It amazes me how many people just jump in the pool and swim
lap after lap without incorporating “toys” into their workout. Mixing it up a
little will not only bring variety to your swim sets but also improve your
performance. These toys are great to use if you are a causal swimmer,
competitive or triathlete. And best of all, they are not very expensive. Many
pools have pull buoys and kick boards available for members to use at no charge,
so no need to buy your own unless you want to.
Here are some must have toys for your swim bag:
- Swim Fins – These are small fins that add resistance (more surface area) to help strengthen your kick. It also forces you to point your toes which will help when not using fins.
- Pull Buoy – This is a small flotation support device you put between your legs to help you concentrate on upper body workouts. It helps to improve body positioning, develops sound swimming techniques and helps you refine bi-lateral breathing.
- Paddles – These come in all shapes and sizes. They go on your hands and can be used with our without a pull buoy. Using paddles let you “feel” the water better, thus improve your technique. Larger paddles increase resistance and can help build strength. But caution, incorporate paddles slowly into your workouts. Over use of paddles can cause shoulder injury.
- Kick Board – Using a kick board with or without fins is a great workout for strengthening your legs thus improving your kick. One kicking routine I like is called tomb stoning. On your stomach with the kick board in front, submerge the board about halfway so it sticks out of the water looking like a tomb stone. The added resistance pushing against the board will give you a great kicking set. If you have back issues, you can lose the kick board all together and do streamline kicking. Just lay on your back, hands straight above your head with your hands one over the other in a streamline position.
If you have paddles and fins, try Faddling. This is where
you swim with one fin, and one paddle on opposite sides. So left hand paddle,
right foot fin. Swim a 100 yds and then swap. Forces you to feel each stroke. I
like to do 4x100. Start with nothing and swim 100 free. Then put on one paddle
and one fin, swim 100 free. Next swap sides and swim another 100 free. Last 100,
use both paddles and both fins. See how different it feels each 100 yds.
Some optional toys to consider:
- Swim Snorkel – This is a center mounted snorkel (unlike the ones on the side of the face). It lets you concentrate on your strokes without having to turn your head to breathe. It can also help with building lung capacity.
- Metronome – This is a really cool device that fits under your swim cap. It gives off an audible beep and can be set at a specific pace. It’s great for developing stroke consistency and keeps you on pace during solo training workouts.
- Lap Counter – If you space out during your workout, lap counters are great for keeping track of where you are in your set. Some are sophisticated enough to count strokes and laps for you automatically. Just set the stroke (free, breast, back or fly) and the pool size and it does the counting for you.
- Swim tethers – For a great cardio workout, tethers secure you to the end of the pool and now you can swim in place with resistance. Some tethers have like surgical tubing and can stretch almost to the end of the pool. I’ve done workouts where you have to try to swim to the other end of the pool while tethered. You can’t stop swimming or you’ll shoot back to the other end.
So add a little variety to your next swim workout. Pool toys
are not just for kids. Do you have a favorite swim toy or workout? Share it
with me.
Enjoy the ride (or swim)
Sheri
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