swimming with fins during training?

Hmmmmm.... I'd be wary if the WHOLE class was wearing them for the ENTIRE clas.  Thats odd.  In our masters sometimes someone will slip a pair on to keep up during a certain set.  Also IMHO I think they are good for kicking cuz you get basically the same workout but it's done quicker.

 If you can keep up without them, all the better

Were you doing Total Immersion style drills?

If so, many people need fins in order to do some of those drills properly. When I started last year, my kick was so poor that I would sometimes move backwards while drilling on my back.

If that's the style being taught in the class, I'd guess that the fins will come off at some point.

This is actually a little pet peeve of mine!  In my opinion, fins should only be used on a limited basis and for a very specific training purpose.  If you use them for an entire workout you are getting a false sense of speed and not getting a true sense of how the water and your stroke feels.  Personally, I only use them when I am working on butterfly since I am still learning how to do that stroke (nothing to do with triathlon just something I always wanted to learn).  If you have a good basic kick, I wouldn't spend too much time wearing fins or working on your kick.  The kick is not a huge part of a distance swim anyway.  It is mostly for stability not for speed or propulsion.  Save your legs for where you really need them - the bike and run.

Just my two cents!

Hi, Fattyboombalatty and welcome to BT and triathlon training.

I am an old school swimmer, learned to swim when I was 7, raced my last race 26 years ago. I never trained with fins.

For stupid reasons (swim challenge), I recently purchased a pair of Zoomer fins so that I could quickly pound out major yards in one swim session. I am a Zoomer convert! What I have learned through using the fins is:

1. I have to work harder (quicker stroke turnover) to keep up with the increased speed.
2. I am much more aware of my core form while swimming with the fins. My form is much tighter, more streamlined as a result. To get the proper propulsion/feel, you have to kick from your core so if my form is off, I feel it in my lack of proper propulsion.

It's not so much about making you a better kicker, it's about keeping your core tight and streamlined, IMO. When it's tight and streamlined, your kick will be there. When the core is loose or sloppy, the kick won't be there.

Last night, as I was swimming, I was thinking about the TI approach (which I don't get) vs. learning to swim based upon feeling/instincts. Some people learn better through instincts/feeling, others learn better through analyzing. The fins will give you lots to feel AND think about.

I advocate using the swim fins for part of your workout but you've got to pay attention to your form and how you feel as you propel yourself through the water.

Swimming is 90% technique. I did not have a swimming back ground either and read a lot, took some lesson, and I also no have a tri coach that was a college swimmer.

I have zoomers in my bag as part of my drill program, my coach sets up my program and almost all of workout is swim. I have a friend who is doing IMAZ and is trying to qualify for Kona, his coach is "the" Mark Allen. My friend is swimming 16,000 yards a week in the pool and almost all of his workout is drills.

The reason for fins are: to improve your kick because it teaches proper leg extension in the water, teaches you to kick more from the hip flexors and upper legs and not knees.

I do use the fins for drills that require (1) me to have speed to perform them i.e. side stroke. (2) if I want to really concentrate on a drill (like finger tip drag), the fins allow me to get a little more speed so I can focus on the drill not the kick. So I am performing the drill at a slower speed and focusing on the drill, while I am able to 2 or 4 kick and keep up my speed.

I do not use the fins for the whole workout (nor do I use paddles, kick board or any of the other stuff for drills), and I do not use them for speed drills, kick board, or dolphin kicks. The fins are only used for performing my drills at slower speed to I can perfect them.

Fattyboobbalatty, I have learned that swimming is a lot like golf. To get really good at golf you take lessons and you perform all of the drills at half speed or slower (I was a 6 handicap); it is all muscle memory. Same with swimming, golf and swimming are all technique. Going out and swimming as hard and long as you can go, is not really going to make you that much faster. But you learn who to push the water under you correctly, learn who to be more streamline, and work on those things slow till they are perfect. Now that is when you get fast....