Fins! By the way: #gtncoachescorner Could you please further break down some of the channels playlists? E.g. the categories swim, bike and run are extremely long and rather useless, as beginners content is mixed with pro, technique with tools or training plans. I would rather see less videos a week, but be able to make more use of the existing videos. Also, I would enjoy, if you rather dive into topics very deeply and make 5 vids out of it instead of touching the topics surface every year again. Thanks a lot in advance! Nonetheless I am really happy about the content! It helped me tremendously to find a start in triathlon!
Finally, someone's explaining the mystery of all that swim gear! I've seen swimmers lugging around bags full of stuff, and I'm curious to know what it's all for.
@@themagic5goggles haha no way! Can’t risk them coming off as I get out the pool. Have to do the walk of shame back home but thankfully the pool is down the road from me.
that reminds me of a training camp situation...when I had packed my swimming essentials in the luggage that got delivered to our hotel late the next day... so always put these things into your hand luggage as well... otherwise, your coach will not be happy with you :D
Center snorkel is my favorite by far. It improved and evened my stroke out in a matter of weeks. I would always breathe on 1 side and had an uneven stroke
In my swim workouts I use only a kick board and occasionally a pull buoy along with other structured swim sets that focus on technique. I used to use hand paddles snorkle ect. just in normal swim sets based on distance. I really didn't get faster until I started using structured sets. If I have a Ton of kicking drills I'll use fins but generally all my kick sets are without them. Nice Content GTN..😃
@@gtn Generally One Arm drills with a kick board give me the most focus on my stroke and help me understand my catch. Second Favorite is got to be 10 x 50 sprints. I know, nobody likes sprints but they help you understand stroke efficiency and I "try" to do the with +/- 1 second times. When I'm swimming well after drills I'm within 1/2 a second. Least Favorite is long sets with negative splits. Say 400-500 negative split.
Hi GTN Thanks for the video review of the swimming kit. I want to get a kickboard, pull boy and hand paddles. What would you suggest for paddles full size or short ones is there a difference? Does the forward snorkel help a lot, with drag I have a few already as I scuba dive. I wear a short wet suit 3mm with a full body rash guard. I also have my Garmin Forerunner 955 that goes everywhere with me. I use a drink bottle already to refuel myself but I did not think that we sweat in the pool, that's something new I learned. I have my fins and I use a swimming parachute in my kit. It really pushes me to work that extra hard with my swim sets.
Small paddles are great for all levels. I was a pro swimmer for years and I spent way more time swimming with small paddles than bigger ones. Think of it like weight lifting, smaller paddles allow you to work on your technique without risking injuries, and trust me, you will feel a stronger pull still. As for center snorkels, they definitely make a big difference from scuba diving snorkels if the goal is to swim more freestyle or pool swimming in general. A standard scuba diving snorkel will pull your head in one direction which is not great for your body position. Also, you will not have to worry about touching the snorkel with your arms as you swim. Both paddles and snorkel are great investments in your swimming :)
Well, I swim a lot, but don't run at all. Doctors told me I needed zero impact sports after getting both hips and a knee replaced... Pool/pull buoy: Tried one once and it didn't do anything for me. I guess it can help you get the 'feel' of what it is supposed to be like when you are planed out and have good posture in the water. It does not fix the problems. There are 2 main problems that cause the feet to sink, and probably in equal parts. One head is too high, and two is gut/abs are too relaxed. Kick board. I guess it might be okay to use when you are just learning to swim, but after, get rid of it. It promotes bad body position, and you can not get the feel for body rotation. All of my kicking laps, on my tummy, are done with a snorkel, and with full body rotation, about 45 degrees to each side. I will vary tempo between long and strong, and speed. Hand paddles: I love them, and maybe use them for half of my laps. easy to figure that this is for more strength in your arm pull. I don't like the ones with the rubber/neoprene straps. When I first started experimenting with them, I was using the ones at the pool. At least half of them had rotted and were gone or would break with little use. I went with the ones from Finis where you stick your thumb through the hole. Much better, and they never need to be adjusted. Snorkel: As I said, I use a snorkel a lot. both for kicking and swimming laps. For swimming laps, I do a lot of catch up drill. You slow everything down so you can focus on body rotation and full extension: you should feel your lats stretching before you pull. The ones with the 'purge valve' to me are worthless. Yes, you can blow some of the water out through that valve, but the only way to blow it all out is to put your finger on the top. I prefer the curved tube. Some come with opening caps which can reduce the amount of air you can pull in. Not sure how effective that concept is. The snorkel can also be an indicator if you are turning your head too far to the sides. 