Pull buoys and kick boards-I just hate them SO much!
Former Member
Am I all alone in this?
I am a newer swimmer, aspiring to join our local masters group, however, I loathe pull buoys and kick boards! I love doing kick drills with no board, it feels purer and more ergonomic. Kick drills with a board torque my neck up and shoulders out of line and make me feel like a slow barge to nowhere. As for pull buoys, I just don't get the benefit. They throw me way off balance and are so distracting that I can't really focus on just my arms. Wouldn't using fins for the arm-focused drills be equally beneficial?
I ask because these crutches I mean tools seem to be an intrinsic part of the masters workout, and I'm worried that if I eschew them, I will throw off the timing of my lanemates, or somehow not fit in to the group flow.
Am I a budding purist or an inflexible whiner? Should I just get over it and use the board and buoy? Or is it acceptable to adapt the workout without these items?
Willow
in a related thought: there have been a number of threads on shoulder problems here, and i wonder how many of these folks use paddles, which i would think would way over torque the shoulders and lead to injury.
I use BIG paddles quite a bit and haven't had shoulder problems. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I really don't think paddles contribute to shoulder injuries. Another guy I swim with uses paddles constantly in practice--we're talking way more than 50% of out total yardage--and to my knowledge he's never had shoulder problems, either. He uses the largest size (green) Strokemaker paddles.
In general I've found men prefer paddles to women.
in a related thought: there have been a number of threads on shoulder problems here, and i wonder how many of these folks use paddles, which i would think would way over torque the shoulders and lead to injury.
I use BIG paddles quite a bit and haven't had shoulder problems. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I really don't think paddles contribute to shoulder injuries. Another guy I swim with uses paddles constantly in practice--we're talking way more than 50% of out total yardage--and to my knowledge he's never had shoulder problems, either. He uses the largest size (green) Strokemaker paddles.
In general I've found men prefer paddles to women.
