Gear Updates

Thanks for the updates! I know its all fairly trivial stuff but as a new masters swimmer I feel it is my duty to spend some of my expendable income on new gear haha! It will actually be a first for me....since some of my old gear probably counts as stolen goods from my old local pool....whoops. Rob - I'll have to take some time to look it up, but I'm talking about what looks like a "touch n flip" back to *** turn. It kinda looks like what used to be the back to back turn before flip turns were allowed in backstroke. Back when I competed everyone just did a purely open turn from back to ***. I'll have to get back to you!

It kinda looks like what used to be the back to back turn before flip turns were allowed in backstroke. Back when I competed everyone just did a purely open turn from back to ***. I'll have to get back to you!Probably something like this: Lochte Back To *** Transition Turn - YouTube One of the guys on my team showed me how to do this but I never got comfortable enough in practice to do it at a meet. I also do not breathe very well on backstroke (getting better - it's a water up the nose phobia I'm getting over) so I kind of like that open turn breath on the wall.

Yes, thats it! Thanks! Turns out its called the "crossover" or "modified roll" turn. Found a helpful written tutorial here: coachpete.wordpress.com/.../

Hi there! I've recently joined USMS after about 16-17 years out of any serious training. I'm feeling pretty good in the pool so far but out of the loop otherwise. Can anyone from eras past fill me in on the following subjects: 1. Racing Suits (female) - OK so the last racing suit I owned was a Speedo S2000. God I HATED that thing. I'm glad newer suits seem to have a less strangling neckline, but now they have legs. Makes me want to get a chin strap for my swim cap. How are those comfortable? Do you still get wedgies? ANYWAY....what do you all wear for racing these days in terms of small meets? I assume a technical knee suit for big meets, but are knee suits the norm even for smaller meets? Where can I find a paper suit....lol? 2. Caps/Goggles - Two caps.... really? Seems headache inducing, but silicone seems to be in vs. latex now. Do my swedish goggle strap tails cause that much drag? Or is it more to secure goggles (which I've never had a problem with)? Do people even still wear swedes any more? I see none on my team, so I'm assuming goggles have gone all techy now too. 3. Paddles/Fins/Bouys - I still have my old square Han's paddles, Zoomer fins, and white bouy with straps. No one has looked at me funny yet....but everyone has cooler looking stuff haha. Is there anything better out there that I should try? Finally, what do they call the new fangled back to *** turn? Looks fancy and I need to learn it. Also the underwater pull with fly kick? If someone could link me to some good vids or tutorials that would be super. Thanks in advance! Welcome back! And don't worry; I'm still using my gear from 15 years ago. 1. Tech suits: I gave up on this one. Last tech suit I ever owned was the Speedo Aquablade that was waytoosmall and was beyond uncomfortable. At most of the meets I've been to here in So Cal, the knee length tech suits are the most popular. As I am flat broke however, I just wear a snug workout suit. 2. Caps/Goggles: One latex cap for me. Always. And I'm still wearing my 15 y/o Swedes, though I have upgraded to a bungee strap. I can't stand the high tech goggles. Just too much rubber/plastic/etc. 3. Pool Toys: Still sporting the original blue Speedo rectangles, faded yellow TYR kickboard and faded blue bouy. Though I have been in the market for some new, updated fins. Maybe you will have better luck getting gear answers on here than I have. 4.The Back to *** Turn: Beats me! I'm still trying to get my knees to tuck fast enough. It does look pretty cool though, just not for me. Underwater pull/dolphin kick: once you get the hang of it, you'll love it!!!

Also the underwater pull with fly kick? Are you talking about the single dolphin kick allowed in the breaststroke pulldown or the underwater dolphin kicks done with the other strokes? Also regarding caps,I wear 2 over my goggles.Over the goggles lessens the danger of losing the goggles on the dive.I wear a latex cap underneath the silicon cap as I find silicone caps are more prone to sliding off if directly on my head.