10 to 20 degrees would be fine, but more is not. Fins: I use fins a lot because that is the weakest part of my stroke. The standard frog feet are just plain wrong. We don't have flat feet like frogs. Ours are much more 3 dimensional. What the frog feet do is make us point our feet out straight behind us like a gymnast toe point. That is lousy for max propulsion. I use the Finis Positive Drive fins. They have a small blade on the big toe side, and a wider blade on the little toe side. This serves to rotate your foot and ankle to the more proper position. Proper form would be toed in at 20 to maybe 45 degrees max. This gives most of us, especially if you have stiff ankles/runners foot, maybe 10 to 20 degrees more toe point. Added benefit is that you use the whole side of your foot to generate thrust rather than just the toe point. Think of a short passing kick with football/soccer. Not on the instep of your foot, which would mimic breast stroke. Not with a pointed toe like gymnastics, but with the top side of your foot/little toe side. Slight snap/crack the whip action, rotationally, from the hip and knee. Yes, you are runners who do some swimming. Yes, both exercises use all of the same muscles. However, you use the muscles in much different ways. You have to practice your kicking, and I would suggest 2 beat and 6 beat kicking. With the 6 beat kick, you will notice that the #1 kick is the more powerful kick. This is because it links to the body rotation. So, by linking the body rotation to the kick on a 2 beat kick, you get more thrust with less action/work. For me, this means getting the pulling arm to 45 or so degrees, which is just entering the power phase of the stroke, and then the foot on the same side kicks down. Hips/lower body can not generate any rotation at all because there is nothing for the feet to anchor on or step into to generate rotation. Works on land, but not in the water, and when swimming, we are pulling, not throwing or hitting.... One side note theory of mine, and I haven't heard any one say this, I would guess that a big number of swimmers will have their hand angled a bit during the pull, with the thumb being more forward, and the little finger being more backwards. This is a more 'natural' position that our hands assume. I discovered this by sticking my arm out the window while driving in warmer weather. I also noticed that having the hand slightly cupped/concave generates a bit more drag. I liken this to the oars on paddle boards and the racing skulls. You won't find straight paddles on any of them. Maybe concave to some thing like the curve of a basketball. Oh, I do need to get some of those Magic 5 goggles. I have a very wide forehead, and many goggles, even the ones with replaceable nose bridge pieces, are still too narrow for me.... They make them to fit you personally.....
Also...... If you are learning to swim freestyle, I consider it mandatory to learn back stroke. This would be more about 'cross training' than anything else. You use your back and pulling muscles differently. As for hydration while swimming, if I don't hydrate I will drop about 5 pounds in about an hour and a half, then I start cramping. The PHF changed that for me. I didn't have to take their sweat test for me to know that I was a very heavy sweat type, and I need lots of sodium...
Time it is my biggest issue, 45 min session in a pool sometime not even enough to finish workout! Do you recommend cut my workout sort and do some drills?
Swimmer here. Lots of great info for newbies here. My adds are a nose plug for using the snorkel and a band for the ankle when pulling to keep the feet still. I like the paddles (with bouy) and fins to keep in check any laziness that has crept into my stroke. These tools will find any inefficiencies you have. Paddles that are incorrectly tipped will get exaggerated and if you go fast with fins you can feel the resistance of an inefficient stroke.
Unbelievably, Hong Kong pools don’t allow any of these toys in the many public pools. Been fighting them for years and did get permission this summer to use pull buoys by talking to the manager of a couple of the pools I use. Still had to fight with the life guards every time I swam but dropping the managers’ names usually worked. The toys can be used in the pools in a class or training group but not on your own - even when swimming in designated lap lanes. Very ‘Ma fan’ as we say here!
Could you please talk about goggles, smart goggles for complete noob, but tech nerd? Someone absolutely loving the geeky side of Garmin running and cycling stuff, what is there for swimming?
