So much faster with a pull buoy

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

orca1946 — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 10:41:31 GMT

Think of a log when swimming. a straight position with out any "hanging" branches and that seems to help me keep a better position.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 08:11:23 GMT

I'm with Mike. Agree with what he says. As for a "drill": When I wear a buoy, I almost always wear a strap around my ankles. The buoy keeps my legs afloat, and the strap keeps me from kicking even a little. This quickly exposes any imbalance issues you have in your stroke - the ones that are counterbalanced with a split of the legs (the kind of split that creates drag and slows you down). For me, it's the best way to keep my stroke in check and in line. The reactions I get from people who do this "drill" for the first time are remarkable. Most only take a few strokes before they stop and exclaim how "out of control" they feel. Many end up rolling over on their back because they don't have that crazy countering, split leg kick to keep them on their stomachs. I like to use a dolphin kick to balance my stroke. I'm afraid of getting an addiction to the buoy, as some put it. I'm also very aware of the leg spreading technique associated with maintaining balance. Using a dolphin kick in warm up help me to stay aware of imbalances caused by my legs....

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:34:30 GMT

The main reason why I use a pull bouy is that it forces a tempo change. I feel that one should adjust their stroke draw and turnover rate according to the distance of the race and exhaustion factor. Pull bouys make me change my stroke.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:06:14 GMT

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:12:07 GMT

hey Steve, don't give up on the pull bouy yet, they can be pretty useful. there are probably a lot more good reasons but here are a few. you will learn how it feels to swim with proper body position. then you can use different head position or other technique change to get that feeling back when swimming full stroke. after a tough set, pulling is one way to keep the aerobic work going without your stroke falling apart from fatigue. using a bouy even without paddles overloads the arms. breaks up monotony of swimming thousands of yds freestyle. forces a faster turnover.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:15:27 GMT

I'm faster with the buoy - and *totally* eff'n frustrated by it. As far as that TI before & after video - I'm totally the 'before' swimmer which sucks. I guess I need to get the TI book and learn and do what it says - I sooooh want that style. Help! Thanks! I've always been faster with a buoy & paddles. Its all about that extra floatation you get with the buy to lift your hips and butt....you are expending any energy to keep them up. As far as the stoke, pull "can" make you swim a little too "flat" rather than really working on the extension of your hands/arms and rotation of the hips. As far as the kick, being a distance swimmer I've always swam little the "after" swimmers with the little flick kick. Having just started back 18 months ago after 15 years off its starting to come back to me.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

__steve__ — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:00:51 GMT

I wonder if the problem IS the bouy itself, by becomming dependant on aft quadrant floatation. I tried a bouy once for the hell of it, and sure enough, swimming was effortless. I immediately stopped, thinking this can't be productive. I'm sure it may be beneficial with certain drills for concentration in other areas though, but I'm staying away from pull bouys.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

ande — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:32:06 GMT

in the "AFTER" he's moving with much less effort & much more ease, which allows him to hold a better pace over longer swims, his legs are still most of the time and he's doing a quick flick kick to get a little propulsion & maintain body position.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

mattson — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:22:56 GMT

here's a T I BEFORE & AFTER Video Ande, thanks for pointing out the videp. I was thinking that his "before" swim looked pretty good. Until I saw the "after". Now I'm going to have to think about what I'm doing, and where I'm wasting energy with "slop".

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:55:46 GMT

I found swimming with just the band very difficult at first, but with practice and a focus on using my abs to keep my legs high and balancing by pressing my chest down, it has gotten much easier (and has really helped my swimming beyond the drill). Another thing I found helpful when I first started the drill was rotating my whole body when my legs started to sink, so that I could translate that downward motion of the legs more into rotational momentum. That's not a very good description, but that's the way I thought about it while I was swimming and it helped. This is a great description I find, absolutely. The purpose of this drill is to get you to find YOUR own way to improve body balance. You know, with several drill come several side effects. So called Catch Up may favor dropped elbow bug. With the band around, there's not any side effect that I can think of. Translating leg sinking momentum into rotational momentum is great (it just can't be bad). However, like you smartly pointed out, the real benefit becomes apparent when you remove the band and experiment a smoother than usual full stroke. Congrats!

