Using a pull buoy at Linslade Crusaders
A pull buoy is a float which is designed to be placed between the thighs or ankles to provide support to the body while swimming without using the legs. The buoyancy of the pull buoy helps the swimmer maintain a good body position in the water, leaving them free to focus on their upper-body technique. It can have a secondary benefit of allowing the swimmer to focus on timing and/or their breathing action, as well as isolating parts of the stroke.
…… Continue Where used correctly, it complements front crawl and backstroke. For breaststroke and butterfly, the added buoyancy in the legs can prevent a swimmer from effectively undulating (as the added buoyancy pulls them back up to the top of the water) and can make it hard to replicate the correct stroke technique. However, there are drills for even these strokes where a pull buoy can be used to improve technique. Yes. A pull buoy is generally a figure of eight shaped float (but not always). If the pull buoy is too small it does not provide enough buoyancy, allowing the legs to sink. If it is too big it provides too much buoyancy, causing the upper body to tip over and the legs to come out of the water. Girls generally require smaller pull buoys than boys. Older swimmers generally require bigger pull buoys than younger swimmers. With basic pull buoys the number of lines is a good indicator of the buoyancy it provides. The figure of eight may not be symmetrical, so which way up may allow small adjustments to the buoyancy it gives. You also need to consider the width of the pull buoy. If the pull buoy is too wide it will push the swimmer’s legs apart, increasing drag. The swimmer then feels that position is natural and may swim with their legs apart as their default position. This can cause them to drag extra water up the pool with them. The pull buoy may also present a profile to the water. The more it sticks out from the swimmer’s body the more drag it will create. This may be seen as a positive, because the swimmer has to work harder. However, with younger swimmers the focus is generally on technique and slowing them down may make their legs more likely to sink. There are various pull buoys which are designed to be more streamlined, a couple of examples of which are below. Using the arms without rotating the body: Rotating the body is key to both front crawl and backstroke for power through the stroke. The body should roll through the water, with the recovering shoulder raised out of the water and reducing drag. When using a pull buoy some swimmers do not rotate the lower body at all. Others may rotate the hips, but not the feet. As the hips rotate the legs turn sideways with one foot in front of the other instead. When we swim front crawl and backstroke, the head should stay still and the body rotate from your shoulders through to your toes. When we use a pull buoy we still want this rotation. How to fix it: Stretch from head to tip toes, lightly engaging the core, and rotate the whole body – a bit like a kebab on a skewer. Another good visualisation is to imagine you are standing with good posture making yourself as tall as possible, with your toes pointed along the surface of the water. Kicking legs (this is definitely cheating): This can happen for a number of reasons including lack of knowledge of how to use a pull buoy, an inability to isolate the arms from the legs, an automatic reaction to a lack of speed or a feeling the legs are sinking. How to fix it: Firstly, most swimmers do not realise they are doing it so often it can be cured by discussion and practice. Secondly, the swimmer needs to ensure they keep their core engaged (which goes back to making yourself as tall as possible…) Disengaging your core: The swimmer over relies on the pull buoy to keep them up, which causes their legs to sink. How to fix it: When using a pull buoy, stretch from your head to your tip toes, lightly engaging your core and allow your whole body to rotate – a bit like a kebab. If you’re unsure how to engage your core imagine you’re standing with good posture making yourself as tall as possible. Even though we’re not using them, keep your toes pointed along the surface of the water. The back arches because the pull buoy is adding too much buoyancy: This tends to happen to swimmers who have a naturally good body position or whose pull buoy is too big. The pull buoy adds too much buoyancy and lifts their legs out of the water. To compensate the arch their back to keep the legs in the water. These swimmers find that by adding a pull buoy, it adds too much buoyancy. In order to keep their legs in the water, they arch their back. Not only does this promote bad body position but it can also lead to back pain. How to fix it: Some pull buoys have more buoyancy than others – usually the bigger ones. Others, such as the swim keel, are designed to sit just under the surface of the water. A change of pull buoy is probably required. The legs swing out behind the swimmer: This tends to happen where there is a lack of rotation, the core is dis-engaged or the arms are pulling too far away from the body line. How to fix it: The swimmer’s coach needs to work out why the problem is happening and provide guidance on how to cure it. …… LessWhy use a pull buoy?