@gtn Can the fingerpaddles or handpaddles be used for technique training as well? Maybe that is what you are referring to in the video, it is a little unclear to me. But can the increased effort required amplify the feeling of what the right technique is to get the most efficient pull? Regarding the kickboard, we had beginner exercises with this, where the takeaway was: Use the legs to get in the right position in the water, not so much to move forward. The oxygen needed is not worth it for beginner crawl swimmers :D Kicking with all we had and seeing how slow we moved forward, made that point very clear.
Finger paddles are my favorite piece of equipment for freestyle swimming. With a pull buoy I am probably 5-7s faster per 100 and with a much smoother stroke.
@@themagic5goggles I love your kickboard as it's also great for an extra tough core workout if you place it between your feet and swim freestyle like that. It really teaches you balance in the water too!
Paddles vs Fins, which is your favourite? Let us know!
While i do love my fins, my paddles are essential for building power in my upper body while challenging my technique!
Fins!
By the way: #gtncoachescorner Could you please further break down some of the channels playlists? E.g. the categories swim, bike and run are extremely long and rather useless, as beginners content is mixed with pro, technique with tools or training plans. I would rather see less videos a week, but be able to make more use of the existing videos. Also, I would enjoy, if you rather dive into topics very deeply and make 5 vids out of it instead of touching the topics surface every year again. Thanks a lot in advance!
Nonetheless I am really happy about the content! It helped me tremendously to find a start in triathlon!
Finger paddles all the way 🙌 It's amazing how much more aware you are of the water!
Paddles are my favourite training device , fins hurt my feet!
Finger paddles 😊
Finally, someone's explaining the mystery of all that swim gear! I've seen swimmers lugging around bags full of stuff, and I'm curious to know what it's all for.
Not just all the gear to worry about in those bags…I once forgot my swim suit 😅😂 never again after having to borrow one from the lost and found
Now you know! You learn something new everyday 🙌 Any other sports myths you would like us to bust?
Amazing video! Thanks for sharing our new Swimming Equipment and for explaining why you should use swimming aids in your next swim set. 🔥
Always wondered if / how using a snorkel affects your rotation and how to avoid that.
Meanwhile I sometimes forget my swim shorts and turn up to the pool with boxers
hahaha that's so funny! Did you end up swimming with the boxers then? :D
@@themagic5goggles haha no way! Can’t risk them coming off as I get out the pool. Have to do the walk of shame back home but thankfully the pool is down the road from me.
I always pack a spare towel and togs in my car for that very reason. Beyond goggles and earplugs, I like the pull buoy and paddles.
that reminds me of a training camp situation...when I had packed my swimming essentials in the luggage that got delivered to our hotel late the next day... so always put these things into your hand luggage as well... otherwise, your coach will not be happy with you :D
Thank you for the great reminder! @@ChristinaNothdurfter I will definitely think of this when I travel next time :)
Center snorkel is my favorite by far. It improved and evened my stroke out in a matter of weeks. I would always breathe on 1 side and had an uneven stroke
Thanks for the good explanation for using the gear
1 length using kick board takes 4x longer than regular swim. Hard work !
That us true! But the hard work and effort will be worth it in the end! :) Keep up the good work!
In my swim workouts I use only a kick board and occasionally a pull buoy along with other structured swim sets that focus on technique. I used to use hand paddles snorkle ect. just in normal swim sets based on distance. I really didn't get faster until I started using structured sets. If I have a Ton of kicking drills I'll use fins but generally all my kick sets are without them. Nice Content GTN..😃
Thanks, glad you enjoy the content! What is your favourite swim set? 🏊♂️
@@gtn Generally One Arm drills with a kick board give me the most focus on my stroke and help me understand my catch. Second Favorite is got to be 10 x 50 sprints. I know, nobody likes sprints but they help you understand stroke efficiency and I "try" to do the with +/- 1 second times. When I'm swimming well after drills I'm within 1/2 a second. Least Favorite is long sets with negative splits. Say 400-500 negative split.
I love the Magic5 gear! Can't leave for the pool without it 💪💙
That's so fantastic! 🙌 Which piece of equipment is your favourite?
The center snorkel is my absolute favorite! The rotation function is so smart and useful!
