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
Former Member
i shun the regular use of swimming aids. in certain situations, especially in learning, i think swim aids are useful. but in the final analysis i'm in the same camp as geochuck on this one, leave them alone. then again i don't swim with a group, so i can see how that would be awkward (which is one of the primary reasons i don't swim w/ a group). :-o
personally i've almost never used swim aids/tools (like pull buoys and kick boards). like some other folks here i feel they disrupt the flow and balance of my stroke. but i think the best thing to do is what feels good for you.
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. hummmmmmm....
i've had very little coaching and instruction in my many years of swimming. i was doing front quadrant swimming before i knew it existed as a specific term/technique (it just seemed like the natural thing to do). i've done a lot of personal study, especially in recent years with all the info on the web (including this forum), but mostly i've just tried to get a feel for the water. i must be doing something right because a 3 time olympic gold swimmer who has made a career out of swimming/coaching recently complimented my front crawl.
don't forget to have fun with your swimming.
Former Member
In general I've found men prefer paddles to women.
Kirk-
I'm assuming that you're generally referring to men preferring paddles for swimming more than women prefer paddles? The alternative (men preferring paddles to women) would be a discussion for another forum. :censor:
Former Member
I agree on the kick boards, they hurt my shoulders now (they didn't when I was younger).
I vaguely recall that kickboards were a lot bigger 20+ years ago, and I don't think it's just that I was smaller and thinner then. They'd keep my whole upper body out of the water practically, and we'd swim tandem in the lanes chatting rather than working. The kickboards I've tried now barely keep my head out of the water and I just prefer going without them.
Pull buoys I do like though.
Former Member
My swim teacher again tried to get me to use a pull buoy last night, and I gave it a whirl, trying to be open to it. Immediately after my lesson, my shoulders were ACHING and still ache today. The tendon that runs down the center of the medial deltoid keeps twanging in my left arm. Yuck.
I've noticed that among the teachers I have worked with as a swim student, many if not most have a strong attachment to/dependance on the board and buoy. I say I don't want to use those tools and prefer to do drills without or with fins, and they seem unconvinced that I know what I'm talking about, and try to coax me to "get used to it". I'm frustrated. I'm a big girl, but I feel like I'm taking on an institution here, like there are more people than not that can't imagine life without the kick board and the pull buoy.
On a happy note, though, I did my first real flip turn last night!
Former Member
If you know that something hurts your shoulder, DO NOT do it. Be firm about it. Better to skip the pull buoys than to be injured and not be able to swim at all.
Anna Lea