Does it matter what pull buoy I use?
Common mistakes when using a pull buoy
Using a kickboard at Linslade Crusaders
Kickboards are floats most commonly used to isolate the lower body while swimming to enable focus on kick technique and leg strength. They have been used since the 1940’s and are a great aid when learning to swim.
…… Continue A standard shaped kick board has a curved front end and two hand holes near the front. The swimmer simply holds the float out in front of them, with their hands through the hand holes, gripping over the top of the float or, for a more streamlined position, holding the back end of the board. They then try to get their body in a horizontal position at the surface of the water and begin the leg kick. It is easier to start with a strong push-off from the wall than standing in the pool. The swimmer should turn their head to the side to breathe, not lift it up. To practice backstroke leg kick, the swimmer should simply lie on their back and either hug the float to their chest or hold it behind their head flat on the water, to help keep the body at the surface as they kick. More streamlined kick boards are available, such as these. As swimmers progress they may find they use the kick board less. This is because technique development will work on a streamlined position in the water and kickboards can cause the front of the body to sit up, the legs to drop and place the neck in extension, increasing the risk of neck strain. The leg action also changes when a swimmer is more upright, with the kick coming from the knee and not the hip. Kickboards are not recommended for endurance use. This is because swimming with a kickboard can increase stress on the shoulders and lower back, making injury more likely. You should never swim with your kick board under your body. The buoyancy of the kick board lifts the chest up and increases risk of lower back strain. Kick boards increase drag, even if held flat in the water. Certain manufacturers have started to develop alternatives to the standard kickboard. Two of the more radical examples of this can be seen here. …… Less
Using hand paddles at Linslade Crusaders
Using hand paddles at Linslade Crusaders
Hand paddles come in various shapes and sizes. The smallest are known as finger paddles, because they sit on the fingers and not the hand (see right). Some also have things like fins and others have various holes in them. Some hand paddles are regarded as universally applicable across all strokes, whereas other paddles may be stroke specific.
…… Continue Why use hand paddles at all? What happens under the water can be as important, if not more important, than what happens above the water during swimming. However, coaches will often struggle to see what is happening underwater due to a combination of the reflection of light off the surface of the water, the disruption in the water caused by the movement of the swimmers, the swimmers’ bodies obscuring the view and the division of their time throughout the swimmers they are coaching. Even if the coach is able to identify stroke errors they often have to wait until the end of the mini-set before they can feed back to the swimmer. The efficiency of the catch and pull is the single greatest difference between good and great swimmers. Hand paddles, when used correctly, give immediate and direct feedback to the swimmer on what they are doing. If the hand enters at the correct angle and follows the correct path the hand paddle moves smoothly through the stroke. If the hand enters at the wrong angle or following the wrong path through the water the hand paddle will become unstable, letting the swimmer know they are getting it wrong. They can help swimmers learn to use the entire arm, with good hand positioning and strong catch holding the water through the entire stroke. At a simple level the hand paddle also increases the surface area of the swimmer’s hand. The argument goes that the bigger the hand the stronger the pull – the stronger the pull the greater the fitness benefit. However, for younger swimmers the additional strain placed on the shoulder, particularly if technique is executed poorly, can cause injury with excessive use. That is why hand paddles are best introduced in the controlled environment of a swimming club as the swimmer works on improved technique. Does it matter which hand paddles I use? Absolutely. You should be looking for a hand paddle which is the right size and shape and is designed for the stroke you intend to use it on. For a starting paddle you should consider a “junior” paddle, not an adult one. A standard hand paddle looks something like this: The holes in the hand paddle will have the effect of reducing the drag/resistance caused by the hand paddle and may also guide the paddle through the water. However, the straps cover most of the hand and will give additional stability which undermines the ability of the hand paddle to give feedback. If you had this type of hand paddle we would recommend you adjust the straps so the hand paddle is only attached to the middle finger. A more advanced version would be this: Note the greater number of holes, to reduce resistance. However, the wrist strap is more substantial and therefore more likely to get in the way. Hand paddles such as the Finis Freestyler Paddle are designed specifically for freestyle technique development. Common mistakes when using hand paddles… Do not use them too soon. If you have poor technique to begin with they are more likely to cause injury than improve technique. Do not use them for too long. In the early stages of using hand paddles we do not recommend any more than about 10 lengths. Do not buy the biggest you can find. Fast swimming is a combination of strength, technique and turnover rate. Larger hand paddles may increase the resistance too much, slowing down the speed of the stroke and having a negative effect overall. Do not compensate by spreading your fingers to add greater stability. The whole point is to receive feedback on what your hands are doing underwater. Spread the fingers out and you counteract the instability which provides feedback …… Less
It is shaped like and arrow-head with a keel underneath. There is only one strap to attach it to a finger. If the hand goes into the water at the wrong angle, or with a dropped elbow, the body of the paddle causes increased resistance. If the hand does not follow a straight path through the water the paddle twists, meaning the hand is less likely to cross over the midline as you extend forwards or pull through and unbalance the stroke. This reduces the risk of shoulder injury and provides better balance, which also tends to reduce the size of the kick.
