PT paddles

[birdyman]

Anyone tried these? Any good for improving efficiency? I swam a couple of lengths at the pool yesterday with them on (a bloke in the next lane had a pair). Very unusual feeling as it makes your hands slip through the water, thus forcing a better forearm shape or something.

http://www.swimsmooth.com/ptpaddles.html

[jonathon.e]

I don't use the PT ones but I have a pair of TYR ones, they are good, BUT, you need to be careful as they can cause injury, due to the excess strain on the arms, but they do work for me. Which is really not a great advert for them

[IanM]

I've got a pair of those, and IIRC they're very good. I was using them fairly regularly until my local Bannatynes got whiney about someone with paddles and banned all usage of them. I've since changed gyms so really should give them a go again.

[ris]

i've got a pair and use them intermittently. for me i find they are about improving rotation to breathe and encouraging a bit of forearm catch. they are bloody bouyant, which is good for encouraging a long stroke and improving feel for the water when you remove them, so i tend to go alt 50s with them on and off. i also use them a bit for one arm drilling.

bit niche though, and i only use them once a month or so at the moment. worth a go, and i'd say they are less of a risk than a tech or power paddle as they aren't increasing the surface area on your hands so don't overwork the shoulder.

[birdyman]

Thanks all - I am not yet at the stage where I need them so will just concentrate on actually getting fit + confident enough to tackle 3.8km, just in the case the need arises, cough cough.

[Bopomofo]

Thanks all - I am not yet at the stage where I need them so will just concentrate on actually getting fit + confident enough to tackle 3.8km, just in the case the need arises, cough cough.

Please don't just keep hammering away at poor technique until you can do it for 3.8km, though. 200m sets maximum, please, and ideally 100m sets of mixed strokes and drills. Throw some 200m sets into your sessions every 2 weeks-ish at first, then build them into more of your session. Stick in a continuous 1500m effort once a month-ish to give you confidence.

As my coach says... swimming one length perfectly is better than swimming loads badly. Also, if you can keep good form all through your swim you will exceed your expectations.

Also, swim 'off' a time. So for 100m sets maybe swim off 2 minutes: every 2 minutes you start a 100m swim. Swim fast, get more rest. Swim slow, less rest. Pick a time that would give you about 20s rest for a hard 100m swim (not a sprint, not dawdling).

[Britspin]

..or you could simply clench your fist, tight for a small 'paddle', looser for a larger 'paddle' cheap effective & goes everywhere with you.

[birdyman]

Thanks all - I am not yet at the stage where I need them so will just concentrate on actually getting fit + confident enough to tackle 3.8km, just in the case the need arises, cough cough.

Please don't just keep hammering away at poor technique until you can do it for 3.8km, though. 200m sets maximum, please, and ideally 100m sets of mixed strokes and drills. Throw some 200m sets into your sessions every 2 weeks-ish at first, then build them into more of your session. Stick in a continuous 1500m effort once a month-ish to give you confidence.

As my coach says... swimming one length perfectly is better than swimming loads badly. Also, if you can keep good form all through your swim you will exceed your expectations.

Also, swim 'off' a time. So for 100m sets maybe swim off 2 minutes: every 2 minutes you start a 100m swim. Swim fast, get more rest. Swim slow, less rest. Pick a time that would give you about 20s rest for a hard 100m swim (not a sprint, not dawdling).

I'll meet you halfway Bopo.

At the moment I am swimming approx 25 minutes for 1000m, (ie about 2 1/2 mins for every 100m) and I am very focussed on maintaining form. I am generally swimming with a pull buoy, but am not pushing for more speed. But i am not built for swimming at all, weedy shoulders etc, so the 'plan' to which I am working is 1000 m 3 times per week, which will (I hope) balance some endurance, with not so far so as to affect form, with the practical consideration of fitting a swim in during lunch.

I'll make sure that at least one session a week is as you suggest. A lot of this is about achieving specific muscular fitness for me. I can't over stress quite how bad I am at swimming and how much the whole things freaks me out. I looked at a Swim Smooth coaching session, but they are hideously expensive.

[birdyman]

I did 100m sets today as ordered, and did not use the pull buoy. It was extremely depressing as it once again demonstrated how utterly shit I am at swimming. But it also demonstrated that it is a question of practice / specific fitness, as the first three lengths of each set I was (broadly) fine for, and it was the last that I was a bit ragged. I have probably been relying on the pull buoy a bit too much. If this is where I am after all the swimming that I have done this year, that is even more depressing. How unfit must I have been a few years ago when I was swimming once a week, breast stroke only??? Ridiculous.