I bought a Finis snorkel a few years back but I just do not enjoy swimming with it. I find I hold my breath more per 25 than I do in an underwater or hypoxic 25. I haven't even tried doing a flip turn with it yet.
Anyone else go through a similar adjustment phase when they started working with their snorkel? How did you get used to it?
The only way you'll get used to it is by using it. Yes, there's a learning curve, but eventually you'll get the hang of both swimming and turning with it.
I bought a Finis snorkel a few years back but I just do not enjoy swimming with it. I find I hold my breath more per 25 than I do in an underwater or hypoxic 25. I haven't even tried doing a flip turn with it yet.
Anyone else go through a similar adjustment phase when they started working with their snorkel? How did you get used to it?
Like you, I struggled when I got mine about 2 years ago and so I just ignored it until just recently when my coach started giving me sets that I needed to use it for. I'm finally starting to develop a level of comfort with it while swimming easy and have even learned to flip with it. For me, I think it was just a matter of forcing myself to use it. I started by doing pull sets with it and have gradually progressed to swimming without any equipment. The only advice I can offer is to just hang in there and it should get easier as you use it more.
I never flip with mine. It was too much trouble to clear, and I had to wear it uncomfortably tight to keep the tube in the center of my forehead on the underwater push off the wall. I just figure open turns offer me a couple more strokes on each length to work on, which is kind of the point of using it for pulling anyway.
Breathe in a regular pattern -- because you can! -- and exhale through your nose to help with that water going up nasal passage directly to brain feeling. That part gets better after a while; it's pretty unpleasant at first.
I recently started using mine for kick sets, at least the ones with boards. I'm a really lousy kicker, especially with a board, and I think it has helped with my body position and efficiency. I was never a social kicker anyway, being constantly out of breath and dropped in the first 25m of your average mellow social kick, so I'm not missing out on catching up with the latest from my lanemates by having my head down.
I generally don't try and swim very fast with it, just focus on stroke. Try starting nice and slow and get a regular breathing pattern going.
I do think it's a great tool for correcting pull issues, and use it sparingly but regularly.
Here's a hint for doing turns with a snorkel: when you're ready to push off the wall try to brace the snorkel against one of your arms. This will keep it from flopping around too much.
You've basically got two options for clearing the snorkel off the walls. You can either continuously exhale throughout the turn (thus keeping the tube clear) or forcefully exhale when you surface (to clear the water).
I just got one recently and have still not got the hang of it. After maybe like 400 yards max done as 25s with this, I resorted to buying a noseclip to wear with the snorkel, the combined look really emphasizes the 'dorkel' moniker. I'm still struggling with it, but I've removed the nasal distraction so I can focus on my technique. Flip turns, even with a noseclip, seem like a dreamworld away.
It does take some time to get accustomed to using the thing. The turns are the hardest part for sure. I'm going to try what Kirk suggested with bracing the arm against it on the turn, since I get through the turn a different (and not the best) way. Another option is instead of 'squeezing your ears' on the pushoff, you can lift your head and look directly at your overlapped hands- depending on your snorkel design, this may help lay the snorkel down a little more with the tube facing backwards. Of course, don't make that a habit during your swimming without the snorkel :) Good luck!
Why in the world would anyone want to use a snorkel. Can it be used in a race??
Will it really help you??
It would help if you are looking for fish.
Snorkles are about as useless as swim paddles, kickboards, or fins.
Well, they may be useless to you, but as a "mature" swimmer, I know from experience that each of these "tools" has helped me to be able to swim faster when I'm not using them. I use each item sparingly, and with purpose.
The snorkel has been especially great for relieving shoulder strain during kick sets, and for removing the breathing cycle while working on improving my technique. Whether kicking or swimming, I can keep my head perfectly horizontal, looking down at the bottom of the pool (something I need to do to "swim downhill", right?).
One of the surprising things I discovered when I started using a snorkel, is that I can internally clamp off my nasal passages at will.
