Intuitively, I would think fins would be detrimental to learning a good flutter kick as they encourage too much knee bending and not enough streamline.
I disagree, but I guess it depends on what kind of training/sets you do with the fins. There are plenty of things you can do with fins to reinforce streamline position, and we did one tonight - swims with X# kicks off each wall.
Yeah you wouldnt use fins for the whole workout.. just short bursts of using fins.
www.riverfallsswimclub.org/why_fins.htm has a few reasons why.
That seems to cover all the reasons I have heard in the past. Except for reason #4, which im not really convinced about
1) Improve Body Position and Technique
2) Develop Leg Strength
3) Increase Ankle Flexibility
4) Increase fitness and Cardiovascular Conditioning
5) Fast Swimming! (Get a feel for swimming fast).
About when to use fins, that is a very good point. Especially for those who are just beginning (or getting back into swimming), you don't want to develop a dependency on them so that they become a crutch. When speed is an issue, use them for speedwork, not for extra speed to make an interval (though if you're doing something like a 4x through kick set and struggling during repeat #3, putting on fins for repeat #4 isn't such a bad thing).
The point #4 is pretty simple- your legs use a lot of energy! If you're doing something with fins, you're probably doing something fast and/or very energy demanding by nature. Adding the fins does make it easier, but it also increases the demand for energy to move the extra surface area.
Intuitively, I would think fins would be detrimental to learning a good flutter kick as they encourage too much knee bending and not enough streamline.
I disagree, but I guess it depends on what kind of training/sets you do with the fins. There are plenty of things you can do with fins to reinforce streamline position, and we did one tonight - swims with X# kicks off each wall.
Yeah you wouldnt use fins for the whole workout.. just short bursts of using fins.
www.riverfallsswimclub.org/why_fins.htm has a few reasons why.
That seems to cover all the reasons I have heard in the past. Except for reason #4, which im not really convinced about
1) Improve Body Position and Technique
2) Develop Leg Strength
3) Increase Ankle Flexibility
4) Increase fitness and Cardiovascular Conditioning
5) Fast Swimming! (Get a feel for swimming fast).
About when to use fins, that is a very good point. Especially for those who are just beginning (or getting back into swimming), you don't want to develop a dependency on them so that they become a crutch. When speed is an issue, use them for speedwork, not for extra speed to make an interval (though if you're doing something like a 4x through kick set and struggling during repeat #3, putting on fins for repeat #4 isn't such a bad thing).
The point #4 is pretty simple- your legs use a lot of energy! If you're doing something with fins, you're probably doing something fast and/or very energy demanding by nature. Adding the fins does make it easier, but it also increases the demand for energy to move the extra surface area.