Hi there! I've recently joined USMS after about 16-17 years out of any serious training. I'm feeling pretty good in the pool so far but out of the loop otherwise. Can anyone from eras past fill me in on the following subjects: 1. Racing Suits (female) - OK so the last racing suit I owned was a Speedo S2000. God I HATED that thing. I'm glad newer suits seem to have a less strangling neckline, but now they have legs. Makes me want to get a chin strap for my swim cap. How are those comfortable? Do you still get wedgies? ANYWAY....what do you all wear for racing these days in terms of small meets? I assume a technical knee suit for big meets, but are knee suits the norm even for smaller meets? Where can I find a paper suit....lol? 2. Caps/Goggles - Two caps.... really? Seems headache inducing, but silicone seems to be in vs. latex now. Do my swedish goggle strap tails cause that much drag? Or is it more to secure goggles (which I've never had a problem with)? Do people even still wear swedes any more? I see none on my team, so I'm assuming goggles have gone all techy now too. 3. Paddles/Fins/Bouys - I still have my old square Han's paddles, Zoomer fins, and white bouy with straps. No one has looked at me funny yet....but everyone has cooler looking stuff haha. Is there anything better out there that I should try? Finally, what do they call the new fangled back to *** turn? Looks fancy and I need to learn it. Also the underwater pull with fly kick? If someone could link me to some good vids or tutorials that would be super. Thanks in advance! 1. I wouldn't worry about it until you've done a few meets and believe that a tech suit is worth investing in. Which may be never. 2. Two caps? What's all that about? I wear silicone, much more comfortable than latex. Google straps are not a big issue, but a lot of people put their goggles on first and cover the straps. 3. I wouldn't sweat over equipment either. Most of the design changes are for marketing purposes, not to make us swim faster, IMO. 4. Not sure what this is! Do you have a video you can link to? 5. Have fun! Rob

Also regarding caps,I wear 2 over my goggles.Over the goggles lessens the danger of losing the goggles on the dive.I wear a latex cap underneath the silicon cap as I find silicone caps are more prone to sliding off if directly on my head. Ditto. I took Ande's advice on the two caps, pulling the second one over the top edge of my goggles for extra security. I also use Vaseline around my eyes for a better goggle seal and to help protect the skin. So, for me, it's: Vaseline, followed by goggles, followed by latex cap, followed by silicone cap covering the top edge of my goggles. And, no, I don't care how foolish it looks!

At our local meets there is a mix of workout suits and tech-suits. I wear a kneeskin for racing, because it holds more wobble in than a standard tank. I prefer a silicone cap, for me I just wear one, but keep this one just for racing. They tend to stretch out a bit with use and can slide off on starts and turns after a while. They're not too $$ so try out whatever combination works best. I have a 12 year old kickboard, about 9 year old pullbuoy, 8 year old fins and some small paddles. They still do the job, so why change? As fas as the back/*** flip, I can do it sometimes in practice and think I have done it in a meet once or twice on a 100 IM. However when I swam the 200IM I decided I needed air more than the flip. I find I need to push myself out from the wall as I touch to avoid becoming a crumpled mess with feet in the gutter. And I haven't dared do the fly kick on the *** pullout yet....

Chin strap swim cap ..LOL. I double cap , wearing a bubble crepe chin strap cap over a silicon cap. (white bubble caps come in head sizes) Works great warm waterproof and comfortable. Hair dry after my swim and out of the locker room in 10 minutes. Clear Barracuda standards for me. Zoomers are always a good choice I use the blue ones. I had red ones they were too stiff . I would like to get the underwater Finis lap counter if they still make them but I have too much stuff in my mesh swim bag already. Swim and have fun! Sounds like you've been doing that! Swimming The Worlds Best Exercise! dry hair page dryhairswimcap.blogspot.com

good to know guys, thanks! i just nabbed an new 'ancient' aquablade kneesuit on ebay for 30 bucks, can't wait to try it out! Pretty sure its legal lol. BTW there seems to be a TON of aquablade suits on ebay now, mainly sizes 30 and up though. I will try and give that crossover turn a whirl, but I read that you need some pretty good shoulder strength from that. 3 years ago I actually dislocated my left shoulder, so I need to be careful with anything backstroke related (can't swim it in a straight line anymore lol) so I might just stick to the ol open turn for a while. I've experienced several minor re-dislocations since, mainly it pops out and right back in....all related to getting dressed or reaching out to close my car door :/ Hasn't happened since since I started swimming again though! I definitely try a silicone cap too. Thanks again for all the input!