Friday, May 21, 2010

Swimming Paddles Review

Hi Folks,

Recently I bought some swimming toys since I got rewarded a gift card valued at about 200 bucks :) . Everyone thinks I am crazy. I could have spent it on an expensive dinner, some electronic gadgets or just buy some nice fashionable shirts. Instead I went to buy some worhtless piece of plastics ? :) Yeah I am crazy about swimming! After swimming and testing with all of the paddles, I decided to do a review. Note that these are just my personal opinion/views and I am not endorsed by any company.

So the test objects are:





From left to right :


Strokemaker, TYR Catalyst, Speedo Training Paddles and Finis finger paddles.


Test subject :)



Results :

StrokeMaker paddles:



Opinion : This paddles are extremely light , which I think it is good because during the recovery , it doesn't strain so much of your shoulders, and also I can have a better feel of my arms and better control. It is like using a thinner glove compare to a thicker glove during dishwashing ( sigh, i hate dishwashing) . The many tiny holes in the paddles also let you "feel" the water through the palms. The design(shape) of the paddles allows you to 'grab' the water for an early vertical forearm(EVF) catch. I can totally feel my forearm straining which is good!


Pros : Light weight, good feel of water , assist in vertical forearm , emphasize catch phase if properly done.

Cons : Tubes easily come off

Notes: Center tube holds 1 finger.



TYR Catalyst Paddles:



Opinion : Stylish looking paddles but this is a heavy paddles which in my opinion is not very good the recovery. Recovery phase of the freestlye is supposed to be relaxed but because of the weight of the paddles, i have to use a little bit more to lift the paddles. Since it is heavier, during the pull phase, it is harder to feel the water as well ( as if you are holding some paper weights ) One good thing is the tubes fits nicely to your hands and it doesn't come out.

Pros : Stylish looking , hands fits nicely and the tubes make sure your hands doesnt slip out of the paddles

Cons : Heavy , lack of water feel , the pinky finger out of the way when fitting to hands

Notes: Center tube holds 3 fingers.


Speedo Paddles




Opinions: These are classic Speedo paddles, probably the first paddles I have used since 20 years ago. They are light weight and the design is simple( A square shape). Feels a little bit rigid though during the catch and pull phase but I would recommend this for beginners who are first timers in trying paddles. It doesn't strain as much as the TYR and Strokemaker paddles cause the paddles is smaller and it is good for beginners to try out.

Pros : Right size for beginners. They are smaller Speedo paddles than this one shown in this blog

Cons : No holes in the paddles, water feel is less.

Notes: Center tube holds 1 finger


Finis Sculling Finger Paddles




Opinions : For a start , this is a different category of paddles, it is called finger paddles and for sculling purposes and also you can use it to swim in all four strokes ! It is one of the breakthrough me thinks. It heighten your senses/feel of the water when it comes to the catch and pull phase. It is extremely light so you won't feel like there are paddles sticking to your hands. Recommended for all levels of swimmers (from beginners to season swimmers )Try it with all of the strokes and you can really feel your arm 'catching' the water right at the beginning of the entry phase to the catch and pull phase. For me , this really improves my back stroke arm entry


Backstroke with Finis Finger Paddles


Butterfly with Finis Finger Paddles ( My fly is my worst stroke :( )


Breaststroke with Finis Finger Paddles
(Extremely good training for the underwater pull out ! )



Pros : Light weight, good for sculling and all strokes. Improves catch phase.

Cons : Easily come off , It came off during my breaststroke swim (in the video)

Notes: Center tubes holds two fingers. Also, Since this is a different category of paddles, this paddles does not improve your strength but rather improve your 'catch' phase of the water in all strokes.


