Zoomers Swimming Fins and Triathlon Swimming Newsletter
As I have mentioned, in the past few months, I’ve been educating myself and experimenting with the Finis line of equipment for potential use on beginner level swimmers to help with stroke technique as well as intermediate-advanced swimmers looking for both technique improvement and more speed in the water.
I have talked often about Zoomers fins and some of the benefits they provide to swimmers.
Let’s take a closer look today at Zoomers and why they may be just the thing to get you over any roadblocks to your success!
Enjoy,
Kevin
“Develop the winning edge; small differences in your performance can lead to large differences in your results.”
-Brian Tracy
Zoomers Fins- Your Key to Swimming Success?
Last time I discussed the Freestyler Hand Paddle and why I love it.
Today I want to talk about a classic: Zoomers fins. I have written about them in the past but wanted to update and reiterate!
One of the most common questions I hear as a coach is, “Should I use fins?” The answer depends largely on your goals, your skill level and the type of fins.
Often times, especially in masters swimming, swimmers wear fins merely to keep up with other swimmers in their lane, or to advance to the fast lane and make tighter intervals. If you are strictly swimming for fitness, and do not care about your stroke technique, swim time, or energy conservation in a race, then this is a perfectly acceptable reason to use fins.
Fins, especially the Zoomers-type, can help you go faster in a workout and burn more calories. Most of us in the triathlon world are concerned with more than just fat burning. There are certain situations when it’s appropriate to use fins during a workout. Fins can help build strength in your legs. They can also allow you to consume more oxygen during your swim, which enables you to support the use of more muscle mass at greater intensity, and for a longer time. However, using fins on a regular basis for the desired effects of swimming faster and keeping from sinking in the water is ill advised.
If you have little or no kick, or your kick makes you go backwards while kicking on your back (not uncommon among runner-types), using fins will help your stroke and speed. The shorter fins (Zoomers are the best) are the way to go. Using the fins allows you to concentrate on improving your upper body technique, as well as your overall endurance, without having to think about your kick at the same time.
Since 90% propulsion comes from upper body in swimming, as a beginner it’s wise to concentrate your training on this aspect of the stroke. After stroke improvement and endurance are built, start weaning off fins, and do more and more of your swimming sets with bare feet. You may find that not only have you made faster improvements in your stroke and speed, but your kick improved as well, due to improved ankle flexibility.
The new Zoomers Z2 fins are really the best thing out there. These actually promote a higher body position in the water! Using in combination with the Freestyler paddles is an excellent way to experience proper freetyleincluding a long stroke, hip rotation, short kick, and perfect hand entry. Don’t worry about getting “addicted” to fins! Use them to perfect drills and take them off as you progress to full stroke swimming with intervals. Then put them on for kicking sets (no boards!) to improve balance and propulsion, and in combination with the Freestyler paddles to work on stroke technique.
To order the Zoomers Z2 Fins as well as the Freestyler Hand Paddle, click on the link below. For a 20% discount on your order, make sure to type in discount code ‘aggies20’!
Zoomers Z2 Fins and Freestyler Hand Paddle with 20% off
Tip of the Month- Morning Workouts
Ever do a morning workout and feel like you’re struggling, even though just the day or two before you felt great? Often times, this is due to your body lacking the calories it needs to perform the activity you set out to do.
I meet people all the time that say they skip breakfast before their morning workout. Think of how crazy this is! You’ve just been asleep for 7-8 hours. You probably ate dinner 2 hours or more before you went to bed. This means your body has gone for 9-10 hours without any food!
The key to having a good morning workout will be to get the proper nutrition. Just think quick snack, consisting of carbohydrates and protein, i.e:
- hard boiled egg whites & 1/2 piece of toast (preferably rye or whole grain)
- 1/2 energy bar containing protein
- banana with a little peanut butter
- lowfat cottage cheese with banana
And don’t forget the water! You’ve also just gone for up to 10 hours without water and your body could be in a state of dehydration.
Have your snack ready to go in the morning so there’s little or no preparation time and you can just eat and go. By the time you drive to the pool or the gym, the energy should be kicking in!