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.
My training never included fins for some time after I started attending meets. Glad I finally bought a pair because they helped my shoulders and swimming times
If you find the "toy" useful (even if it is just for variety or fun) and if it doesn't cause harm:either physically,to your technique,nor to the workout group,then use it.
Personally I love to use "toys" at practice.
However, when they become a crutch is when they become a problem. I am guilty of grabbing me bouy when my legs have had enough or have lacked the mental strength to push through.
I also believe that the use of toys can be benificial in achieving proper body position. I use my snorkel on almost every warm up, EZ swim and warm down we have. I am convinced that my head position issues have become less severe.
And... they are just plain fun
Some time ago...maybe a year or more...a similar discussion arose. Can't remember who, but someone responded that, with certain exceptions, instead of using various toys/drills that they'd rather spend that time actually swimming and perfecting/improving their stroke(s). Not that I'm an expert in these forums, but I mostly agree with that. And even if "a swimmer" does improve at certain equipment drills...it may be difficult to quantify that improvement into the full stroke...if at all. Around that same time I had started a new thread about improving my kick. (note: I don't much swim ***/fly/back. I only occasionally swim in Masters meets, and then it's only the longer freestyle events. I'm only a crawl stroker for open water/triathlon events.) My kick was/is non-existant. I mean it takes me well over a minute to kick 25 meters. I took everyone's advice from here, and coaches. For nearly a year I worked extra time with the board at every workout. Eventually yeah...my time for 25m came down about 10 seconds per 25m. But I never saw any decrease in my crawl times at any distance. So I quit the board. If there are kick sessions on the workout at my Masters group...I use that time doing breathing or stroke count sort of drills. All that being said...I will use paddles/buoy from time to time. I feel like that does improve my pull strength. BUT, if you have a kick that does affect your stroke...then kick drills are probably a value to you. Still...how do you know how to balance the amount of time kicking with the rest of the workout and quantify the results?
Dan
As a coach, I love to use "toys" for a variety of reasons. Like drills, equipment can often isolate certain parts of a stroke to help a swimmer concentrate on one or two particular things at a time. I find fins to be a necessity for my newer swimmers. They make it possible for my newer swimmers to get their bodies in a more balanced position in the water to practice drills they would otherwise not be able to do right away.
As an experienced swimmer, "toys" help me concentrate on strengthening things I might otherwise overlook during full-stroke swimming.
They're also fun :)
someone responded that, with certain exceptions, instead of using various toys/drills that they'd rather spend that time actually swimming and perfecting/improving their stroke(s). Not that I'm an expert in these forums, but I mostly agree with that.
I'm also on this page. I have tried and used various toys, including paddles, buoys, and fins. While I can see value in all of them, I feel like I benefit more from swimming without any of those items and just focusing on perfecting my stroke. Specifically, I've pretty much sworn off buoys and fins. Since ditching the fins, my kick has gotten much better. I think I was using them as a crutch to swim faster but not really focusing on having good kicking technique. And using a pull buoy for freestyle sets is cheating as far as I'm concerned :) I have started using a buoy for breaststroke training, to help get the technique correct, but not for flotation purposes.
A snorkel is something I haven't yet tried, but plan to do so soon. It seems as though a snorkel could really be beneficial by allowing one to focus on perfection of the stroke because it eliminates the need to turn one's head to breathe. Of course, when we race we can't use snorkels, but if it helps correct our body position and allows us to focus on a perfectly balanced stroke and develop a feel for that, I can see the value in that.
I'm primarily focused on swimming fast and racing. So keep that in mind.
I can also see value in swim aids for others if they have different goals, such as just getting a good workout or just keeping themselves in the pool.
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.
Personally I love to use "toys" at practice.
However, when they become a crutch is when they become a problem.
I agree. I think you've always got to ask yourself if you're using the toy because it makes swimming easier. The answer can be "yes" occasionally, but it suggests you should be limiting how much you're using that piece of equipment. I think pull buoys, paddles and fins all fall into that category.
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.
There's a great and foolproof way to measure the efficacy of your training with or without equipment:SWIM IN MEETS. This is after all the only true yardstick. So if after a reasonable period of time your meet speed increases than the training worked. If not you have fallen into the "toy trap" which is where your technique with the various pieces of equipment improves but the sum of the parts is not equal to the sum of the whole. Pulling, kicking, snorkel swimming are all great but they are means to an end and if your meet speed has not improved than you need to discuss with your coach a better training regime.
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?
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Mostly, unless there is an injury I am trying to work around, I try to go with the approach of using a toy sparingly then immediately integrating it into full stroke work. I don't find a set of say " 500 with Toy" nearly as useful as "10 x 50; odds with toy, evens full stroke". If you can feel the positive improvement immediately after ditching the toy, it's probably doing you some good. Likewise, If you notice the toy bring to light faults with your stroke mechanics, even if you only slip occasionally, it's likely doing some good in heightening your awareness.
For me - my freestyle paddles used sparingly are brilliant. My kickboard is a piece of junk that puts me in poor alignment and I notice a better transfer of power to full stroke swimming when I kick in streamline only.
