Swim Fins

[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.