The other day at the pool, a guy in the next lane did several sets using 1 fin and 1 paddle on the opposite arm. I actually asked him about it later in the locker room and he gave me some mumbo-jumbo about it being an advanced drill technique for expert-level swimmers. He was at best doing 100’s in 1:30 so not exactly expert.
Anyway, I would post this in Strange Denizens thread but maybe there is something to it. Is this even a thing?
@Kid
I’ve never heard of that, but I’d imagine it has something to do with finding stroke balance.
ETA: Were they on the same side (right hand and right foot)?
He was using alternate sides: fin on left foot, paddle on right hand.
I swim in a pool with a bunch of distance swimmers-channel, north/south island NE, etc-they use the 1 fin. When asked they said it was so they didn’t get the full fin effect. I tried it-it works for whatever
I swim in a pool with a bunch of distance swimmers-channel, north/south island NE, etc-they use the 1 fin. When asked they said it was so they didn’t get the full fin effect. I tried it-it works for whatever
So, what’s the 1 fin benefit?
(I suppose “50%” could be the answer…but, I’m in a positive mood)
Mike Bottom has some videos on YouTube doing this drill. Also, read the comments on this post from The Race Club: http://theraceclub.com/videos/secret-tip-legs-stabilizing-force/
I have used this drill per my coach on deck to work on my two beat kick.
My coach had us do this drill using a paddle on your weak side (right handed => left hand paddle) and fin on the opposite foot for counter balance.
The idea was 90% of people out there are stronger with their dominant arm, and don’t get as much out of their weak arm, this was a way to get extra work on the sissy arm.
The team produced a number of US National Team members, so I would say, it’s not just mumbo-jumbo.
Drills aren’t meant to be done at race pace for the most part, so I wouldn’t say going slow in workout makes him not expert-level.
There are some sub-20 sprinters who look like Learn-To-Swim in practice.
Its a kick timing drill.
Interesting and good explanation. It seemed he was doing the drill but either didn’t know what it was for or else didn’t feel like explaining it to me. I can’t recall if he was swapping the paddle to a different side which would negate the benefits you described.
My initial comments on his pace, that was his best effort. I agree that drills are generally done at slower than race pace.
Cheers,
@Kid
My coach had us do this drill using a paddle on your weak side (right handed => left hand paddle) and fin on the opposite foot for counter balance.
The idea was 90% of people out there are stronger with their dominant arm, and don’t get as much out of their weak arm, this was a way to get extra work on the sissy arm.
The team produced a number of US National Team members, so I would say, it’s not just mumbo-jumbo.
Drills aren’t meant to be done at race pace for the most part, so I wouldn’t say going slow in workout makes him not expert-level.
There are some sub-20 sprinters who look like Learn-To-Swim in practice.
We do this drill with our masters team. It works pretty well for swimmers who have strong side/weak side discrepancy.
Mark
It is a kick timing drill. To expand: it lets you feel how to time your kick to coincide with your pull for power. I think the racing club video above also goes into this.
My coach had us do this drill using a paddle on your weak side (right handed => left hand paddle) and fin on the opposite foot for counter balance.
The idea was 90% of people out there are stronger with their dominant arm, and don’t get as much out of their weak arm, this was a way to get extra work on the sissy arm.
The team produced a number of US National Team members, so I would say, it’s not just mumbo-jumbo.
Drills aren’t meant to be done at race pace for the most part, so I wouldn’t say going slow in workout makes him not expert-level.
There are some sub-20 sprinters who look like Learn-To-Swim in practice.
We do this drill with our masters team. It works pretty well for swimmers who have strong side/weak side discrepancy.
Mark
If this is the goal, how do you measure improvement or success?
Like the poster above, I thought it was all about kick timing.
My coach had us do this drill using a paddle on your weak side (right handed => left hand paddle) and fin on the opposite foot for counter balance.
The idea was 90% of people out there are stronger with their dominant arm, and don’t get as much out of their weak arm, this was a way to get extra work on the sissy arm.
The team produced a number of US National Team members, so I would say, it’s not just mumbo-jumbo.
Drills aren’t meant to be done at race pace for the most part, so I wouldn’t say going slow in workout makes him not expert-level.
There are some sub-20 sprinters who look like Learn-To-Swim in practice.
We do this drill with our masters team. It works pretty well for swimmers who have strong side/weak side discrepancy.
Mark
If this is the goal, how do you measure improvement or success?
Like the poster above, I thought it was all about kick timing.
Success was measured when you took the equipment off, and could feel and the coaches could see a more balanced stroke.
I agree, the drill can be used with the paddle on either arm to get the feeling of timing your kick to finish of the pull, but many drills can be done for more than one reason.
In my experience, we primarily kept the paddle on the weak arm to work on balancing the stroke.
I remember doing drill in sets of 3x300 trying to keep them under 3 minutes, you really didn’t have any choice push hard with the weak arm.
We weren’t so much using it to correct technique, as much as to strengthen the weaker arm so that the imbalance corrected itself.
Interesting and good explanation. It seemed he was doing the drill but either didn’t know what it was for or else didn’t feel like explaining it to me. I can’t recall if he was swapping the paddle to a different side which would negate the benefits you described.
My initial comments on his pace, that was his best effort. I agree that drills are generally done at slower than race pace.
Cheers,
@Kid
Yeah, from your OP he sounded like a tool.
Anytime someone asks me about a drill I’m doing in practice I’m more than happy to tell them why.
It is true the drill is used by elite swimmers though. It’s also used by not so elite swimmers too.
It looks pretty funny, and I’m sure I would get some funny looks if I did it during open swim.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one. I might have to try it out…