Swim Fins

[HillSlugger]

When I started swimming my coach had me buy swim fins (http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/1264.htm). While I feel marginally competent using them, if I try to do anything without them it's like the difference between paddle a canoe with paddles or with tablespoons.

Would it make sense to be using smaller fins (http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/1267.htm) that give less advantage? That way there wouldn't be this huge difference.

[Kimmyt]

There are a few people in my Masters class that use the Zoomers fins.

I can't give you any personal experience, though, b/c I don't use fins, sorry!

[Tri Girl]

IMO, that's why I don't use fins and don't like them (for the reason you stated- swimming with paddles and tablespoons).
I don't use them now because I don't like to rely on that propulsion when I can't use it in events. I like to make my legs stronger on their own w/out the added push (although that's taken far too much time in the pool to achieve "naturally" :D ). It's too hard for me to get used to swimming w/out them and feeling the frustration of going from jet propulsion to tiny bug propulsion. It's like the difference I feel when using hand paddles and then swimming with my bare hands. Good for builing skills, but painfully slow when trying to swim without them.
A girl I know uses the zoomers and really likes them. I guess it all comes down to what you want to get out of it. I think your fins are just fine for building stronger legs/kicks. If it's hard to go between having them on, and swimming bare, maybe try to ween them out of the rotation. Perhaps just use them once a week. I don't know- just thinking out loud. :)

[Bluetree]

I like Zoomers, too, but as Tri Girl said, it's hard to adjust to competition without them. I'm trying to wean myself off them - and it's frustrating. But I know it will make me a better swimmer in the long run.

[divingbiker]

Nicole, I use the larger fins to get my leg muscles in shape prior to a dive trip, but I only use them with a kickboard because I think they throw my swimming stroke off. If you're just getting used to swimming, I think they'd be more of a hindrance than a help. I've never used the really small fins.

Also, what I've read is that you don't want to work your legs too hard on the swim, because you want to save them for the bike and the run.

[alpinerabbit]

I try not to use gadgets. Yes, I am hardly the expert, but somethin inside tells me they are crutches.

The weirdest I have seen is people in the tempo lane using a snorkel. If you are still using that, what are you doing in the tempo lane?

[Wahine]

So here's the other side of the story. While fins do work your legs harder and help to get them into shape, they can also perform a very helpful role in teaching efficient body position in the water and teaching you how to move fast through the water. This is a effect that is usually best appreciated by swimmers who are tweaking out their technique. The idea is to use the fins to move your body through the water at a speed where you can feel how the water flows over you body and can then appreciate how very subtle changes in body position decrease the feeling of drag. Then you try to reproduce that feeling while swimming without the fins.

Here's how I use fins:

100 m swim on one side while I focus on maintaining as perfect a horizontal body posture as possible. I alternate sides every 25 m, the arm that is in the water is stretched out in the streamline position above the head while the other is at the side and should be partially out of the water (if your trunk and legs are high enough in the water).

Then I do 50 m of double zipper drill - moving my upper hand up my side like I'm undoing a zipper on the side of my trunk. This drill is done in the same basic position as above. After zippering twice on one side I stroke through and roll onto the other side and repeat.

Then I do 50 m of single zipper (as above but only once thru)

Then 50 m straight swim with fins. On that 50 I really focus on how quickly I have to move my arms through the water to make me feel like I'm pulling as hard against the water as I would without fins. I also try to feel for streamline and drag.

Then I ditch the fins and try to swim 50 m while moving my arms through the water at the same speed I was in the last 50 - ie a lot faster than I normally do if I'm just swimming - while I'm still focused on form. This is really hard to do but has helped a lot to improve my speed.

I do not kick hard with the fins. I don't try to use them to strengthen my legs, running and cycling do that. I use them to achieve better form and therefore faster times with less effort.

I use this drill sequence in most of my workouts during my warm up. Then I swim without the fins for my main set.

Alpinerabbit: Those people with snorkels may be using special swim training snorkels. They are meant to allow you to focus on form without disrupting your body position in the water like you sometimes do when you to turn your head to breathe. I have never used one because position during a breathing cycle is not a problem for me. However, my tri swim coach insisted that some of the athletes in the group use them in warm up and long tempo swims to help them get over some stroke faults.

You can't win a race in the swim. But you can lose one there by overworking yourself. Efficiency is the key.

I'm starting to sound like a bad rerun of a kung fu movie.

[beetle]

Agree with pp's. I have only started using fins in the last 12 months and largely think they are the most unnecessary swim "toy" you need. The paddling with teaspoon sensation you descibe is the main reason I don't think they are a very helpful tool.

I know people who have cut off some of the fin to reduce their speed when finning (but I could never do this to my shinny fins).

I think that as long as you keep their use to a minimum during a session (ie. less than 10 - 15%) it may help becoming to dependent on them. Also, if you want to fin, do that part of your workout just before a rest so that you don't swim barefoot and feel soooo slow straight after. Another mental tool I use to limit using them too much is to weight any laps you do with fins lower than a normal lap (ie. say to yourself that in your logbook every fin lap only counts as half a lap - or whatever works for you).

I agree with Wahine though that they are great for helping you to feel what fast, efficient swimminng feels like - I would simply say that each time you slip on your fins make sure you have a reason for it - such as doing a catchup drill or something you are stuggling a bit with when not wearing fins. Also try not to be lazy when kicking, keep your kick as similar to normal and make sure you are doing each lap faster than normal swimming to stop you from cruising too much in your fins.

[HillSlugger]

My kick was an absolute mess. Among other things, I was kicking mostly from the knees. The fins pretty much force me to kick from the hips. I think the idea is for me to use them for a while so that muscle memory will keep me kicking right after I ditch the fins. I was thinking that the zoomer fins might act as a transition between the paddles vs tablespoons feeling, something more like serving spoons ;)

I have bad habits to unlearn. I'm pretty much starting from scratch here.

[Offthegrid]

When I started swimming again last year (I say again because I used to swim laps a while ago, but was never a good swimmer), I used fins 100 percent of the time. I was uncomfortable in the water and slow as dirt. Fins also give you some additional buoyancy, but longer fins can strain the back.

My initial workouts were only 400 meters. An old dude was faster than me while I was wearing fins. When I got to 1,200 meters a work out, I slowly phased fins out and now I only use them for some drills and a brief kicking set. Oh and I'm faster than the old dude now.

In short, they helped me gain confidence. I will also be using fins while I do drills to learn to keep my head down.