Hello Fellow Swimmers,
I have been back in the pool for about 11 months after a 35 year absence and have steadily made progress and now want to start working on my stroke. I have noticed that when we do pull sets, I can move at a pretty reasonable speed (10 x 100M free on 1:40 with me consistently hitting the wall at about 1:30) without killing myself. I do not use paddles but do use a buoy during pull sets. In my lane, I notice that I can keep up with those who use the paddles except for a few of the faster ones. ( I characterize myself as an average speed swimmer)
I have noticed that many of the folks in the fast lane were pulling out their paddles when working on a 1:25 interval for the 100 free sets. That is a pretty quick interval and I do not think I could make a full set of ten at this time.
So, I have been toying with the idea of using paddles during pull sets. I am an "upper body" swimmer with a pretty good pull technique and I wonder if it would help me increase my strength or just be a crutch. I say that because I ditched my fins about six months ago and it made me a much better kicker.
What are everyone's experiences out there? Is shoulder injury a worry? I have never used these things and would love to have input on their strengths and weaknesses.
Thanks
I swear at paddles and refuse to wear them. Back in Age Group and High School days (mid-80's) they were popular with my coaches. My doctor thought they were a contributing factor to an injury I had, I tend to agree with him. After that, I reduced my paddle use and did not experience any additional problems.
In college, we did not use paddles at all. We were a Top-10 Division III program and my coaches were top-notch. They tended to use a lot of kick sets and pulling along with TONS of IM. No paddles needed, we all swam pretty good.
My person opinion is that paddles put too much stress on your arms and shoulders. I also think that the feel you get from them is unnatural and distorts your training. My preference is to use different stroke drills (fists, fingertip drag, etc.) to work on attaining good "feel" whilst swimming. YMMV so don't take what I have to say as Gospel.
...oh and not using paddles saves space in my bag :)
I used paddles for a few laps at workout yesterday. I was flying! Lokslike these will work best with me for about 400 meters of swimming at most. Then back to swimming without paddles. It really helped my stroke placement and I felt myself catching more water during my pull.
Doug,
I agree that paddles can be a source of injury and have been very specific in using them. No more than 400 meters per workout when I do use them and only when I am warmed up.
So far, so good. I have noticed that I started to have a nice residual effect in the rest of my workout and started to get ahead of my lane mates in a way that had not happened before. We are the medium speed lane.
But I am also at my one year aniiversary of returning to the pool after a 35 year absence. My coach had told me it would take about a year before I would get my speed up to my older levels. So, the change in my progress is probalby more attitrbutable to a change in my development and fitness than the paddles.
That being said, I was just videotaped and had my coach do a stroke analysis, which was my first stroke class in my life. While it was rather depressing ot see all that I do wrong, it is encouraging to see that I have loads of things to work on that should help my speed. And no paddle ever made will help me until I get my stroke mechanics in order.
The great thing about swimming is there is always more to learn. Keeps me young.
Rob
