Swim Fins Helpfull or a Crutch?

I had to look at the thread subject line twice. I though it sad, "Swim Fins Helpful ON a Crutch." Man, crutches are hard enough as it is, without trying to use them with swim fins. And fins on the crutch itself? That would be fun to watch, but probably not fun to try... Seriously, though ... There are people who regularly swim at the same lap time I do. They'll wear fins and paddles for the whole workout, day in and day out. Some swim a mile or 2000 yards straight. Every day. I'm sure they get a fine workout, but I wonder how effective they would be if their boat capsized a mile off shore. But maybe that's what it takes to get them in the pool, and I'll never begrudge anyone whatever assistance they need to keep at it -- whatever their workout is. And then last year I got injured. Ruptured my left quatriceps tendon. Had to get it surgically reattached. Took forever to rehab the thing. Still working at it. When I was first allowed in the pool, two months after surgery, I swam everything with a pull buoy. The knee hurt too much to kick. (And I don't even kick hard. It's just enough to keep my ass up.) Then I started slipping in 50 yards without the pull buoy every 300 yards. Then 100s. Eventually 50% of the workout without the pull buoy. And finally full workouts without the pull buoy. But that's not where the victory ended. I started doing a little with fins. Then more and more. Now, once or twice a week I do the majority of my workout all kicking. On those days I do 2500 with the fins. Half of each length is SDK, half flutter. I do these for a couple of half mile intervals at about 50-55 seconds per 50 yards. And then some more at a more relaxed pace to finish off the remainder. I've been doing these for the past few months now, and over that time I have greatly increased the strength in both legs, and especially the injured one. And I've grown the circumference of my upper thighs from 56 CMs (measured at the end of my rehab stint) to 64 CMs in about 5 months. I still have a crappy kick without the fins. Maybe some day I'll care enough about that to work without the fins. But this is what keeps me improving now, and nobody's opinion is going to make me feel any less satisfied with the progress I'm seeing. And I consider that my yards all "count" (as if anyone else is counting anyway!)

What bothers me is when people use fins to make a set, or move up a lane that they otherwise couldn't keep up in. It is a real drag to swim behind someone wearing fins. If you are the only person in your lane wearing fins during a swimming set, please take them off. I'm not fully understanding this. For example, there was one day the coach put me into a faster lane because of space issues. Now, I could have held up the lane, but I figured it would be better to put my fins on and keep up. I don't see where I got in anyone's way -- in fact, it was the exact opposite. To the topic at hand, though, perhaps it's people wearing fins when others are not that contributes to the feeling that fins are "cheating." I felt a little bit like that myself, but not because I wasn't getting a good workout. The only reason you wouldn't get a workout with fins is if you lowered your effort level (in other words, if you swam at the same speed you would ordinarily without the fins). In another thread, I asked about intermediate length fins (longer than zoomers, shorter than regular long fins). I don't know if it's my imagination, but they feel very fast to me, perhaps because I can do a relatively fast tempo with a fair amount of power. So, I have to make sure that I am putting out effort and not just lolly-gagging along.

What exactly is the problem swimming behind someone with fins? On any given day in my usual lane we all occasionally use fins and no one has complained. Fins create one hell of a wash when the person is kicking hard. I can certainly understand and agree with the opinion that one should try to stay out of others' way when using fins. I only go first if I know I'll finish with more than 5 seconds lead time. If not then I go last. Sometimes I wait 10 or 15 seconds instead of 5, to ensure plenty of room.

Thanks so much! I assume these are all out efforts. I'll bet it is a pretty tough workout. Can I ask (I hope I don't end up feeling stupid for asking this), but what does "AFAP" stand for? And what are "shooters?" (Underwater SDK kicking?) Thanks again! No problem! AFAP = as fast as possible Shooters are 25s or 50s done completely underwater SDK.

Fins create one hell of a wash when the person is kicking hard. I can certainly understand and agree with the opinion that one should try to stay out of others' way when using fins. I only go first if I know I'll finish with more than 5 seconds lead time. If not then I go last. Sometimes I wait 10 or 15 seconds instead of 5, to ensure plenty of room. I swim with people who kick hard enough without fins to create a hell of a wash. :agree: One guy in particular moves a lot of water when he swims by in another lane, let alone the one I'm in, but I just tell myself it's all good experience for open water swims. :D I also find that the 10 second rule tends to work well whether or not folks are using fins.

Thanks so much! I assume these are all out efforts. I'll bet it is a pretty tough workout. Can I ask (I hope I don't end up feeling stupid for asking this), but what does "AFAP" stand for? And what are "shooters?" (Underwater SDK kicking?) Thanks again! Yes, Leslie does all of the above in one workout. It is indeed very tough.

I don't really care if other people use their fins for part or all of a workout - don't pay that much attention. I will use my fins when appropriate and if I cover the distance - it counts.

Wow, I do so many different ones. You can check my blog to get an idea. But ones I do frequently are: lactate sets: 8 x 100 @ 2:00, hold best average 10 x 50 @ 1:00, hold best average -- I frequently kick these w/fins or monofin. speed sets: 6-8 x 50 AFAP @ 3-4:00 4-5 x 100 broken AFAP 100s (broken for 15 seconds at 50, 15 seconds at 75, last 25 kick) @ 7-8:00 3-5 x 100 @ 8-9:00 8-10 x 25 AFAP shooters -- 25s, 50s, 75s 10 x 30 seconds strong vertical dolphin kicking with fins + right into fast 25 UW shooter + 25 EZ 9 x 100 @ 2:00, every 3rd one fast -- I'll kick or swim these sets or do some of both. I do recovery swimming between the fast efforts. Sometimes I don't even bother with an interval. The key thing is that you are going at absolutely max effort on these sets with ample rest between each effort. Thanks so much! I assume these are all out efforts. I'll bet it is a pretty tough workout. Can I ask (I hope I don't end up feeling stupid for asking this), but what does "AFAP" stand for? And what are "shooters?" (Underwater SDK kicking?) Thanks again!

No problem! AFAP = as fast as possible Shooters are 25s or 50s done completely underwater SDK. Had a feeling this was a dumb question, but just had to ask!!! Thanks!!! :blush:

sharing a lane with someone who had long fins is no big deal. I'd be a little nervous with a monifin though, especially a stiff one.