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

ande — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 09:45:57 GMT

here's a T I BEFORE & AFTER Video YouTube - TI Freestyle Before and After Can anyone suggest drills to help me swim as fast without a pull buoy as I do with one? I work hard at practice 5 days a week and make incremental gains every so often. But my improvement over the past year can't compare to the amount I improve when I grab a pull buoy. So - I need to be working on my body alignment? Keeping my legs high in the water? Strengthening my abs? I try to work on all of those things but I would really appreciate any drill or workout ideas. Thanks!

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:22:49 GMT

Do those of you with strong kicks feel a connection between the timing of your kick and the timing of your stroke, or are they independent? Either/or. I 6-kick as a habit, although I can bump it up when I have to. When I'm swimming my best, everything's coordinated. When I'm fatigued, I notice my kick pace can become disconnected from my stroke pace. My advantage in the kick is that I have a long torso and short legs, so I can expend less energy for a faster kick.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:24:00 GMT

I found swimming with just the band very difficult at first, but with practice and a focus on using my abs to keep my legs high and balancing by pressing my chest down, it has gotten much easier (and has really helped my swimming beyond the drill). Another thing I found helpful when I first started the drill was rotating my whole body when my legs started to sink, so that I could translate that downward motion of the legs more into rotational momentum. That's not a very good description, but that's the way I thought about it while I was swimming and it helped. Swimming with the band might come really easily to people who have swum their whole lives and feel completely impossible to people who haven't. I have found that to be true of a lot of drills and advice from veteran swimmers. The nice thing is that as I work at swimming and develop the muscle memory and little stabilizing muscles that lifelong swimmers have, advice that made no sense for a long time can become clear all of a sudden.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

slowfish — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:44:42 GMT

very interesting thread..so much so that i got a tire tube and wrapped it around my ankles today while pulling. while there was no dramatic "ah ha" moment, when i took off the band and just swam, i was much straighter. i plan to add this to my toy pile from now on. i had a completely different experiece when i decided to take off the pull buoy and swim with just the band. this proved to be fairly impossible. my legs went straight to the bottom. i couldn't keep my feet up for anything. is this something i *should* be able to do and there is something about my stroke that is limiting my ability to do this? Or, are the physics of such a stunt just impossible?

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:38:03 GMT

Work on/play around with your hip to chin alignment and swimming downhill. I've tried focusing on raising my butt up to kick. You could just be cursed with muscly and heavy legs which means you're more of a sprinter type than a distance type. Float with no kick: if you float like this __ you're a distance swimmer if you float like this \ you're a drop dead sprinter if you're somewhere between __ and \ you're mid distance. if you float like this ~ you're a butterfly expert if you float like this V you're future is in synchro swimming if you float like this & you're a noodler so move over to the open swim area the last 3 are jokes but the first three came from a coach...doesn't mean you cannot overcome them.. but it takes work.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:16:15 GMT

For me, and it's a repeat of some of the other astute posters above, it's all about head position. If my head is up, as happens in short course crowded 5-second sendoff workouts, my back/butt sags so that when I rotate, there's an automatic fishtail. It's hard to feel, but makes me so "angry" when I can tell, usually happens as I tire out towards the end of a workout. The buoy exaggerates that feeling if you try to keep your legs in alignment, so it makes it easier to feel the corrective action of putting your head down and pushing down a bit with your chest. Personally, spine alignment seems to be the key concept, and kebab seems the appropriate visual metaphor. Good luck, happy laps.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:54:44 GMT

There's one thing that I don't think has been mentioned.. Why do you do a split kick?? My guess is because you're off balance somewhere in your stroke and you are naturally trying to counter-balance for it with that kick. Do you cross over the midline of your body at some point of the pull? Do you pull wide somewhere?? Action-Reaction. Some of the suggestions here are valid. Kick smaller and more consistently, better body balance starting with your head and working your way down. Press your body against a wall and get your entire spine to make contact with the wall. Not easy - is it? What muscles are you using to do it? Abs? Lower Back? Probably both. Good swimming posture requires both.. Engage those exact same muscles, now in the water and think about swimming taller and not looking to low or high. You should be able to kick with the tip of the heels at the surface - 2, 4 or 6 beat kick. If the kick is small/tight enough, you can't get too low if your heels are that high. Food for thought..

