There is a thread on benefits of using snorkels in swim training. I have seen debates in the past on effectiveness of various other swim aids - fins, pull buoys, tempo trainers, etc. The list of available gear is long.
My question is - If I am using some piece of equipment as part of my training, how can I objectively determine if it is helping?
If my times improve it may be due to other factors such as more training sessions per week, better designed sets (such as specific sets instead of "garbage yards"). Again a long list of possible factors.
Love to hear some thoughts on how you determine if something is helping you. Can it be objectively determined with some reasonable method that does not require tons of measurements and equipment?
Is it good enough that you feel subjectively that it helps, and that provides more motivation to work a little harder? I don't discount that factor. Sometimes if you believe it helps then it helps.
Wondering how everyone else approaches this.
In my case, they help keep me in the pool! :agree: The alternative? Inactivity. :afraid: After my hip labral tear (non-swimming related) and prior to my surgery last December, the only way I was able to swim on a regular basis was to use a pull buoy. Following my surgery, I was permitted to resume swimming as soon as the stitches were removed, as long as I used my pull buoy to prevent kicking. If it hadn't been for that new best friend, I would have had to wait an additional two months to get in the pool.
I was able to finally chuck it and work back to competing in back-to-back 3K and 1K races at the Georgia Open Water Games last July, followed by a few weeks of building up my sprints; however, I had a setback in late August when I tore the scar tissue in my hip flexor (my surgeon did a psoas release during my labral tear repair surgery) on an easy backstroke upkick during a slow-paced 100 IM, 700 yards into my warm-up. :censor: Out came the pull buoy (my old best friend), and it has been my regular "toy" for the past six weeks.
My hip is finally coming around, and I am slowly building back by increasing my full-swimming yardage in small increments with easy kicking. H.I.T. and competition is out for the remainder of the year, and I am keeping my "toy" available AT ALL TIMES, even after I return to full swimming-- just in case.
Sometimes "toys" really are necessary swim aids.
In my case, they help keep me in the pool! :agree: The alternative? Inactivity. :afraid: After my hip labral tear (non-swimming related) and prior to my surgery last December, the only way I was able to swim on a regular basis was to use a pull buoy. Following my surgery, I was permitted to resume swimming as soon as the stitches were removed, as long as I used my pull buoy to prevent kicking. If it hadn't been for that new best friend, I would have had to wait an additional two months to get in the pool.
I was able to finally chuck it and work back to competing in back-to-back 3K and 1K races at the Georgia Open Water Games last July, followed by a few weeks of building up my sprints; however, I had a setback in late August when I tore the scar tissue in my hip flexor (my surgeon did a psoas release during my labral tear repair surgery) on an easy backstroke upkick during a slow-paced 100 IM, 700 yards into my warm-up. :censor: Out came the pull buoy (my old best friend), and it has been my regular "toy" for the past six weeks.
My hip is finally coming around, and I am slowly building back by increasing my full-swimming yardage in small increments with easy kicking. H.I.T. and competition is out for the remainder of the year, and I am keeping my "toy" available AT ALL TIMES, even after I return to full swimming-- just in case.
Sometimes "toys" really are necessary swim aids.