Thanks for your video mate. Is there a wetsuit particularly good for swimming outdoors? I need tips for specific ones to look for.
no leg band? its the only one i wanted more info on lol
What's about the use of leg paddles? Would you recommend the combination of kits at the same time?
Hi GTN Thanks for the video review of the swimming kit. I want to get a kickboard, pull boy and hand paddles. What would you suggest for paddles full size or short ones is there a difference? Does the forward snorkel help a lot, with drag I have a few already as I scuba dive. I wear a short wet suit 3mm with a full body rash guard. I also have my Garmin Forerunner 955 that goes everywhere with me. I use a drink bottle already to refuel myself but I did not think that we sweat in the pool, that's something new I learned. I have my fins and I use a swimming parachute in my kit. It really pushes me to work that extra hard with my swim sets.
Start small paddles / finger paddles and build size up to avoid injury and make sure technique is right first. (I think..?)
Small paddles are great for all levels. I was a pro swimmer for years and I spent way more time swimming with small paddles than bigger ones. Think of it like weight lifting, smaller paddles allow you to work on your technique without risking injuries, and trust me, you will feel a stronger pull still.
As for center snorkels, they definitely make a big difference from scuba diving snorkels if the goal is to swim more freestyle or pool swimming in general. A standard scuba diving snorkel will pull your head in one direction which is not great for your body position. Also, you will not have to worry about touching the snorkel with your arms as you swim. Both paddles and snorkel are great investments in your swimming :)
Great
Any Elastic band to tight the ankles together ?
Well, I swim a lot, but don't run at all. Doctors told me I needed zero impact sports after getting both hips and a knee replaced...
Pool/pull buoy: Tried one once and it didn't do anything for me. I guess it can help you get the 'feel' of what it is supposed to be like when you are planed out and have good posture in the water. It does not fix the problems. There are 2 main problems that cause the feet to sink, and probably in equal parts. One head is too high, and two is gut/abs are too relaxed.
Kick board. I guess it might be okay to use when you are just learning to swim, but after, get rid of it. It promotes bad body position, and you can not get the feel for body rotation. All of my kicking laps, on my tummy, are done with a snorkel, and with full body rotation, about 45 degrees to each side. I will vary tempo between long and strong, and speed.
Hand paddles: I love them, and maybe use them for half of my laps. easy to figure that this is for more strength in your arm pull. I don't like the ones with the rubber/neoprene straps. When I first started experimenting with them, I was using the ones at the pool. At least half of them had rotted and were gone or would break with little use. I went with the ones from Finis where you stick your thumb through the hole. Much better, and they never need to be adjusted.
Snorkel: As I said, I use a snorkel a lot. both for kicking and swimming laps. For swimming laps, I do a lot of catch up drill. You slow everything down so you can focus on body rotation and full extension: you should feel your lats stretching before you pull. The ones with the 'purge valve' to me are worthless. Yes, you can blow some of the water out through that valve, but the only way to blow it all out is to put your finger on the top. I prefer the curved tube. Some come with opening caps which can reduce the amount of air you can pull in. Not sure how effective that concept is. The snorkel can also be an indicator if you are turning your head too far to the sides. 10 to 20 degrees would be fine, but more is not.
Fins: I use fins a lot because that is the weakest part of my stroke. The standard frog feet are just plain wrong. We don't have flat feet like frogs. Ours are much more 3 dimensional. What the frog feet do is make us point our feet out straight behind us like a gymnast toe point. That is lousy for max propulsion. I use the Finis Positive Drive fins. They have a small blade on the big toe side, and a wider blade on the little toe side. This serves to rotate your foot and ankle to the more proper position. Proper form would be toed in at 20 to maybe 45 degrees max. This gives most of us, especially if you have stiff ankles/runners foot, maybe 10 to 20 degrees more toe point. Added benefit is that you use the whole side of your foot to generate thrust rather than just the toe point. Think of a short passing kick with football/soccer. Not on the instep of your foot, which would mimic breast stroke. Not with a pointed toe like gymnastics, but with the top side of your foot/little toe side. Slight snap/crack the whip action, rotationally, from the hip and knee. Yes, you are runners who do some swimming. Yes, both exercises use all of the same muscles. However, you use the muscles in much different ways. You have to practice your kicking, and I would suggest 2 beat and 6 beat kicking. With the 6 beat kick, you will notice that the #1 kick is the more powerful kick. This is because it links to the body rotation. So, by linking the body rotation to the kick on a 2 beat kick, you get more thrust with less action/work. For me, this means getting the pulling arm to 45 or so degrees, which is just entering the power phase of the stroke, and then the foot on the same side kicks down. Hips/lower body can not generate any rotation at all because there is nothing for the feet to anchor on or step into to generate rotation. Works on land, but not in the water, and when swimming, we are pulling, not throwing or hitting....