Conclusion:

- Best paddle for strength : StrokeMakers
- Best paddle for strokes : Finis Sculling Finger Paddles
- Best paddle for beginners : Speedo ( Strengh ) , Finger Paddles (Feel)

One last point, please note that one shall not solely train with paddles all the time, you will lose your natural water feel of your arms , I think one should only use it maximum 30% of the time during your workout. Same goes with pull buoy. I seen many swimmers who runs a lot uses pull buoy all the time and they completely lose their kicking . They become very slow once they take out their pull buoy and this is not good, not good :)

Finally, have a great swim !

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

My Swim Race

I went to a swim meet in Okotoks a few days ago, it was the Alberta Provincial Masters. In order to be look professional and to make up for my lack of training , I did put on my jammers, well , did try. Haven't used it for a couple of years and I feared that I could not fit in. True enough, it took me awhile to fit in and the fish logo stiched on my jammers has expanded twice fold .





Well , I did get 2nd overall though with a time of 35.70 . Gosh , this was the time I clocked when I was 14 years old. My best was 32.1 when I was 17. I actually regressed. :)
Here is the video of my race.




and here is the video of current world record holder Cameron Van Der Burgh 50m short course race.

(sorry , user didnt allow me to show the video here , please click link)
50m Breaststroke World Record Race


Difference ?

Time
Cameron Van Der Burgh : 25.25
Darren Lim : 35.70 ( freaking 10 seconds behind him)

Stroke Count
Cameron Van Der Burgh : 1st 25m ( 6 ) , last 25m (9) , total : 15
Darren Lim : 1st 25m ( 9 ) , last 25m (12) , total : 21


sigh , Cameron Van Der Burgh breaststroke is even faster than my freestlye !

Thursday, April 1, 2010

A boy from a secret tribe in Malaysia breaks swimming world record

1st April 2010 - A secret tribe in the deep forest of Malaysia has been discovered recently. Scientist in Malaysia were astonished to discover that their livelihood evolve around the waters and they have tiny gills on the back of their necks. Chief Scientist Mohammed Bakaria said, : " They basically lived in the water and thus day to day activities were done in the water. Naturally , they were good swimmers and come no surprise to me that they can naturally swim faster than anyone else on the planet. "
This has been proven true after a swimming community in Malaysia got curious and managed to convince a boy from the tribe to try a 50m swim in an Olympic pool . The result is an amazing 13.54 seconds , way ahead of the current world record by Brazilian Cesar Cielo of 20.91 seconds. Please watch the video below of a day of the tribe in the river.




Cesar Cielo 50m world record video



Finally, gotcha ! Happy April's Fools day ! :)

Friday, March 5, 2010

Why am I slower than the guy next to me ?

Don't you sometimes wonder when you push off the wall at the same time as the dude next to you , he/she is just way ahead of you ?

Pretty simple answer actually, STREAMLINING !!

Streamlining is the most basic when it comes to swimming but sometimes we tend to forget this important element ! It is the foundation/ building blocks of all the strokes . Regardless of whether you are swimming backstroke, breaststroke, free or fly , you will have to streamline !

So how to achieve streamlining ?
3 key phrases !

- Arms behind ears ( not beside )
- Stand as tall as you can ( Stretch )
- Imagine yourself squeezing through a small hole

Example 1 : Michael Phelps

Can you picture him going through a small hole ? :)
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Example 2 : Ryan Lochte

Amazing streamlining and control , I think he is a fish .


Example 3 : Swimmer 1 negative example (During the kick off from the wall)

ie : didnt extend his body enough , arms not stretched far out and arms not behind the ears.



Example 4 : Swimmer 2 negative example (During the kick off from the wall)

premature first pull, again arms not stretch out and not behind the ears, head above the water , causing great deal of resistance , common beginners problem

So remember the 3 key phrases !
you can practise this everytime you kick off the wall . In order to see the diff:

- Push off once with your normal push off and see far you go,
- Now push off with the 3 key phrases in mind and see how far you go.

Notice the difference ?
You should be able to glide further now and faster . However , you might feel that you are losing balance ( body swaying left , right ) but thats OK , All you need to do is practise ..