Hello everyone,

I’m looking for new ways to spice up my training and I think it’s time to add some fins/paddle drills to my workouts. I’ve been looking some speedo/arena/finis/tyr/aquasphere equipment but I’m a bit confused with all the different types of gear that seem to exist.

Regarding fins, which length would you recommend? I think shorter fins are preferred (I’d use them for kicking and underwater drills), but I’m not really sure… any recommendations/brand for a beginner/intermediate swimmer, please?

Regarding paddles, there seem to be quite a lot of different variables to take into account. Should I go for smaller paddles first? There also seem to be many shapes and types of grip (finger, wrist straps…). Any recommendations/brand for a beginner/intermediate swimmer, please?

Enlighten me, moist people of the fediverse!

  • kephalos@discuss.tchncs.deM
    2·
    11 months ago

    I am not sure whether I should be someone to advise on this as I am a beginner.

    I bought a pair of these fins https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B09P3JYC8R/ as I read that one should pick short and flexible ones and I am happy with these fins. As for paddles I bought https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B094JZ6DW3 (Speedo) and they do work.

    Again, I actually don’t have experience with other paddles and fins (well, I have some fins for snorkeling but haven’t used them for a decade or so, they are of course not the ones I would use in a pool.

    Overall for paddles, they really increase the stress on everything involved in your arm movement, so I usually only use them for 50 or 100 m and then take them off again.

    I would at first use fins and paddles more as technique-guiding tools.

    • Liquid Sentience@lemmy.catOP
      1·
      11 months ago

      Thank you for your answer!

      Any particular reason why you chose this shape of paddle? There are a lot of different shapes and with straps in different positions (finger only, wrist…), I suppose they all have a specific uses but I have no idea. Or is it just marketing? :)

      • kephalos@discuss.tchncs.deM
        2·
        11 months ago

        Any particular reason why you chose this shape of paddle? There are a lot of different shapes and with straps in different positions (finger only, wrist…), I suppose they all have a specific uses but I have no idea. Or is it just marketing? :)

        I picked it I think because I didn’t know what to pick so uni-size from Speedo I thought I could not go totally wrong. Overall my heuristic is not grounded in a lot of swimming experience.