Has anyone some experience with stretch cord training for swimming?
Is it worth it? Has anyone made some improvements or had a positive impact from using stretchcord training on a regular basis?
What kind of workouts do you do?
Thanks for you feedback!
I’ve tried it, probably harder than most, but that means still only sporadically and certainly not enough to see real long-term improvement.
At first, I tried the cords before springing for the Vasa erg. The cords have a lot of good things about them - cheap, easy, you can really work on short super-high low-rep power strength in the swim motion.
The biggest problem I had and I think why literally nobody uses these long term for real swim improvement, is that to improve in endurance/tri swimming, you gotta swim a LOT more or a lot harder than you are currently swimming. That usually means you have to train in the order of hundreds hours on the dryland device, not just 30-60 mins or less at a time. When you’re investing that kind of time into an endeavor, the little problems become real dealbreakers. The biggest one is the totally incorrect power curve with cords where it’s way harder at the end (hand by hip) and lightest up front (front quandrant catch phase where you need most power training).
I actually suspect I ‘could?’ see some improvement with the cords had I spent the 3-5hrs/wk I need to push the arm muscular endurance further, but I’d seriously question the efficiency and use of my time in doing so, especially since it’s soooo boring and painful in addition. I think most folks justifiably quit dryland training before realizing they had to spend hundreds of hours doing a super boring, annoyingly uncomfortable, not fun at all, and most importantly, limited ROI activity that has the wrong power curve for optimal swimming gains. I really noticed the wrong power curve issue when I took these on trips a few times, used them like 2 x 1hr during 1-2 weeks; it felt like a major problem then. Not so much if you’re doing <5mins of it, but a real problem at 15+ mins.
Again, I’m talking about using cords as a real substitute for endurance swimming, like a Vasa erg, not just as a 1x/wk short session supplement for low-rep strength.
If anyone else has successfully used these to really improve like the folks on the erg have done, I’m all ears, though. I’ve asked this question more than a few times here and elsewhere, and all I got was radio silence.
Nailed it.
Cords alone won’t make you a faster swimmer. But working on developing a strong high elbow and working the push phase of the stroke CAN translate to open water swimming.
I coach athletes who travel some and the ones who use it for 5-10 minutes throughout the week have better consistency in the water than those that don’t.
Cords wont replace swimming but they can help.
Also, be careful with them. If you jump into it too quickly with alot of reps, “feeling the burn!!!” you can develop a nice over use injury real quick.
Thanks for you detailed comments!
I was not asking for a substitution for swimming but for a complementary training to my pool sessions.
Would you agree that 4x/week 10-15mins of cord work is beneficial?
Right now I’m at 4x20 (both arms simultaneously) and the plan is to increase slowly to 10x20.
If you say it’s not worth the effort I might drop the cord training.
Thanks for you detailed comments!
I was not asking for a substitution for swimming but for a complementary training to my pool sessions.
Would you agree that 4x/week 10-15mins of cord work is beneficial?
Right now I’m at 4x20 (both arms simultaneously) and the plan is to increase slowly to 10x20.
If you say it’s not worth the effort I might drop the cord training.
I honestly didn’t find it useful at all, unfortunately.
I tried the careful technique training for EVF - overrated. It’s just as hard/difficult to do in the pool regardless of the cord training, although the visual is helpful for raw beginners wondering what EVF is.
I tried strength-type pulls where I used a thick cord and got my arm/shoulder nice and sore, but I really felt it was akin to trying to get better at endurance cycling by doing loaded leg presses or leg extensions of <20 reps, which might make your leg ‘feel’ stronger, but doesn’t do anything for your triathlon cycling given the thousands of repetitions of endurance which is totally unrelated to <20rep strength.
Even on my vaunted Vasa erg, the benefits I see and get are from using it a lot, and hard, no different from the sufferfest I need to do in the pool to improve tri swim times. It’s hard for me to envision using stretchcords remotely as much given their limitations.
Thanks for you detailed comments!
I was not asking for a substitution for swimming but for a complementary training to my pool sessions.
Would you agree that 4x/week 10-15mins of cord work is beneficial?
Right now I’m at 4x20 (both arms simultaneously) and the plan is to increase slowly to 10x20.
If you say it’s not worth the effort I might drop the cord training.
I’d just swim more, 80 min more right now building to 200 min more. For most people, a 3 hr and 20 min increase in swimming is a considerable increase.
I used the StretchCordz when on military duty in AFG/IRQ for 4-12 months with zero pool access on 5 diff tours. While better than nothing, i still had to work for several months to get my swimming back to where it was prior to my deployment. I have my pair of cords w/ paddles set up in the house but i only rarely use them as my upper body is generally still tired from the last swim workout.
Thanks for you detailed comments!
