Paddles! Hooah! What are they good for?

"Paddles! Hooah! What are they good for?" Shoulder pain, for one... :cane:

Re: Paddles! Hooah! What are they good for? Absolutely Nuthin!

I got shoulder problems from my first (conventional) pair of paddles. Now I have a pair that are shaped like the hull of a boat and sort of work the opposite way to the conventional flat ones - slippery. They actually do seem to improve my catch, mainly because I'm forced to keep my hand relaxed and anchor my whole forearm. (The difference is apparent when I take them off - my hands feel bigger, similar to the Fistglove effect. NAYY.) I don't use them very often - they weigh a ton and I have a fear of whacking a lane mate on the head with them and putting him or her into a coma.

I don't ever use paddles. Too much stress on the shoulder. However, I used the EVF paddles for a few weeks and ended up with a shoulder problem - bursitis/capsulitis. Don't know if there is a connection between the use of those paddles and my shoulder problem, but I put the EVF paddles away for good. Someone want to buy a pair cheap?

I think it's safe to say that if you're getting the improvement you're looking for from the equipment you're using, you should stick with it, if not, try something that will. If you have a predisposition to shoulder problems be careful using anything that may aggravate the pain. If any kind of shoulder pain pops up you should immediately stop what your doing. Don't try to be stoic an swim through the pain. Although shoulder pain can be caused by many things, the very beginning of a stroke and at the moment of the recovery is where a lot of shoulder problems begin and are aggravated. This is when a knowledgeable coach may help you recover from the pain and even eliminate the causes of your pain by changing your stroke mechanics. Forearm or EVF paddles are technical tools and are in a different ball park than hand paddles. There are forearm trainers out there that have been used successfully without causing any pain by swimmers with severe shoulder problems (a swimmer with 1 intact rotator cuff tendon told me that she could use forearm trainers without feeling pain). Nuff said about EVF trainers. I think there's a lot of great training aids that can increase your swimming performance. Most training equipment that's used correctly (read the directions) is safe and can be very helpful. Good luck and train smart. Coach T. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So the rival florist hired Hugh Mac Taggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.

A fellow lap swimmer uses paddles with holes throughout the surface. It seems that they would put less effort on the shoulders...? I don't know what they are called. Maybe they are the TYR ones that have been commented on this thread.

Thanks all! Some good tips here, including ice scraping in a pinch! :) George--do you think just swimming or certain drills for the underfwater part? Coach T--are EVF paddles expensive? I do some fist drill and over barrel drill sans fins right now to try and capture that feeling. Good news is there will be a coach available to me for the summer up to 5 nights a week, so I can hopefully get some hands on analysis etc!

Swim Stud I am not a drill guy either. I like to watch someone swim and actually be in the water and make their hands do the position I want them to do. I am an instructor of swimming. I take into consideration the movement I want them to accomplish and try to make it happen.

A fellow lap swimmer uses paddles with holes throughout the surface. It seems that they would put less effort on the shoulders...? I don't know what they are called. Maybe they are the TYR ones that have been commented on this thread. I have a pair with holes that I really like a lot, called Stingray paddles. They are contoured too. (I have no affiliation with the company.) But I don't believe that the holes make it more shoulder-friendly; the paddle shape might do so, however. I have been blessed to be almost completely free of shoulder problems (knock on wood) through 35 years of competitive swimming. The major lone exception was one summer in college when using paddles with backstroke; I actually felt the "snap" in my shoulder during the backstroke pull and I was done for the summer. I now use them only in freestyle for long, low-intensity swims, DPS work, to emphasize/feel the "catch," and to keep up power once off the weights during taper. Maybe 2X a week during the season and almost every day during taper time, until the last week.

We do a lot of sets with paddles but I usually leave them in the bag. I have these monstrous TYR Catalyst paddles and they put a beating on shoulders. I've heard smaller ones are much easier on the shoulders. I'm just too lazy to go buy them. Plus, Sunday is Father's Day (aka The Forgotten Holiday) so we'll see if my hints have been effective. Put a pull buoy with paddles and that is a sweet dream set.