Considering Purchasing a Halo Swim Trainer - Need Advice

Triathlon Forum
1

Typical story. My swimming sucks. My biggest downfall is a dropping elbow and the inability to get to the pool more than twice a week (three times if I am lucky). With that in mind I am looking for a swim trainer that will allow me to concentrate on my stroke while at the same time develop swim specific strength and endurance. I have been looking at the Vasa Ergometer, Triton ($$$$), and the Halo. I really like the Vasa, however, it is quite large and that is a problem as my exercise room is already full of equipment. The Halo is portable, and I like the way it forces you to use good form, oh yeah it is also waaay cheaper than the Vasa. The Halo, however, uses rubber bands for resistance and therefore the resistance increases as one moves through the stroke - it seems to me that this would give it an unnatural feel in comparison to the Vasa.

Is the Halo as good as the Vasa for correcting problems with the stroke, and is it useful in increasing swim specific strength and endurance? Are there any other swim training systems that I should consider?

2

A doorknob and length of surgical tubing?

3

I’m very happy with my vasa. I do lots of workouts where I transition from swimming to biking to running in my basement. The only downside, is that since getting the vasa, I have had zero motivation to actually get to the pool.

4

That is a consideration, however, I have my doubts that I would be able to improve my stroke and swimming using such a setup.

5

Scott, I have the same issue. I ended up buying the Halo, and strongly feel its great for the money. I have not used as much as I expected since I have been Masters swimming 5 days a week. But, I always use it a few minutes before my trainer rides, which have been very few so far since we have not had much rain yet.

Dave

6

h2ofun,
Could you expand on your opinions of the Halo. Has it helped correct any problems you may have had with your storke? IYHO has time spent on the Halo improved your swim times? Does the Halo provide a fair representation of the swim stroke in water? What do you feel are the drawbacks, limitations of the Halo?

7

I am an engineer, but now way that technical on swimming. The best is the pool, end of story. So, when I can not swim, IMO, something is better than nothing.
I LOVED the price of the Halo. It was very simple and took up the least amount of space. It forces high elbow.

Nothing makes one faster other than getting in the water a lot!!

Dave

8

Jon,
Do you find that the stroke with the Vasa is realistic? When you do make it to the pool, do you feel that the Vasa has improved your swimming?

9

I have barely actually been swimming since buying the Vasa - maybe 4 times since my last race in September. When I finally did go swimming for the first time in two months, I was very pleasantly surprised to look down at my watch after the first 100 and see my time was 1:25 without trying to go hard. Normally, easy pace for me is about 1:35 - maybe 1:30 when I am fresh. I ran out of gas in the pool after about 40-minutes. I think the vasa realistically imitates the stroke, but I find it much harder than actual swimming. More like a cross between a swim workout and a weight workout. I rarely do more than 10-minute long Vasa workouts, and I find it better to do sets of 50’s or 100’s with 10-20 seconds rest on the vasa because I am not strong enough to go longer than that. Hope this helps.

10

Jon,
Thank you for your reply. I think I am going to ditch a piece of exercise equipment and make room for the Vasa Ergometer. My plan is to do 2-3 in-pool swims/week and 2-3 Vasa workouts/week. BTW, have you noticed whether or not the watt output on the Vasa takes the damper setting into consideration?

11

have you considered some stretch cords? Much cheaper than all the other options. And you can pull with high elbows if you desire.

12

I have given it some consideration. Can’t be beat for cost and portability. The only thing is I cannot see using them for an extended period of time - maybe a few minutes/session max. I am leaning towards the Vasa because of the feedback it provides. I can make adjustments to my stroke and get immediate feedback from the Vasa computer. The stroke should also be more realistic in that the resistance during the pull should be constant and there should be no force pulling your arm forward during the recovery. Intervals at various intensities should also be easy as well as hopefully interesting.

13

“I am leaning towards the Vasa because of the feedback it provides. I can make adjustments to my stroke and get immediate feedback from the Vasa computer.”

yes the expensive vasa trainer provides you numbers, but how do you know that an increase in your power output on the Vasa trainer directly relates to a greater velocity in the water?

Why can’t you see yourself using cords for more than just “an extended perios of time - maybe a few minutes/session max” ? I bet if you would pay anywhere from $699 to $1799 for a set of stretch cords with paddles on them you would use them more than just a few minutes a session. And there are most likely many more National and Olympic caliber swimmers using stretch cords than vasa trainers in addition to the time they spend in the pool.

It’s your money but I would consider many other options before spending the money on the vasa trainer. Nothing against the product though.

14

I have not noticed. I ordered mine from the company and the woman who spoke to me on the phone was very helpful. They are also really good about returning e-mails if you have a question - I’m sure if you ask them directly you will get a good response.