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:46:14 GMT

Where can you get a band for your feet? My Masters Team doesn't use them? Ram - Of all of the odd things you can use, try a vacuum belt. They make them in varying sizes and they give just enough to get them around the feet/ankles. I get them for the kids I coach. They hate me for it, becaues they work, but it's because they hate me that I know it's doing the right thing - preventing much of any movement at the feet. They are usually only a couple of bucks and very little drag at all. Life is hard enough without adding more drag... I usually go to a vacuum shop, but I think they may even be at a grocery store or Target/Wal-Mart.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:07:06 GMT

Do those of you with strong kicks feel a connection between the timing of your kick and the timing of your stroke, or are they independent? The less you kick hard (e.g. 2beat kick) the more important this connection becomes. IOW, when you kick as little as possible, these kicks (2 per cycle) must fall at the right time (timing wise). I have a strong kick, but I do not use it in a distance swimming scenario. Although this connection is important even for sprinting, I find it is even more crucial for 2beat kick free style.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

nandestafney — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:47:06 GMT

I don't get this at all. I'm a bouy hater. I pretty much just flop from one side to the other like a fish out of water with the bouy. I'm a very small older woman and I can't sink a bouy or a kick board into the water even if I use the childrens' size. Suggestions?

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

__steve__ — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:01:08 GMT

I float more like this / -&- is very funny, striking resemblence to what I saw this morning. Do you cross over the midline of your body at some point of the pull? The day someone told me my hands crossed at the front was the day that I started to improve (3 weeks ago:)). I've always had crazy legs, but when I first corrected the crossover, I was then able to effectively press the "T" popping the feet up by pushing armpit/chest, and use a 2 kick properly. Result, 40 seconds faster 500M than one month ago, this is with just a moderate effort! Even though it's still slow by intermediate standards (8:50), I'm finally improving. My 50M also dropped 2 seconds to 0:34. I never tried a bouy yet. Breathing will be the next thing for me to fix, I drift at times.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

funkyfish — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:03:17 GMT

Do those of you with strong kicks feel a connection between the timing of your kick and the timing of your stroke, or are they independent? I have a somewhat strong kick and when it becomes wholly integrated into my stroke I can definitely feel the connection. It feels like there's less of a load on my arms and shoulders, yet my legs don't feel overworked either. Unfortunately I don't always achieve this while swimming (maybe 40-50% of the time). Also, I swim slower when using a buoy and just pulling.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

funkyfish — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:33:18 GMT

if you float like this \ you're a drop dead sprinter Guilty! It's kinda funny because my wife teaches swim lessons for kids & adults…she knows not to use me as an example of "how to float". Every time I try to float on my back I sink completely, starting with my legs. :banana:

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

ourswimmer — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:13:30 GMT

Do those of you with strong kicks feel a connection between the timing of your kick and the timing of your stroke, or are they independent? Arms and legs are coordinated. When I first started to work seriously on a six-beat kick, though, I felt as if my legs were just flailing around. To feel as if I had the right arm/leg timing, I had to go pretty slowly and think. My snorkel helped. Eventually after months of just making myself do it I started to feel more organized.

RE: So much faster with a pull buoy

Former Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:56:09 GMT

I have been doing the band drill regularly and have been finding it really helpful. Tonight at practice, at the end of a 200 sprint, the coach said "that was really fast." I have never gotten that reaction before :bliss: Thanks so much for all of your tips!