Which paddles

smaller is better especially if you are a noob. As a new swimmer paddles can be of some use in helping to magnify poor or improved arm and hand path through the water, but should not be used to try and swim faster or for power or strength.

The reason is that as a newer swimmer, technique is going to be your limiter. In terms of the stroking path, the paddles magnify errors in the angle of the palm and forearm and help you learn a better path. However because they increase the resistance (which is why the magnify errors) it takes more strength to move them. You don't need to apply strength or power until your technique is fairly sound.

So for al lthose reasons, IF you are going to get paddles...get the smallest ones you can they even make fingertip paddles which just cover the tips of the fingers and leave the palm exposed so you can maintain your feel on the water.

OR...don't buy them at all right now.

If you do buy them, I like the finis agility paddles or the freestyler paddles as both are small and will fall off if used incorrectly

I bought a tabletop miniature ping pong/table tennis set in the checkout line at Old navy, and I use the paddles that came in that set with my masters swimmers. They work great for all the reasons I mentioend above. They hold them with finger tips gently curled over the top of the paddle and the handle of the paddle over the wrist crease to prevent too much bending of the wrist.

50 cents each...good deal and helps form a good stroke with feedback that doesn't risk injury

I'm sure he has the strength...we all do. The question is where is the strength being applied? he's a self proclaimed noob swimmer. Triathletes use more power and produce less speed than swimmers do...triathletes don't need swim strength, they need to reeducate swim muscles.

I think the answer is it depends on where you are in your swimming evolution. As a noob the answer would be different than if you were more experienced.

As has been said above, watch the size. Too big would not be appropriate for a beginner. It would yield far poorer results and invite shoulder problems. As you get better the type that would help you progress the best will change.

I would suggest you get some advice from a qualified coach who can see your stroke and recommend the one(s) that will best fit your need. I know people hate answers like these but like most things in this sport, one size does not fit all.

I definitely have the strength it's the form that I need help with...that's why I called myself a n00b.

Of the 3 it's my weakest link, like most people, and I want to improve on it. Reading and listening has lead me to believe that some paddles can help with the form. That if you're using them improperly then they will give a tremendous amount of resistance.

It's hard (?impossible) to tell you over a forum when being stronger will help you go faster ,but strength is only valid if the water is sent in the right direction. The muscles that people default to when "swimming hard" are usually the larger muscles which overpower smaller shoulder & scapula stabilizing muscles. When that occurs, the form is lost and propulsion is less efficient. The muscles that need strengthened are the weaker set, and the muscles that need re-education are the stronger set.

This is a generalization for a "typical" male swimmer who relies on their upper body strength to accomplish many tasks. There are many men and more women, who may have weaker upper bodies that have little interaction with the water on their catch. But again for those people the answer isn't in building MORE strength, it's in taking their current muscles and getting them to redirect their interaction with the water.

If you have a coach give you and underwater video "thumbs up" to a good catch and stroke while not losing streamline or core stability...then maybe a little extra strength will help.

A practical example...I have a swimmer I've been working with who was doing consistent 1:50/100yd sets over teh winter. Over a 2 week period of time, he'd set a PR of 1:50/100, and then something "clicked" and his next 100 PR was 1:36 2 weeks later. But that's not the relevant point here...that same night as I was watching him, he was pulling hard under the water, really engaging the lats. Sounds good, right...after all he was 14 seconds faster just by engaging more muscle.

However he was doing what I call "overpulling". His lats were deforming the shape of his stroke and overpowering the rotator cuff and scapular muscles. So I told him to have a more "patient pull"...that is..he could still pull but wait a bit longer in the stroke cycle to do it. he immediately set a new PR of 1:20!

So he added muscle and it got him a little ways. Then he took muscle away and he took off another 16 seconds. It was a combination of factors, but had he simple continued focusing on strength without considering the technique in applying that strength he'd probably still be stuck in the 1:30s for his PR, and certainly would not have been apply to apply enough "power" to drop to 1:20 in a single night.

So the direction of force application is critical and until direction is optimized (doesn't have to be perfect) adding paddles for strength will only reinforce poor movements.

Now at 1:20/100 if my swimmer wants to add small paddles to explore new areas of his totally new stroke...it could be appropriate but I'd limit their use to 50s & 100s with plenty of non-paddle swimming in between to implement what the paddles taught him.

If you want something scientific, This is a good start... This is a great study that deserves several readings and compared swimmers to triathletes using a power measuring device in the pool.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2381311
". The results suggest that on average the better swimmer distinguishes himself from the poorer one by a greater distance per stroke rather than a higher stroke frequency. It is concluded that triathletes should focus their attention on their swimming technique rather than their ability to do work. The distance per stroke might be a simple criterion to evaluate the improvement in skill.

Good point LB.  The kids swim team current coach limits paddles a lot more than the previous coach but does more fist drills.

Edited by AdventureBear 2014-08-19 10:48 AM

I use tennis balls. This has really forced me to figure out the catch.

Paddles without a hand/wrist strap. These provide immediate feedback about your stroke. Look at the Finis website.

That's meaningless. There are plenty of terrible swimmers that compete regularly in HIM & IMs. The cut off for both is incredibly generous, you could swim it breaststroke.

Ironman and bigger paddle sizes have zip to do with each other. Known plenty of Ironman finishers who suck at swimming and should never use big ones . I know plenty of great swimmers who have zero interest in Ironman or triathlon for that matter who can use big ones.

Strokemaker paddles ... period.

Even 20 is not really fast. I did that at 13 and that was nothing special.

For your average triathlete it is, even your above average triathlete! But yeah, not a quick time for your typical junior squad swimmer.

I guess your point still being that strength is not the limiter?

 

Strength is very rarely the limiter in swimming  

But paddles can add some variety in training 

Edited by WildWill 2014-08-20 3:08 AM

Exactly and I didn't grow until 14. And then my 1500 dropped to 18.00 scm and 18.29 lcm. 1.01.9 scm 100 fly and 2.19 scm 200 fly. The 18.00 was on a weekend where I swam 50-100-200-400-1500 Free, 200-400 IM, & 100-200 Fly. Heats and finals for all but 200 fr, 200 im (9th, very poor start in free and just tired in IM) and the 1500 was timed finals... 18 races in 3 days.