I would like to start a discussion on some of the training "toys" available, but I don't want the discussion to get tossed by the moderators. I'm not sure what the forum guidelines are for discussing specific commercial products. I certainly haven't been able to figure it out from various threads. Here's what I think though:
generic toys such as pull buoys, basic paddles and fins seem to be okay
discussing specific brands of tech suits seems to be okay, perhaps because the manufacturers don't seem to participate
certain training devices (which for now shall remain unnamed) seem to be more-or-less discouraged from the forums, at least in part because the inventors/vendors of those products are active participants
Do I have that about right? If so, I'd propose that it's okay to discuss specific training tools as long as the people selling them don't participate in the threads, just people like me with no financial interest in such stuff, other than the lightening my wallet would undergo if I purchased them. Would it be okay for those with a financial interest to respond via PM to specific posts in a thread? Would it be okay for such people to respond to the thread if their messages contained a disclaimer?
Comments please...
Skip Montanaro
Parents
Former Member
I just got some fistgloves a couple of weeks ago, and I've been using them during warmup, which is typically about 800 to 1000 yards. Prior to getting the gloves, I used to swim bare-handed with closed fists. The gloves make it a lot easier to relax and focus on technique. They also make make my hands feel huge and uber-sensitive when I take them off. The first couple of times I used them at the beginning of my workouts, I was way more tired than usual during the main set, much quicker than usual. I think it was because some of the stroke adjustments made during the warmup rubbed off and lingered into the main workout. I must have been pushing more water, which made me get tired in a way I normally didn't.
I've used zoomers for years, but lately I've been leaving those at home in favor of the longer, stiffer fins they have at the pool. The zoomers don't stretch my ankles out enough, all they do is give me a harder leg workout. When I use the longer fins, I get a hard workout, go much faster, and feel loose and smooth when the fins come off.
I don't like the pull buoy, especially not for distances > 200, but we use it pretty frequently so I try to make the best of it. Sometimes the pull set falls within my warmup period, so I pull with the fistgloves on. That's kind of fun, in a sort of masochistic way... trying to keep up with the people using paddles.
On the rare occasions that I swim with paddles, I use yellow Tyr catalysts with the wrist straps removed. Sometime I take all the straps off, or just flip them over, and swim breaststroke. That's one of my favorite drills.
I like the tubing too. It's been awhile since we've used it, but I find that swimming a few hard sprints with the tubing is a great way to end a workout. It really helps work out the dead spots in my stroke.
At this point the only pool toys I'd still like to try are a monofin and a SwiMP3.
Oh, and I'm still looking for those mythical goggles that don't leak.
I just got some fistgloves a couple of weeks ago, and I've been using them during warmup, which is typically about 800 to 1000 yards. Prior to getting the gloves, I used to swim bare-handed with closed fists. The gloves make it a lot easier to relax and focus on technique. They also make make my hands feel huge and uber-sensitive when I take them off. The first couple of times I used them at the beginning of my workouts, I was way more tired than usual during the main set, much quicker than usual. I think it was because some of the stroke adjustments made during the warmup rubbed off and lingered into the main workout. I must have been pushing more water, which made me get tired in a way I normally didn't.
I've used zoomers for years, but lately I've been leaving those at home in favor of the longer, stiffer fins they have at the pool. The zoomers don't stretch my ankles out enough, all they do is give me a harder leg workout. When I use the longer fins, I get a hard workout, go much faster, and feel loose and smooth when the fins come off.
I don't like the pull buoy, especially not for distances > 200, but we use it pretty frequently so I try to make the best of it. Sometimes the pull set falls within my warmup period, so I pull with the fistgloves on. That's kind of fun, in a sort of masochistic way... trying to keep up with the people using paddles.
On the rare occasions that I swim with paddles, I use yellow Tyr catalysts with the wrist straps removed. Sometime I take all the straps off, or just flip them over, and swim breaststroke. That's one of my favorite drills.
I like the tubing too. It's been awhile since we've used it, but I find that swimming a few hard sprints with the tubing is a great way to end a workout. It really helps work out the dead spots in my stroke.
At this point the only pool toys I'd still like to try are a monofin and a SwiMP3.
Oh, and I'm still looking for those mythical goggles that don't leak.
