Today, for the first time ever, I decided to use paddles for my workout. It seemed simple enough. I've watched the age groupers and other masters swimmers. I grabbed a pair, put my fingers through the catches and started on my way. It seemed to be fairly easy to use them The first few laps seemed quite easy. Then about halfway through, the paddles started to float off of my hands. I kept stopping to secure them between sets, but it just kept happening. Everytime I would get into a rythym, they would loosen and start floating off. I was using these Strokemakers. I did notice that there was only tubing in place for the finger catch, not the wrist catch. Could this have been the problem?? Was it incorrect technique that was causing them to float away from my hands? Other than the floating problem, they worked really well. Suggestions?
Parents
Former Member
Does the tubing get loosened, or do the paddles of get pulled off mid-stroke?
If they get pulled off mid stroke (and it's not the fault of the tubing getting too loose) you may be letting your hand twist sideways or in some odd direction, where the water force gets between the paddle and the hand, and pulls it off. If you hand starts going sideways, most often there's enough force there to pull the tubing out of the paddle. I don't know if that's a safety feature, so your hand doesn't get sprained, in case it twists with too much force.
It can be a bit of a balancing act at first to find a good 'handfull grab' with the paddle on, and not twist your hand sideways. maybe as you got into the groove, and became less aware of the paddles on your hands, you started doing something with your hands that you are unaware of. That happens. Wrist strap is not necessary to keep the paddle on your hand.
When we do underwater video analisys, we often see people do things with their hands, that they're not aware of, and that we often don't see under water. I've seen plenty of people slide their hand through the water leading with, almost the wrist first, letting the hand bend backwards, or slide it sideways though the water, not getting a good 'hand and forearm-full of water to pull on'. Both of those could cause the paddle to get caught and pulled off.
If that's not the case, it's not unheard of to have defective tubing. If you don't see any visible flaws or elasticity problems with it, If you swim with other people, ask a teammate to switch paddles for a few laps, and see if the same thing happens to you or them. That'll help you figure out if it's the technique, or the paddle itself :)
HTH :)
Does the tubing get loosened, or do the paddles of get pulled off mid-stroke?
If they get pulled off mid stroke (and it's not the fault of the tubing getting too loose) you may be letting your hand twist sideways or in some odd direction, where the water force gets between the paddle and the hand, and pulls it off. If you hand starts going sideways, most often there's enough force there to pull the tubing out of the paddle. I don't know if that's a safety feature, so your hand doesn't get sprained, in case it twists with too much force.
It can be a bit of a balancing act at first to find a good 'handfull grab' with the paddle on, and not twist your hand sideways. maybe as you got into the groove, and became less aware of the paddles on your hands, you started doing something with your hands that you are unaware of. That happens. Wrist strap is not necessary to keep the paddle on your hand.
When we do underwater video analisys, we often see people do things with their hands, that they're not aware of, and that we often don't see under water. I've seen plenty of people slide their hand through the water leading with, almost the wrist first, letting the hand bend backwards, or slide it sideways though the water, not getting a good 'hand and forearm-full of water to pull on'. Both of those could cause the paddle to get caught and pulled off.
If that's not the case, it's not unheard of to have defective tubing. If you don't see any visible flaws or elasticity problems with it, If you swim with other people, ask a teammate to switch paddles for a few laps, and see if the same thing happens to you or them. That'll help you figure out if it's the technique, or the paddle itself :)
HTH :)
