Top 5 Swim Bag Essential
Top 5 Swim Bag Essentials
If you are serious about improving your swimming, you know how important equipment is to honing your technique and getting stronger.
From novice to pro, the right equipment provides both feedback on streamline and drag, to improving propulsion. They amplify mistakes AND good technique, providing feedback to correct and sustain form, and build your strength and endurance.
Check any swimmers bag, or at the edge of any deck, and you will find these 5 essential pieces to a smart swim training program.
Fins - A medium sized flexible fin provides correction in ankle mobility and position, tapering and streamlining your tail end with a pointed toe. They increase the surface area of your foot, increasing the amount of water caught with each kick, both up and down, increasing both propulsion and the force and work exerted by your legs. A strong kick should be used wisely, but is critical for balance and speed, and an excellent way to get fit. I train and coach exclusively in the Finis Z2s.
Paddles - Paddles come in many shapes and sizes providing different levels of feedback on technique and feel for the water. Beginner to intermediate swimmers should choose a small to medium sized paddle, enough to increase the surface area of your hand, without prematurely adding excessive stress on your shoulders. Force and speed have an inverse relationship. Too large of a paddle will slow your stroke rate down, good for distance per stroke and strength work, at the expense of tempo and turnover. I like Finis’s Agility paddles for their strapless design that is low maintenance and customization, with the increase demand on entry and catch to keep the paddle in place.
Snorkels - Breath is challenging for many swimmers, and is a big focus on my coaching and programming on land and water. Center mount snorkels have become a staple training accessory for improving both position and streamline, as well as providing a constant supply of oxygen. They’re great for working on technique, eliminating breathing challenges, and allowing you to stay aligned and streamlined to focus on form. Greater economy and speed can be reached using them, by staying in streamline, and getting more air. Finis’s center mount snorkel fits comfortably centered on the head with a tapered design, and purge valve for easy clearing.
Buoys - Pull buoys worn above the knee provide greater lift to the hips, allowing you to swim higher in the water, more downhill, and reduce the energy and oxygen demands of a kick, shifting swimming demands exclusively to the upper body. As a result, weaker kickers may find they swim faster with a buoy.
Gently squeezing the buoy is great for firing up your core, and maintaining a long taut body line. This position is also great for the shorter axis strokes, breaststroke and butterfly. Finis’s Axis buoy can also be work just above the ankle, ideal for the long axis strokes freestyle and backstroke. The long lever position places a greater demand on symmetrical rotation, and pressing your head and chest down to maintain your plank or streamline in the water.
Kick Boards - Whether you have your own gear or not, chances are your local pool carries kick boards. While some may argue boards disrupt good position and streamline, when used properly they can be excellent teaching tools, and great way to isolate your legs. Regardless of board shape or position held, focus on long taut arms and body lines. Stay low to the water, even keeping your mouth or face down or just in the water. A benefit of kicking with a board is more time to breathe (and socialize) but like any exercise, you don’t need to be exchanging air constantly. Staying closer to and in the water, creates a better streamline. Notice your buoyancy when your lungs are full, versus when you exhale and empty them. For me, a compromise between streamline kicking and board kicking, is the Finis Alignment board. Its streamlined design, and minimal buoyancy provides support for both surface and under water kicking. The hand strap is also great for single arm drills, and streamlining under water off walls.
Let me know in the comments what’s in your swim bag, or what piece of equipment you can’t train without. Share this with someone who could swim better with the right gear.
I do not have an affiliation with Finis but have trained with their gear, among others, for decades. Clicking the links to these products helps to support this content.