

basically. yeah. What those tech paddles do is get you to do a fist drill but with added surface area on your forearm. flipping a regular paddle and gripping the end of it does pretty much the same thing.

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [Verve4000] [ In reply to ]
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beyond the cash you're out - for other folks who're interested in EVF - two things i'll mention. first is that i'll need to ask Gerry about this, because in a conversation i had with him some years back i very distinctly remember him telling me that he felt it wasn't effective to try to teach EVF to triathletes, because (as i remember it) they weren't (according to Gerry) sufficiently in the pool enough, and therefore not strong enough, and technically not advanced enough, to employ EVF. he felt this was a fool's errand, as a coach. i'd like to know how he's talk about it now. maybe he'll come on here and explain (or remind folks that i'm an ignorant slut, with a more fulsome description of how).

second, someone above mentioned finis and this company - to the exclusion of speedo and TYR - is known specifically for technique-improving implements. first company with a center snorkel. always the industry leader in tempo devices. and so forth. finis makes a facepalming, infuriating paddle just for this. it's infuriating because when you use it your lack of deployment of EVF is exposed. but that isn't really a paddle. just a brace. here's the actual paddle version. that said, i think their most popular paddle promoting technique is the agility paddle. i'm typically not an *implements* guy, but if it's implements you want, finis is really the implements company. of all their implements this is the one most triathletes badly need or, if it's not this, it's something else that bands or attaches the ankles.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
Last edited by: Slowman: Nov 14, 19 7:19
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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I really like a lot of the Finis gear. Not all of it, by any means, some is truly headscratching in the WTF were they thinking way, but most of it I would rate as really good. And I'm a big fan of toys *if* they are used properly, i.e. to improve your swimming without the toys. (I'll spare everyone the rant about this...)

That said, I know it's a good piece of kit, but I still can't get used to a snorkel. I've given up.

as far as EVF goes, most aren't going to get the extreme level of EVF that you see in elite swimmers. Hell, most pure swimmers aren't going to get that. However, I believe there is still benefit in trying to employ some of the principles that result in a good EVF. One of the most common ones I see at my local pool is people trying to reach too deep and pull with a nearly straight arm. another is leading with the elbow. (that's aside from the typical triathlete m.o. of jumping in and swimming 1500-2000 straight with no plan, no structure and no apparent purpose other than doing the distance.)

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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Right. Fist drill has been the other big "aha" moment I've had. I guess I'll try the reverse-paddle thing next time - tomorrow. I've plateau'ed in the pool lately and there's no way around the need to get in more than 2-3 swims a week.

ZONE3 - We Last Longer
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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JasoninHalifax wrote:
I really like a lot of the Finis gear. Not all of it, by any means, some is truly headscratching in the WTF were they thinking way, but most of it I would rate as really good. And I'm a big fan of toys *if* they are used properly, i.e. to improve your swimming without the toys. (I'll spare everyone the rant about this...)

That said, I know it's a good piece of kit, but I still can't get used to a snorkel. I've given up.

as far as EVF goes, most aren't going to get the extreme level of EVF that you see in elite swimmers. Hell, most pure swimmers aren't going to get that. However, I believe there is still benefit in trying to employ some of the principles that result in a good EVF. One of the most common ones I see at my local pool is people trying to reach too deep and pull with a nearly straight arm. another is leading with the elbow. (that's aside from the typical triathlete m.o. of jumping in and swimming 1500-2000 straight with no plan, no structure and no apparent purpose other than doing the distance.)

you're the swimmer in this discussion, not me. but i think EVF is a little bit obfuscating for triathletes. the concept is good, the technique is achievable, but the teaching model might not be ideal. i might be wrong about this, but i suspect it *might* be easier just to think of the swim stroke as a canoe paddle. you reach out in front of you, drop the paddle in perpendicular to the water, and pull back. (rather than, say, a riverboat paddlewheel that only once very briefly achieves verticality). you want to get the largest pulling surface you can perpendicular to the water for the greatest amount of time possible.

that might be a more straightforward way of looking at it, and then i couple that by arguing against any S pattern, or finding still water to pull, because triathletes already to very silly things with their hands in the water. i rely on the canoe paddle analogy, and like that paddle i just say anchor your arm in the water, don't move it, use it as a lever, and yank yourself forward over it. past it. of course really good swimmers do find still water to push, but as i watch triathletes' stroke underwater i generally find that what they need is to get rid of that horrible hand hitch right about midway through the pull.

all that said, very likely i'll be writing another Guppy Challenge beginning late winter, right about when the 100/100 ends, and i'm looking for any good ideas on how to frame all of this. (from folks like you, who're better swimmers than i am.)

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Well Slowman! THANK U!!! I WILL B COMBING THRU Your Post in DETAIL.... To your point(s); Gerry does say Triathletes are not Pool Swimmers per se, and therefore feels there is an "over emphasis" on EVF... HAVING SAID THAT... To hear Triathlon Taren quote Gerry, that "The Tech Paddle is THE MOST important bit of Kit in The Tower26 Gear Bag." So an apparent cognitive dissonance we got up in here...

To Wit: Exhibit A


Once Again, thanks to ALL for the seasoned inputs!
* Skip to 9:02 if pressed for time/ but Taren gives a history lesson on paddle use re/ Triathletes

PS/ We are all ignorant sluts😭
Last edited by: Verve4000: Nov 14, 19 8:19
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [Verve4000] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the video. Poor mans option? TYR swim sleeves doubled up? https://www.tyr.com/...ne-swim-sleeves.html I think Slowman has mentioned this more than once in the past.
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [Verve4000] [ In reply to ]
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I ordered the Techpaddles paying via PayPal on 4-Nov and received them on 8-Nov in a USPS Priority box. I received tracking information a few hours after ordering. Admittedly, their web site is a mess and I wasn't totally confident I would receive them but I was willing to roll the dice on $34. I think it's more an individual selling them out of their garage than it is an actual company. They have a Facebook page under the name Swimrite that has some contact information that might be helpful to you.

As far at the paddles go, I do like them... like an overly emphasized fist drill. And they are a drill not a replacement for a pull set. Contrary to what Taren said, you will want the large size unless you like sinking.

I think I recall Gerry stating on the podcast that EVF for adult onset swimmers is difficult to achieve however the Techpaddles are the best tools for swimmers. I don't take this as him contradicting himself. I took it as if you're listening to his podcast and visited the Tower26 website, you have reached a level in your swim where you are looking for very small incremental gains once tautness and alignment are achieved then propulsion can be worked on with EVF.
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Re: EFV Swim Paddle Question! [driftin'by] [ In reply to ]
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I found your response very helpful! I did not recieve Tracking info, ever, and no response to email inquery. The HEIGHT of frustrastion... Going to cancel w Credit Card company n maybe reorder another time. // i think the smaller ones promote Higher Stroke Rate maybe? But the drill, according to TechPaddle Inventor & Swim Coach Thomas Topolski, is done SLOWLY, like other drills, focused on Form. YES i will probably go Large per your advice, n thank you!
Last edited by: Verve4000: Nov 14, 19 10:34
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