I don't use these often, and I wonder if one can become a good swimmer without them? I think of folks who grew up near water and are "natural" good swimmers; I'm sure they didn't need these tools to learn swimming? Nothing wrong with using them, but I don't seem to have the patience to use them. Today I just kicked across the pool without kickboard and it felt fine.:agree: Can't we improving the kicks without using the kickboard? Samethoughts about the fins and pull buoys... Am I missing something?
I don't use any toys these days, though I did grow up training with the full complement. Part of the reason I don't use them these days is that I hate to have to worry about carrying anything more than a swimsuit, goggles and water bottle. However, I am thinking about starting to use some of them selectively after this next taper meet is over.
Things I don't use today and probably won't in the future: kickboards and pull buoys because of the distortion in body position. I agree 100% with Jim's post on these.
Things I don't use today, but am contemplating:
Paddles -- I kind of think these might be useful for me as they might do a better job of building some swim-specific muscle groups that I don't hit exactly right in the gym, but I go MUCH slower with them on and that frustrates me.
Fins -- I've finally begun to kick in my freestyle events this fall (I'm a recovering 2-beat guy) and realize I need to further build up my kick. I've talked with enough folks about fins that they seem like something that could be useful.
One toy I still don't understand the value of: snorkles. What's the rationale behind training with these? I believe it is to focus completely on stroke technique without having to worry about breathing to the side. Where I have problems in maintaining my freestyle catch, though, is when I'm breathing, so I'm not sure how this would help my form. Are there other reasons to use these?
I don't use any toys these days, though I did grow up training with the full complement. Part of the reason I don't use them these days is that I hate to have to worry about carrying anything more than a swimsuit, goggles and water bottle. However, I am thinking about starting to use some of them selectively after this next taper meet is over.
Things I don't use today and probably won't in the future: kickboards and pull buoys because of the distortion in body position. I agree 100% with Jim's post on these.
Things I don't use today, but am contemplating:
Paddles -- I kind of think these might be useful for me as they might do a better job of building some swim-specific muscle groups that I don't hit exactly right in the gym, but I go MUCH slower with them on and that frustrates me.
Fins -- I've finally begun to kick in my freestyle events this fall (I'm a recovering 2-beat guy) and realize I need to further build up my kick. I've talked with enough folks about fins that they seem like something that could be useful.
One toy I still don't understand the value of: snorkles. What's the rationale behind training with these? I believe it is to focus completely on stroke technique without having to worry about breathing to the side. Where I have problems in maintaining my freestyle catch, though, is when I'm breathing, so I'm not sure how this would help my form. Are there other reasons to use these?
