Go ahead, your allowed to use it now!

LOL!

"When I’ve watched a triple Olympic gold medal swimmer (Keiran Perkins) using a monster pull-buoy for all work outside of main sets..." 
I want to know what this "monster pull-buoy " is all about...

The give them a pull buoy and then bombard them with huge yardage method is a sutton special. works for some people, not for others.   I have swum with one of his former athletes and was shocked at the form.

Use it as a tool to learn technique, not a crutch.

We are having this same discussion over in the mentor group I am in.  Instead of re-inventing the wheel, I will just copy what I posted over there:

Steve,

My short answer: Yeah, not so much.

My long answer:

Let me start by saying I don't like to "argue" with other coaches. I don't for a moment believe that my coaching philosophy is the only one or necessarily the best one. My way works for me and has worked for the athletes I have been privileged to work with. I try to be open to other ideas as that is where learning takes place, however, in my mind a new idea has to "make sense." I am not sure I see where this particular idea makes sense.

While I am not a fan of pull buoys I am a fan of paddles and bands once a week or once every other week, although NOT for the reason most people advocate them. I view paddles as a stroke technique tool rather than a strength tool. All too often, I hear, "Use paddles to make you stronger." You can do the same thing in a gym, far more quickly, and far more targeted so I don't agree with the premise of using paddles for strength.

In the context of the article you shared - I don't really agree with his philosophy. Yeah, I know, he has a pretty impressive resume of athlete achievements. The question is, did the coach make the athlete, or did the athlete make the coach? I am not saying he isn't a good coach so please don't take it that way. I merely relate back to my swimming days - my coach, Jim Montrella, was a phenomenal coach. Yet, as more and more of his swimmers excelled, more and more REALLY fast swimmers came - from around the world - to train with him, leading to more of "his" swimmers excelling. Was that the coach making the athlete or the athlete making the coach?

So, removing the luster of an impressive resume, back to the pull buoy debate. I prefer not to use or have athletes use pull buoys because they can indeed be a crutch. I mentioned earlier that I use paddles and pull sets specifically to work on stroke technique. Part of technique is proper position in the water. While using a pull buoy will get your legs in to the proper position, it does nothing towards training you to keep them there. Can it be advantageous for a new swimmer to use a pull buoy in the beginning to develop an understanding of what proper position is? Yes, absolutely. Should that extend beyond one or two workouts? I don't believe so. I think you have to develop the core strength and "feel" so you can position your legs properly. Then there is the inevitable question of, "What happens when the pull buoy is removed?"

In the article it seems that Brett advocates, or at least accepts, using pull buoys all the time, even outside of pull sets. To my way of thinking, if you want to be a good swimmer, you need to swim. No frills, just swim. Brett says, "Pull-buoys also mimic wetsuit swimming, which is an entirely different body position than normal non-wetsuit position." Isn't that just replacing one crutch for another one? If you technique is good and you are positioned properly in the water without a buoy then using a wetsuit will merely raise you higher in the water, much like a speedboat going up on plane - potentially making you several seconds per 100 faster.

Then he goes on to say, "As for the inevitable question about how athletes then cope in a non wetsuit legal race? The answer is far better than if they wasted the preceding months thrashing away like a frog in a blender, increasing their swim ability by zero." Herein lies my biggest complaint with coaching today - Allowing toys to supplant good coaching. If an athlete is thrashing away like a frog in a blender than that is a coaching failure. One of a coaches primary jobs is to provide technique direction such that an athlete learns proper mechanics and does not thrash around the pool. Toys are not going to replace that. Now, I don't know how many people are in the water during these workouts. I do know from my days of coaching an age-group swim team that there is a difference between coaching one person and coaching 50. Regardless of the number of swimmers in the water however, a good coach will provide proper coaching to improve technique and using toys to replace proper coaching direction is just wrong.

