Triathlon swim training can seem a lot easier with flippers, but are they really helping you get faster? Triathlon Taren explains how to use use them during your training and how they can affect your swim technique during a race. Then Triathlon Taren spends time cleaning out his garage in preparation for the garage headquarters build.
Should You Swim With Flippers?
By rokur
rokur
Production engineer and certified swim coach. Full-time IT consultant, spare-time swimming aficionado. 2 sons, 2 daughters and a wife. President of the Faroe Islands Swimming Association. Likes to run :-)
1 Comment
Hi Triathlon Taren:
First off, flippers are used in pinball. Fins are used in swimming.
Your kick board is much more of a crutch than are your fins. So put your fins on, leave you board on deck and do a set of dolphin kicks on your back fast for 100, making sure your breakouts are at least a body length past the flags. How are you going to do that with a board? Next, do sets of 4 x 25 where one of the 25s is underwater dolphin on your front to the wall. Can’t do that with a board either, can you TT? You might not even be able to make it to the wall on no breaths with fins but at least it’s challenging.
Fins aren’t to be used in all kick sets but they help transition to kicking fins-free. What does your kick board do except increases your drag profile and distorts the contribution of the kick in a full stroke.