fly with fins a good idea?

The two reasons I've heard so far are (i) helps with timing and (ii) lets me swim more fly. They seem pretty reasonable...but my experience mirrors FlyQueen's, it messes up my timing. I wonder why our experiences differ from those of others. I think the "Nemo" drill (3-4 kicks per stroke) is another option that can both work on timing and allow you to extend your fly range to longer distances (it is tiring but less so than regular fly). But, a warning: the coaches at our age-group club specifically won't let the youngest kids use this drill b/c they think it too hard to master the timing! So maybe it is only a good drill if you already have decent timing in fly. The range of people's reactions to fins is interesting. I own a pair but if they disappeared from my swimbag I probably wouldn't bother to replace them (I haven't even used them since the summer b/c I only like to use them LCM). But we had a fast kick set yesterday and one person -- she doesn't have a swimming background but is incredibly fit -- used them and just loved them. She commented that using fins was the first time she felt she had something to "push against" while kicking. I don't have that problem at all (my legs were certainly spent after the set) and I wonder if -- in her case at least -- it was an issue of ankle flexibility. This story interests me as I've seen several triathletes in lanes next to me experience what this young lady experienced. I want to help them (I keep my mouth shut) as I see them doing the same thing day in and day out. (There are a few exceptions.) I was thinking that total flexibility was a problem. When I watch them sans fins, their kick actually looks painful. I'll see flexed feet; an excessively wide kick; overly bent knees; no kicking from the hips; the list goes on. So, I'm thinking it's flexibility, technique, and a general lack of feel for the water. I know when I ditched the hand paddles and swam or pulled without them, I developed a much better feel for the water and I became a faster swimmer. I improved with paddles but I had a larger improvement in speed the less I used them. That's why I wonder if fins prevent you from developing a feel for the water. It's just different kicking with fins than without fins. . . So what I see is that their kick will improve somewhat when fins are added (they are faster and the fins help diminish some of the technique issues.) However, that being said, when the fins come off, it's right back to what they were doing before. It's a continual cycle. Leslie has had a different experience and result from fins. But I don't think she falls in the average Jo swimmer/ triathlete category.

The two reasons I've heard so far are (i) helps with timing and (ii) lets me swim more fly. They seem pretty reasonable...but my experience mirrors FlyQueen's, it messes up my timing. I wonder why our experiences differ from those of others. I think the "Nemo" drill (3-4 kicks per stroke) is another option that can both work on timing and allow you to extend your fly range to longer distances (it is tiring but less so than regular fly). But, a warning: the coaches at our age-group club specifically won't let the youngest kids use this drill b/c they think it too hard to master the timing! So maybe it is only a good drill if you already have decent timing in fly. The range of people's reactions to fins is interesting. I own a pair but if they disappeared from my swimbag I probably wouldn't bother to replace them (I haven't even used them since the summer b/c I only like to use them LCM). But we had a fast kick set yesterday and one person -- she doesn't have a swimming background but is incredibly fit -- used them and just loved them. She commented that using fins was the first time she felt she had something to "push against" while kicking. I don't have that problem at all (my legs were certainly spent after the set) and I wonder if -- in her case at least -- it was an issue of ankle flexibility. This story interests me as I've seen several triathletes in lanes next to me experience what this young lady experienced. I want to help them (I keep my mouth shut) as I see them doing the same thing day in and day out. (There are a few exceptions.) I was thinking that total flexibility was a problem. When I watch them sans fins, their kick actually looks painful. I'll see flexed feet; an excessively wide kick; overly bent knees; no kicking from the hips; the list goes on. So, I'm thinking it's flexibility, technique, and a general lack of feel for the water. I know when I ditched the hand paddles and swam or pulled without them, I developed a much better feel for the water and I became a faster swimmer. I improved with paddles but I had a larger improvement in speed the less I used them. That's why I wonder if fins prevent you from developing a feel for the water. It's just different kicking with fins than without fins. . . So what I see is that their kick will improve somewhat when fins are added (they are faster and the fins help diminish some of the technique issues.) However, that being said, when the fins come off, it's right back to what they were doing before. It's a continual cycle. Leslie has had a different experience and result from fins. But I don't think she falls in the average Jo swimmer/ triathlete category.