Im just learning to swim faster. I know to roll on my side, stay long, head down in the water, etc. I just swam with fins for the first time. What are they supposed to teach me, other than how to go fast?
Thanks for any help.
I find they have helped me immensely with doing drills. I just can’t do drills without them, my kick gets me nowhere and I get gassed just doing one lap. However, after doing a set of drills using fins, my kick is much better as a part of my regular swimming (fins off). That is where I perceive them to be of value.
I use fins primarily for drills as well. I’ll do a couple hundred meters of kick drills on each side and sometimes one-armed drills using the fins. I rarely will swim with them. I find that it really helps strengthen the core muscles plus it seems to have some benefit in the ankles as well.
Bernie
O K This makes sense. Drills as opposed to swimming. My drills would go better with them. My kick seemed more effective after using them. I can see how the one armed drill and some others would be much more effective. thanks
Do 10 50’s with fins at top speed with 10 seconds rest. you will puke.
as usual when it comes to swimming, i’m just the opposite; after i use fins, when i try to swim w/o them, i’m lost. my weak kick becomes non-existent, and my balance is shot, too…
fins can be used to teach yourself where your stroke sucks, it is easier to feel where you are not catching or grabbing water at higher speeds. Fins can help with timing enabling you to feel if your hips and shoulders are off. Fins can develop leg strength, aid in enhancing ankle flexibilty and be used as a tool to improve your swimming. Going fast will be the result of learning how to swim properly, using fins to only swim fsater with out thinking about other things, is like driving without a map in strange territory. You might get there you might not.
My friend who is a great swimmer trains in them much, perhaps most, of the time. She said she improved a lot by using them often. I think they make the entire kick and stroke smoother in many respects and it carries over when you ditch the fins … I plan on using them sometimes in open water training this summer.
No one mentioned the benefit of stretching the ankles.
Top swimmers can sit on the ground, legs out straight, bend their ankles forward and touch their toes to the ground. Most triathletes, due to the stresses of running and biking have little flexibility… and therefore pull these anchors behind them while swimming.
kicking with fins on a kickboard stretches those tight anchors out a bit…
I teach all my beginners classes using fins. It cuts down on the learning time by giving a newbie a feeling of movement without the frustration.
As you move quickly through the water you can feel the sensation of moving water and make stroke, kick adjustments faster.
When you swim with fins you are travelling at a faster rate than normal. Your body learns how to move quickly. It is a form of sprint assisted training.
I test my group for a ten minute swim at the beginning of a six week course. We then throw the fins on for the next four weeks, ween them for a week and then test again. Of the 4,000 people who have taken the clinic 4000 have gotten faster.
The fins play a large part in the learning and conditioning process. We do use small fins. I have switched to the new Z2 Zoomers.
My advanced groups use fins for drills and very fast swimming. They know when we put fins on for a set, it is going to be brutal!
DougStern
I would like to see this! Doesn’t seem possible.
this might sound dumb, but -
when buying fins, are you looking for hte same sort of fit that you’d look for in a pair of running shoes?
i ask because at the pool i use, there is a wide variety of fins available, but they all seem to mess with my foot somehow - either tearing up the top of the foot because they’re too tight, or rubbing the back of my heel because they’re too loose. so i’m pondering getting a pair of my own, just wondering what characteristics i should look for.
Another question about fins:
Do your newbies complain about chafing from the fins? The pair I have (red zoomers) mess up my feet so badly (tops of toes and top of foot) after only about 200 yrds that I have a difficult time RUNNING(!!) later in the day. I swear to god they fit fine in the store.
Do you have any solutions or ideas?
Body Glide the problem areas. Has worked well for me with the blue Zoomers.
I switched to Z2s partially because they do not destroy your toes and are made of a soft rubber. They should fit a bit snuggly but not to the point of cutting off circulation.
I wear a siz 10 1/2 shoe wide and a size F fin is fine for me.
DougStern
For those people still wearing Zoomers I recommend fin socks or thin running socks. The abrasions are brutal. If you constantly point your toes you will not get abrasions on your toes but might still get your insteps ripped up.
DougStern