I was not asking for a substitution for swimming but for a complementary training to my pool sessions.
Would you agree that 4x/week 10-15mins of cord work is beneficial?
Right now I’m at 4x20 (both arms simultaneously) and the plan is to increase slowly to 10x20.
If you say it’s not worth the effort I might drop the cord training.
I’d just swim more, 80 min more right now building to 200 min more. For most people, a 3 hr and 20 min increase in swimming is a considerable increase.
I used the StretchCordz when on military duty in AFG/IRQ for 4-12 months with zero pool access on 5 diff tours. While better than nothing, i still had to work for several months to get my swimming back to where it was prior to my deployment. I have my pair of cords w/ paddles set up in the house but i only rarely use them as my upper body is generally still tired from the last swim workout.
I dont have time for 3 hours more swimming. If I go for a 1 hour pool session it takes me overall 2 hours. I do however have time for 15mins a day of complementary training.
I’m on a one week vacation in Turkey starting tomorrow and I think the hotel pool wont work for swim workouts. I might do some shorter open-water swims but mostly running and some cord work. (Plus eating a lot of the all-inclusive buffet 
)
Thanks for you detailed comments!
I was not asking for a substitution for swimming but for a complementary training to my pool sessions.
Would you agree that 4x/week 10-15mins of cord work is beneficial?
Right now I’m at 4x20 (both arms simultaneously) and the plan is to increase slowly to 10x20.
If you say it’s not worth the effort I might drop the cord training.
I’d just swim more, 80 min more right now building to 200 min more. For most people, a 3 hr and 20 min increase in swimming is a considerable increase.
I used the StretchCordz when on military duty in AFG/IRQ for 4-12 months with zero pool access on 5 diff tours. While better than nothing, i still had to work for several months to get my swimming back to where it was prior to my deployment. I have my pair of cords w/ paddles set up in the house but i only rarely use them as my upper body is generally still tired from the last swim workout.
I dont have time for 3 hours more swimming. If I go for a 1 hour pool session it takes me overall 2 hours. I do however have time for 15mins a day of complementary training.
I’m on a one week vacation in Turkey starting tomorrow and I think the hotel pool wont work for swim workouts. I might do some shorter open-water swims but mostly running and some cord work. (Plus eating a lot of the all-inclusive buffet )
ANY POOL will work for a swim workout. As long as you can get into the pool when it is not too crowded, you can get a good swim in. I’ve swum in pools as short as 10 yd which implies like 3 spl; pools that were only 2 ft deep in the shallow end; pools that were “kidney shaped” which makes it hard to swim straight; pools that were 60* F but i had no wetsuit; and some others that were bad but i’ve forgotten the details. IMO, even if you’re not swimming hard, just getting in the water and swimming is much better than any other activity you could do. Swim as long and as far as you can and don’t worry about your pace. Since you will be on vacation, you could even swim twice a day. No excuses!!!
I think you can swim train in tiny hotel pools, but you really need a swim tether to do it.
It’s boring as all getout, but with a swim tether, you can actually swim ‘for real’ for the most part. I have one and have used it about 10 times over the years, definitely legit, but it’s so boring that you really, really need mental fortitude AND you will probably hate swimming for awhile afterwards. It’s probably why nobody does it at home despite what felt to me like legit effectiveness (if you go hard) even though hordes of triathletes have home pools that you acn easily tehter swim in.
Maybe too late to pick one up, but there was just a thread on swim tethers which you could use in a hotel pool
.
I think you can swim train in tiny hotel pools, but you really need a swim tether to do it.
It’s boring as all getout, but with a swim tether, you can actually swim ‘for real’ for the most part. I have one and have used it about 10 times over the years, definitely legit, but it’s so boring that you really, really need mental fortitude AND you will probably hate swimming for awhile afterwards. It’s probably why nobody does it at home despite what felt to me like legit effectiveness (if you go hard) even though hordes of triathletes have home pools that you acn easily tehter swim in.
Ya, it is so boring and feels so weird that I would rather do a flip turn every 4 strokes rather than use the tether, but that’s just me. 
Before doing a HIM I lived out in the country
1 hour to a pool. So instead I bought one of those Walmart pools, set it up and put a 4x4 post in the ground Attached a tether to it and that was the only swim training
Looking back on it I guess my swim wasn’t all that bad after all
I don’t remember ot being horribly boring either.
Before doing a HIM I lived out in the country
1 hour to a pool. So instead I bought one of those Walmart pools, set it up and put a 4x4 post in the ground Attached a tether to it and that was the only swim training
Looking back on it I guess my swim wasn’t all that bad after all
I don’t remember it being horribly boring either.
TBH, it is the feel of swimming on the tether that just does not work for me. I really like the feel of the water flowing by my body, which obv you can not get with the tether.