With all the pools closed and my training plan beginning for IM70.3 Atlantic City in September- which Im hoping will not be cancelled- I am looking for some suggestions in the way of a swim tether system for me to swim in place in my backyard pool. The pool is in ground. There is grass around the pool as well as trees, so it could be anchored into the ground or wrapped around a tree. Im looking for something that can be delivered in a timely manner and be of good quality as well as somewhat comfortable. Any suggestions would be great. Also I’m 6 ft 2 205lbs- I add this because Ive seen some on line that offer different resistances in lbs. Any intel would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.
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I’ve purchased a tether but can still get out in the ocean so haven’t needed to use it yet but I saw this the other day from a guy I follow on social media. An amazing swimmer who coaches full time so plenty to look at on his website but his seven tether swimming tips may be of special interest now.
https://effortlessswimming.com/7-tips-for-swimming-with-a-swim-tether/
If you are going to rig up something semi-permanent in your backyard pool, there might be various options that might work adequately if they are rigged up right.
But regarding temporary swim tethers that are easy to set up (and take down) in temporary pools, in a previous job, I spent a good part of many years on the road. I tried some different designs of quick set up temporary swim tethers and, from my experience, any tether of this type that works even half decently MUST attach to the feet and/or ankles. For distance freestyle swim technique, I found tethers that attach to the waist and then go the side of the pool pretty useless.
If I started traveling frequently again, the most promising design and idea is this one (others on this forum have tried it, and have said that it works great), and it’s essentially free:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60dmO4jVNuY
On the other hand, if you have more money than time, there is a company (no connection of any kind to us) that makes a more advanced version of this concept … but I have not tried it, so YMMV …
https://swimriptide.com/shop/
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If I started traveling frequently again, the most promising design and idea is this one (others on this forum have tried it, and have said that it works great), and it’s essentially free:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60dmO4jVNuY
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genius! I spent some money on a name-brand swim tether that is a combination of neoprene/velcro ankle bands with some rubber tubing that attached to a pool ladder but the bicycle tube trick accomplishes the very same thing. Will try this out, thanks for sharing this.
why do you say that around the waist tethers are useless?
Very cool
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wow that good stuff thank you!
why do you say that around the waist tethers are useless?
First, I can only speak about my experience. For me, waist belt tethers are useless because a natural distance swim kick provides zero or very very little body position buoyancy without the normal hydrodynamic forces from moving water flowing along your body, hips, and legs. No moving water, i.e., using a swim tether = legs sink, even with a nice distance kick.
Then, on top of that, the most comfortable and best performing tethers have some stretch in them. When you swim harder/faster, the tether stretches a bit and you incrementally move forward. When you swim a bit easier/slower, the tether reels you in a bit and you incrementally move backward. But ANY backward movement even more so makes your legs sink downward (even if you are kicking nicely for distance freestyle).
Both of these factors (the lack of flowing water, and the fact that you sometimes move backward in the pool) make it impossible (for me) to practice swimming with anything resembling my normal stroke and body position in distance freestyle. However, if you’re anchored by your feet, this becomes a non issue.
So, if you have a choice, I would go with a foot/ankle system. More versatile, travels well, easy to set up fast, and works great in nearly all situations.
I guess everyone is different. I’d say the exact opposite about the attachment point. I tried my tether once which was designed to attach to feet/ankles and used it as designed, and I absolutely hated having it attached to my feet. It felt incredibly uncomfortable and awkward. Then I grabbed an old 2-in. wide scuba weight belt (sans weights, of course) and looped the feet and ankle loops to attach to the belt, positioning the loops on my backside for freestyle and breaststroke (I slide the loops around to the front for backstroke). That was a massive improvement in comfort and left my legs free to kick normally. I’ve had no problems whatsoever with legs sinking, but I’m a relatively decent swimmer and quite comfortable with technique. I’ve done a lot of time in the pool with this setup.
Interesting.
I understand how the tether is now connected to you (via waist belt).
But, more important, how/where exactly is the tether anchored to the ground or pool? To what object exactly? Below water level? At water level? Above water level? If above or below water level, by how much?
I have a well-anchored ladder at the side of the pool and loop the tether a few times around one of the ladder handles about a foot (.3 meters) above the water level just over the edge of the pool. This seems pretty ideal and keeps the cord from touching my legs.
Thanks for posting this DIY tube tether. Scrap rope, flat mountain bike tube, lawn chair swing, done. I use a pull buoy to keep the tube for chaffing my ankles and a snorkel to concentrate on balance swimming. I like it better than pool swimming since 25 yards is all that’s around here and that means a lot of flip turns. This is constant swimming. I also think this will lead to better rough water swimming since I have a more of an “over the top grab and pull” verse “glide and sail”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B--nvr0B5r6/?igshid=1ujm7ii7ipgov
wow that makes a lot of sense thanks for your time.