Get Power in your Legs by Using Fins

If you swim regularly in a pool, the chances are that you don’t bother with wearing fins. Swimmers usually can’t be bothered to carry them around with them or they don’t make you look cool.  But fins offer swimmers, particularly those training for an event, many benefits and in particular added power to your legs and protection for your feet.

In fact, wearing a pair of fins can increase your swimming speed by around 50%. They also make your legs stronger as the added resistance of fins builds strength in your quadriceps and hamstring.

Many swimmers focus more on breathing and their upper body strength than lower; wearing fins helps you focus more on moving your legs, which consist of the largest muscles in your body.  So, imagine the massive cardiovascular benefit of wearing fins to work on these important muscles?

Safety Precautions when Wearing Fins

When you wear fins, particularly for the first time, you need to be mindful of some safety issues. If you are wearing your fins in a pool, you may find the surface is more slippery so be careful when walking.  Also, fins can be a bit of a hindrance if you are trying to turn in a pool and it takes practice to get it right.

However, if you are swimming in the sea, fins will give you added leg power if you get caught in a strong current or tide.  What’s more, if have the fortune to be swimming or snorkelling near coral which can be very sharp, fins will protect your feet as well as giving you extra power to dive down deeper.

When swimming with fins, for the best performance keep them submerged as breaking the water’s surface will waste energy.  When it comes to snorkelling, keep your arms along your side whilst moving your legs in an underwater flutter stroke.  More advanced swimmers who use fins regularly, can learn the dolphin kick which involves moving your legs up and down together, and you can even invest in a mono fin to make this stroke even easier.

Using Other Equipment

Swimming with fins is a great option when it comes to water-based activities including snorkelling and scuba diving, which also require the use of other equipment including a snorkel or oxygen tank.  Wearing fins makes it easier to manage the other equipment effectively.  For example, if you’re snorkelling in seep water, and you need to come back up to the surface to adjust your mask, your fins will not only propel you quicker to the surface but will give you extra buoyancy whilst treading water.

Professionals, such as deep sea divers and under water photographs, really appreciate the extra propulsion power of fins which frees up their arms to focus on taking photos.

Types of Fins

Sharks Swim Shop stocks a range of fins for different levels of swimming and experience.  We stock training fins for swimmers or tri-athletes looking to improve their strength and speed in competitions; these fins are also ideal for the activities we have outlined above including diving and snorkelling.  If you want to take your fins up to the next level, we also offer the Speedo Fast Skin kick fin for professional swimmers.

We also stock Monfins for both adults and children. Using these recreational fins is a great way to practice underwater dolphin kicks which will help you to get into great shape and used extensively as a training tool by some of the world’s best swimmers.

Take a look at our full range of swimming fins at our website: www.sharksswimshop.com: