The equipment

18.0 Why swimming equipment is not a good solution

Equipment changes our perceptions because it involves modifying our movements. For this reason, it should be used with caution and in a reasonable way. If you use equipment at any given time, it should be considered as a means of training or learning and not as an end in itself. The aim is not to make progress with the equipment, but to swim without it. So we mustn't lose sight of the objectives and goals we're aiming for when we add equipment

It's like when you do a technical exercise, except that with the equipment, your sensations are different and so they distance you from the full swim. That's why after your exercises, using equipment or not, you'll have to go back to full swimming.

18.1 Swim fins

There are several types of fins; long and short. Depending on their size, fins are not used in the same way and most importantly do not work the muscles in the same way.

Whatever their size, flippers will make you work all the muscles in your legs: your buttocks, thighs and calves. But also certain muscles such as the abdominal belt and the back

First of all, the long fins (about 30cm) will give you a deeper workout, mainly using the buttocks. You'll be working on wide movements that start at the hips, so you'll be working this muscle group in particular. This is more of a muscle workout, which will require strength in the legs rather than speed. The length of the fins means you'll need a lot of range of movement to move your whole leg, so you'll be working more on strength and endurance than speed,

Then you have the short fins (around 10cm), also known as «zoomer» fins, which will allow you to increase your rhythm and kick faster. They're closer to the speed you can reach without fins. They are therefore used more to work on speed and endurance. With these fins, you can burn more calories and eliminate cellulite. Of course, you'll have to use them

We can sometimes notice that some people put fins on for full swims but don't use them. So they're going to be more of a brake than anything else. If you add equipment it's to use it, otherwise it's useless

Fins can be used for several purposes; losing weight, building muscle or swimming at a faster speed. Lose weight and reach over-speed with short fins, build muscle with long fins

Why over-speed swim with short fins?

Overspeed swimming is done in the front crawl, backstroke or butterfly. It allows the swimmer to acquire a high speed and therefore to develop different coordination skills. They will have to adapt, especially in the upper body, to maintain propulsion through the arms.

18.2 The floats

There are several types of float board. They vary in size. The bigger they are, the more they float. It can be used in several ways

Its primary use is with the hands resting on it, the upper body motionless, to work on the legs. This use of the float board allows you to work on leg endurance. So don't hesitate to do several lengths in this position. If you only have a short distance to cover with your legs, there's no need to use the float board, just work on your alignment at the same time

The float board can also be a hindrance to your progress with your legs, so we're talking more about muscular work here. Rather than putting it flat, place it horizontally, in opposition to the direction of movement, and at least half underwater. In this exercise, the board will be used as a brake and you'll need to use more strength in each movement to manage to move forward despite this.

18.3 The pull-buoy

It can be used in all swims and in many exercises. It allows you to keep your legs at the surface without effort (its primary use). It therefore allows you to focus on your arms, while still remaining stretched out. But this can also be done without a pull-buoy, and it's better that way. If the pull-buoy isn't there to keep your legs at the surface, you'll have to adopt the right position for your legs to float. That means stretching your neck (not looking forward) and extending your arms forward, without stopping behind. However, if you use the pull-buoy, the risk is that you'll focus only on your arms, forgetting to extend your body

There are several ways of positioning it, the highest being between the thighs, which is the easiest and requires no extra effort. It can also be placed above or below the knee, which will give you a bit of exercise. Finally, it can be placed around the ankles, which is where it will be most difficult, as you will need to sheathe the whole of the lower body, starting from the abdomen. The ankle pull-buoy allows you to work your abs and adductors (inner thigh muscles), as it forces you to close your legs to hold the pull-buoy in place and to sheathe your abdomen so that your legs don't go flying off in all directions. Make sure you position your head correctly here, as your feet float. If you bend your head forward, your back will be arched and you may experience pain.

Between the legs, the pull-buoy is placed like this: the larger side behind (on the side of the buttocks), the smaller side in front. Sometimes there's no side bigger than the other

Here's a type of design:

The pull-buoy can also be used in the hands. It can be used as a board, for example, as it is smaller and provides less support on the water. It can also be used as a reference point. For example, on a 1 arm exercise, it can be in the hand of the arm that is not moving, to act as a reference for the other hand

Also pay attention here to the position of the head; if it's raised too often, you'll be arched and lower back pain may occur.

18.4 The pads

There are several types of paddles, finger paddles and simple paddles. They don't have the same size, and therefore don't have exactly the same use

Finger paddles only cover half of your hand, particularly the fingers. They vary a lot, but the basic ones have 2 elastics, one for all 4 fingers (except the thumb) and one higher up for the middle finger.

Here's what a finger pad looks like and how it should be put on :

The risk with finger pads is that you won't be able to propel yourself properly. Finger pads mean more resistance in the water when you push backwards. So you have to use more force than usual. This often results in a loss of movement, with the elbow moving backwards rather than pushing with the hand and forearm. The advantage of small pads is that they offer little resistance, so they're a good place to start. Learn to perform the movement correctly with the finger pads before moving on to the paddles.

What can be interesting to avoid a bad movement in the swim is to remove the bottom rubber band and leave only the middle one. In this case, if you don't position your hand correctly, you'll feel the plate moving away from your hand. Especially when you put your hand in the water, the pad should stick to your hand. If it doesn't, you can work on this technical aspect

The paddles are larger and cover at least the whole hand, and can be much larger than the hand. They also have 2 rubber bands, one at wrist level and the other higher up for the middle finger

This is what a paddle can look like, there are lots of different shapes and different ways of putting them on (without rubber bands or put on differently).

With these paddles the size of your hand, or even bigger, you have a lot more resistance when propelling yourself underwater. And therefore greater force to apply. The risk with these plates is injury, particularly to the shoulder. Pads involve a significant increase in the propulsive surface area and therefore an extra load on your shoulders. Be careful not to do too much at once or you risk injury

To use the paddles correctly, your movement must remain the same as in the full stroke. You can use them to get a better feel for the propulsive phase. In fact, the plate will force you to really accelerate your arms backwards if you want to complete the full movement

When you return to the full stroke in the pads, you may have the impression of lacking support, of 'passing through the water' without really acting on it. This is normal and is due to the reduction in resistance when you remove the paddles. Don't use them too regularly, or you risk seeing your swimming sensations and therefore your movements deteriorate

Finger pads can be used in all strokes, without too much risk as they don't have a very large surface area

Paddles are best for crawl, and even backstroke, but they won't be much use in breaststroke, as small pads are enough. In breaststroke, the propulsive phase of the arms isn't very large and needs to remain fast. Because of their size, the pads will alter your movement rather than improve it. If you're experienced, you can also use them for butterfly, but again, be careful with your shoulders, as that's where they'll be put under the most strain.