One side note theory of mine, and I haven't heard any one say this, I would guess that a big number of swimmers will have their hand angled a bit during the pull, with the thumb being more forward, and the little finger being more backwards. This is a more 'natural' position that our hands assume. I discovered this by sticking my arm out the window while driving in warmer weather. I also noticed that having the hand slightly cupped/concave generates a bit more drag. I liken this to the oars on paddle boards and the racing skulls. You won't find straight paddles on any of them. Maybe concave to some thing like the curve of a basketball.
Oh, I do need to get some of those Magic 5 goggles. I have a very wide forehead, and many goggles, even the ones with replaceable nose bridge pieces, are still too narrow for me.... They make them to fit you personally.....
Also...... If you are learning to swim freestyle, I consider it mandatory to learn back stroke. This would be more about 'cross training' than anything else. You use your back and pulling muscles differently.
As for hydration while swimming, if I don't hydrate I will drop about 5 pounds in about an hour and a half, then I start cramping. The PHF changed that for me. I didn't have to take their sweat test for me to know that I was a very heavy sweat type, and I need lots of sodium...
Time it is my biggest issue, 45 min session in a pool sometime not even enough to finish workout! Do you recommend cut my workout sort and do some drills?
Hey there - we've got a vid here that we think gives you plenty of bang for your buck - hope it helps! 👉 th-cam.com/video/EvZoowL4Oo8/w-d-xo.html
🔥🏊♀
Filmed wear I train.
Swimmer here. Lots of great info for newbies here. My adds are a nose plug for using the snorkel and a band for the ankle when pulling to keep the feet still.
I like the paddles (with bouy) and fins to keep in check any laziness that has crept into my stroke. These tools will find any inefficiencies you have. Paddles that are incorrectly tipped will get exaggerated and if you go fast with fins you can feel the resistance of an inefficient stroke.
Unbelievably, Hong Kong pools don’t allow any of these toys in the many public pools. Been fighting them for years and did get permission this summer to use pull buoys by talking to the manager of a couple of the pools I use. Still had to fight with the life guards every time I swam but dropping the managers’ names usually worked. The toys can be used in the pools in a class or training group but not on your own - even when swimming in designated lap lanes. Very ‘Ma fan’ as we say here!
Not Bad 🤙
Could you please talk about goggles, smart goggles for complete noob, but tech nerd? Someone absolutely loving the geeky side of Garmin running and cycling stuff, what is there for swimming?
@gtn Can the fingerpaddles or handpaddles be used for technique training as well? Maybe that is what you are referring to in the video, it is a little unclear to me. But can the increased effort required amplify the feeling of what the right technique is to get the most efficient pull?
Regarding the kickboard, we had beginner exercises with this, where the takeaway was: Use the legs to get in the right position in the water, not so much to move forward. The oxygen needed is not worth it for beginner crawl swimmers :D Kicking with all we had and seeing how slow we moved forward, made that point very clear.
Finger paddles are my favorite piece of equipment for freestyle swimming. With a pull buoy I am probably 5-7s faster per 100 and with a much smoother stroke.
Great to hear you've found the tech that works for you! Is there anything that you've found that's not been so useful? 🏊🏻
I love using my equipment for each workout 🙌 And especially, the kickboard!
That is amazing to hear! Do you mix up the kicks? Like, for example, breastroke kick, freestyle kick, etc? Or do you prefer to stick with one of them?
@@themagic5goggles I like to mix between freestyle kick and fly kick. My breaststroke kick is way too slow 😂
@@themagic5goggles I love your kickboard as it's also great for an extra tough core workout if you place it between your feet and swim freestyle like that. It really teaches you balance in the water too!