The best all-round hand paddle is probably the Finis Agility. There are no straps to worry about. The thumb goes through the hole in the paddle and the swimmer has to keep a light pressure on the paddle throughout the catch and pull otherwise it just falls off. The paddle itself is slightly curved, promoting a good high elbow position for the catch.
Using fins at Linslade Crusaders
Why use fins?
The main benefits of using fins have little to do with working your legs and everything to do with improving your swimming technique. A proper kick technique is narrow and compact. The best kick is short and fast, not big and powerful.
…… Continue We use fins to increase the swimmer’s speed through the water, reducing the reliance on arms, helping to improve their posture and keeping their hips high in the water. The increased resistance of the fins can help swimmers kick from the hips, not their knees, and improve the strength of the up-kick. The buoyancy of the fins and increased speed can also lift the legs to the surface, reducing drag. This can help the swimmer focus on a particular aspect of the stroke, such as hand position, because the stroke rate is lowered and the body is more stable in the water. Technique is also less likely to deteriorate due to fatigue in the shoulders. It can also help with more advanced drills, which may not be possible without fins, and head position for freestyle and backstroke. Ankles should flex when you kick. Using fins regularly for a small portion of your workout can help to increase your ankle flexibility. Fins can also be used to help improve cardiovascular conditioning and fitness, but only in a controlled programme. The more muscles you use in the body, the greater cardiovascular benefits are felt. Adding fins to the equation for a portion of your training means there is an increased load and greater resistance in the water. This leads to a much more challenging workout with even more fitness benefits. However, overuse of fins can, in some cases, also be detrimental to swim training. They can cause excessive fatigue to the legs, with associated loss of technique, or even injury. We do not use short fins for breaststroke, except for the breaststroke arms/freestyle legs drill, because the added resistance in the whipping action of the kick can place excessive force on the ankle, which can lead to poor technique and/or cause injury. It is about technique, so bigger or longer is not better. You should look for “short” or “training” fins and avoid “long” or “snorkelling” fins. Comfort is also important, so consider the flexibility of the fins and the heels. The most common materials used in fins are silicone or rubber. Silicone fins are usually more supple and cause less rubbing on the foot. Stiff fins can make the swimmer go faster but are less comfortable. Soft fins are more comfortable but may bend too much when power is applied. We would suggest softer fins are more suitable for younger swimmers. Fins come with either open or closed heels. Open heel fins usually have a strap to hold them in place. They can give more flexibility, but can feel less secure than closed heel fins and can tend to squeeze the toes through the hole in the fin. We suggest closed heel fins, but if selecting a stiff fin you may find these would dig into the Achilles heel and an open heel fin is better. Some fins are available which are specifically designed for breaststroke. These can be expensive and we do not ask our swimmers to buy these as part of their kit. In general terms, a good fitting fin should not cause blisters and if they do we suggest you consider changing them. Some swimmers find petroleum jelly is useful to lubricate the area and reduce rubbing. Other swimmers have been known to wear thin socks. Special socks can be bought, at a price. That very much depends on the pool and you should check with them. They definitely cannot be used at galas, even for the warm-up. …… LessWhat are the best fins to buy?
What if they cause blisters?
Can I use them when swimming at other times or pools?