15

I finally got myself to the pool this afternoon, so I can see how my swimming is after 6-months of swimming almost exclusively on the vasa ergometer with 5-trips to the actual pool and 2 races since last August.

I did a 2500 workout from Swim workouts in a binder that I have done many many times in the last several years. The workout is basically 2 x 200, 2 x 250, 2 x 200, 2 x 150, 2 x 150, 2 x 200 with some drills in the middle and approximetly 15 seconds rest between the intervals.

During the first 200, I looked down at my watch after 100 and my time was 1:22. This was my fastest 100 ever. I swam 1:22 once before during a masters workout 3-years ago when the coach was timing me in a sprint. I was going at an easy pace today. My time for the 200 was 2:55 which was also my fastest time ever at that distance.

Overall, my times today were (1)200 x 2 (2:55)(3:05), (2) 250 x 2 (3:50)(3:59) (3) 200 x 2 (3:06)(3:12) (4) 150 x 2 (2:18)(2:24)

On January 21, 2005, I did the same workout (1) 200 x 2 (3:08)(3:16), (2) 250 (4:04)(4:11), (3) 200 (3:19)(3:24) 150 (2:21)(2:25). Later that summer I did 1:11 at IM Austria and about 35 minutes in a half IM. I did not have a vasa this year, and swam fairly consistently 2-4 times per week for 5000 to 12,000 yards.

In January of 2006 I did not do the same workout, but several workouts that included the same distances. 200’s in January (3:10, 3:16, 3:10, 3:04, 3:09, 3:19, 3:14, 3:19, 3:18, 3:19) 250’s in January (4:01, 4:11, 3:56, 4:00, 4:01, 3:58) 150’s (2:23, 2:26). I was really working on my swim prior to January, and had been consistently swimming 5,000 to 15,000 per week and getting to the pool 3 or 4 times per week.

This year, since November, I have been to the actual pool 3 times including today. I have used the vasa trainer 3 to 5 times per week (probably averaging closer to 3 times) since August when I got it. I do not do mega workouts on the vasa - I’m not strong enough. Friday night, for instance, I did a workout where I did 2 sets of 8 x’s 50 with 10 seconds rest followed by 10-miles on the computrainer. Thursday I did 2 sets of 4 x 50 with 10 seconds rest followed by biking on the computrainer and running on the treadmill. Sometimes I do 3 to 5 times 100 on the vasa with 20-seconds rest between before doing a bike workout. Despite the almost complete lack of swim training, I was swimming faster than ever today - though I did slow down as the workout progressed indicating my endurance is not great. I also felt like my heart rate was a bit higher than normal for swimming, probably also indicating my endurance is not where it needs to be. But I really could not believe how well I was swimming today considering my only training has been very short workouts on the vasa.

Hope this helps.

16

Jon,
Thank you for the response. Your story is similar to a few others that I have read on this as well as other forums. There sure seems to be a lot of evidence that training on the Vasa Ergometer correlates to improvements in the pool. Troy Jacobson did his last ironman with very little water training and had one of his fastest swim splits ever by training predominantly on the Vasa. I will be putting my order in for the Vasa Ergometer today or tomorrow.

BTW, do you find lying face down on the Vasa causes discomfort in your naughty bits?

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No, but it does cause some discomfort on my chest and above my knees where they rest on the bench.

18

Jon,
Are you using the standard size bench or the XL bench? Regarding your comments on endurance, I would think that the Ergometer would be of benefit if one had enough strength to sustain a 20+ minute continual sessions.

19

Search posts with “Halo” keyword from Doug Stern. He had a post to recommend the halo last year and there was some more extensive discussion about the benefits following.

20

I read all of the posts on Slowtwitch regarding the Halo including those from Doug Stern. The Halo looks to be a good device for correcting a dropping elbow and instilling this into muscle memory. The reason why I am going with the Vasa Ergometer is that the swim stroke should be more realistic, the computer readout provides feedback as to changes made to the stroke as well as improvments in power, and the quickly adjustable tension settings allow for effective interval work. I may be wrong, but I see the Halo as useful in stroke correction, however, I am less certain as to whether or not it would be useful in replacing swim workouts with respect to improving power/endurance. Everything I have read on the Vasa Ergometer from actual users demonstrates that it can greatly improve ones power and endurance (depending on how it is used). Of course the Halo and the Vasa are in completely different price categories and this is surely a big consideration for some/most potential users. For me, however, price was not really a consideration, rather I am looking for the most effective dry-land swimming device which will allow me to spend more time at home and less time going to the pool. As it stands right now, I can only make it to the pool 2-3x/week and this is simply insufficient for me to see any real improvements in my swim times. Once I have the Vasa I still plan on 1-2 pool swims/week and at least 3 Vasa workouts/week.