Finally, the article talks about the so-called improvement of the swimmers making extensive use of a buoy. For example, "SOME SWIMMER (16 x IM Winner) never swam outside of a race without her swim toys. Never. She went from a 1hr 07min swimmer to get to the stage where she was swimming around 53 minutes with a wetsuit in most of her later Ironman swims."  That seems to support the notion of using the toys. But if we look closer, not so much. She has completed at least 16 IM's since she has won that many, maybe more? How many IM's can you reasonably do in a single season? 3? 4? In any case, we are talking about a career that likely spans at least 4-8 years. In the times cited, she started at around a 1:35/100 yard pace so clearly she had been swimming for some time before this. She dropped from 1:07 to :53, an improvement of 14 minutes. Stated another way, that is an improvement of 20 seconds per 100 yards or from +/- 1:35/100 yards to 1:15/100 yards. Nice improvement but was that improvement because of the toys or was it because of the additional yards that were put in during training across the years in the example? How much better might it have been if technique were correct and didn't rely upon a crutch to get into the proper body position? Of course that leads to the question of "How fast SHOULD you go in the swim?" That question is for another discussion on another day.

At the end of the day, I clearly have a different philosophy than Brett Sutton. I believe a swimmer (and yes that includes Triathletes) should put on a speedo, get in the water and swim. Learn to do it correctly, and put in the yards. The results will come.

In answer to your question about the article, yeah, not so much.

I absolutely agree with your comment and Brett's about not hating swim training.  I just disagree with Brett's position of using toys so that you "like" swimming.  It seems to me that learning proper technique so you aren't beating the water into submission will go a long ways towards enjoying swimming also.  Then, as an athlete trains with proper technique and begins to see improvement, it becomes much easier and much more rewarding to put in the yardage necessary to compete.

Buoyancy isn't the only aspect of the pull buoy.  A wetsuit doesn't force you to keep your legs together.  Uneven kick often comes from picking your head up too high to breathe.  The kick is trying to compensate for your stroke problem.  Pull buoys can help fix that by removing the kick from the equation.

It is likely your form felt better as a direct result of the paddles.  The increased resistance the paddles provide accentuates any technique flaws and as often as not, you correct them without even thinking about them.  Same thing with the catch, you can better feel the moment of the catch because of the increased resistance of the paddles.

Just to clarify, this is not directed at "you" personally, rather at "you" in a general 'some swimmer' sense.

First, there are races that you can't use a wetsuit - Kona for example.  I understand not everyone aspires to compete in Kona, nonetheless, there are races where you can't use your wetsuit.  If you can't get into the proper position in the water without a wetsuit or a buoy you may have some difficulty.  For example, your legs are dragging because you aren't in proper position, you are working harder because your legs are a big parachute acting like a brake, your HR goes high zone 5 and now you are thrashed before you ever hit T1 - all because you didn't learn proper position.  Maybe that is a worst case scenario, but, just saying.  The real problem with saying, "Wouldn't logic dictate that using a pull buoy is similar to swimming with a wetsuit," is that it overlooks the fact that the swimmer is still relying on something other than good technique to achieve the proper position in the water.  Secondarily, overuse of a buoy will actually inhibit learning proper technique, at least with respect to leg position, because you will not be developing the core muscles or "feel" for having the legs in the proper position.  Using a buoy for a repetition or two at the beginning of a set to refresh yourself on proper position is one thing, using the buoy all the time is another.

Just my humble opinion.

Fred,

My understanding is that Sutton's training plans have HIGH volume.  I wonder, is it the pull buoy or the volume that took adult onset swimmers to sub 60' IM swims?

I submit it was the volume.

No, putting in lots of yards with paddles is a good way to develop shoulder problems.  I have the swimmers I work with do 1 set a week with paddles and bands around the ankles (preferably without a buoy), maybe a second set every other week.  I use paddles as a stroke technique tool.  I have them do a pull set, something like 6-8 x 100 at [threshold pace + 3 sec] with 20 sec rest.  The focus is on proper technique, including leg position.  By slowing down a bit during the pull set, you have the time to experience the feedback you are getting from the paddles.  Really concentrate on what the hands are doing throughout the entire stroke: entry, through the catch, the pull, ALL the way to full extension, then the recovery.  Immediately after the pull set, take the paddles off and do 2 x 100 and use the same technique you were just using with the paddles.  It will feel awkward because you no longer have the resistance from the paddles but force yourself to use the same technique as when the paddles were on.  Then a bit of rest and on the remainder of your workout.

Do that for a month and I think you will be pleasantly surprised with your technique.