{"id":67926,"date":"2024-07-08T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.arenaswim.com\/uncategorized\/are-you-sure-you-are-using-your-hand-paddles-properly\/"},"modified":"2024-09-18T17:19:40","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T15:19:40","slug":"are-you-sure-you-are-using-your-hand-paddles-properly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.arenaswim.com\/en\/training-technique\/are-you-sure-you-are-using-your-hand-paddles-properly\/","title":{"rendered":"Start Serious Training With Swimming Hand Paddles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Extremely popular with both coaches and swimmers, hand paddles<\/a> are a swimming accessory that belong in the bag of any swimmer looking to improve their training regime. <\/span>Swimming hand paddles<\/span><\/a> build upper body strength and make it easier to propel your arms in the water. But what other advantages do they offer to your swim training and what kind are available?<\/span><\/p>\n

The Advantages of Swimming Hand Paddles<\/b><\/h2>\n

Many excellent training aids accentuate your swim training, and swimming hand paddles are no exception. Better known as hand paddles, these training tools use resistance to strengthen your upper body and improve your swimming technique.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Resistance Is Strength<\/b><\/h3>\n

In the world of bodybuilding, it’s all about the gains. Muscles are grown by <\/span>increasing resistance<\/span><\/a> in order to break down muscle fibers. These muscles can then grow stronger with a good diet and plenty of rest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The same concept applies to water sports. Like swimming fins for your feet, swimming hand paddles add water-resistance to your stroke for strength training. This added resistance is just like the difference in doing a bicep curl with a heavier weight than you used before.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Using the hand paddles strengthens the muscles in your arms, shoulders, back, and chest to make you a stronger swimmer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Improved Catch and Pull<\/b><\/h3>\n

One of the most technical parts of the freestyle stroke is the freestyle catch. When using finger paddles, a poor <\/span>freestyle hand entry<\/span><\/a> is accentuated if your elbow positioning is off. This is because you will feel water resistance hitting on the wrong side of your hand more so than you would if you were swimming without using swim paddles.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, a successful stroke is exaggerated when you achieve a <\/span>good freestyle pull<\/span><\/a> with training paddles. Any freestyler will become more attuned to when their freestyle pull is effective as the results will be much clearer thanks to an increase in water resistance. Imagine swimming with webbed fingers, this is as close as it gets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast Is Fun!<\/b><\/h3>\n

The writing is on the wall about the positive effect that swimming hand paddles can have on your stroke technique and upper body strength. However, it’s also worth mentioning that using hand paddles is quite simply fun. If you combine swimming hand paddles with swim fins (flippers), you are an unstoppable force in the pool and the speed increase will leave your head swimming as well as your body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Understand How to Use Swim Paddles<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While they are really beneficial for experienced swimmers, swimming hand paddles must be used with care and moderation by beginners. They are serious training tools, and if you add them to your swimming training, we recommend you heed the following advice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Protect Your Swimming Stroke<\/b><\/h3>\n

We all want to <\/span>improve our freestyle<\/span><\/a>, but using hand paddles the wrong way or for too long could actually be detrimental to your swimming stroke. The greatest difficulty is maintaining your arm stroke and body position in the water. If your arm stroke is not in line, you will not swim efficiently and will make an “S” shape in the water as you attempt to control the hand paddles properly.<\/span><\/p>\n

To avoid this, start with some very simple drills:<\/span><\/p>\n

Before beginning, make sure you put on a pair of swim fins to help you float. Then put on your hand paddles and try the \u201czip-up freestyle\u201d technique. With your arms extended out in front of you, start swimming with just one arm, paying careful attention to the pull and thrust phase. At this point, when your arm is completely extended along your side, focus on your recovery, making sure your elbow is high and “zipping” your arm closed in front of you.<\/span><\/p>\n