The Proper Way To Add Paddles To Your Swim Training

The more propulsion you create, the faster you swim in the water. The arms are the main source of propulsion during freestyle swimming, so the more you can learn to use your arms to create propulsion, the faster you’ll go. It’s a key priority in effective swim training. As an added benefit, it saves your legs for the rest of the race.

To create more propulsion with your arms, two areas need to be improved: First, you need physical strength to create the necessary forces; then, you also need the endurance to continue to create those forces throughout your whole race.

Beyond the physical demands, it’s also necessary to develop the skill to move your arms in ways that generate propulsion. While physical fitness is critical, you need the technical skills to use that fitness to create speed. You must learn to position your arm so that as much of it as possible is facing backward. That allows you to move water over a big surface. The bigger the surface area you can create with your arm, the more water you can move, and the more speed you can create.

Fortunately, you can use paddles to improve both your upper body strength and endurance, as well as your propulsive skill. But it’s not as simple as grabbing any pair of paddles and having at it. You want to select the right pair of paddles for you, and use them in a way that keeps you safe and makes progress.

Choosing a swim paddle

Paddles are effective because they can change the size and shape of your hand. Using paddles that are bigger than your hands will allow you to pull with a bigger surface area. This helps you feel what it’s like to move more water, and it also can create an overload for your upper body. This can help improve your fitness and your skills.

When selecting a paddle size, you want to choose one that is slightly larger than your hand. If it’s smaller than your hand, it won’t have much impact. If it’s a lot bigger than your hand, it can negatively affect your skills, as well as create too much load for your arms to handle. Bigger is not better in almost all cases.

Different paddles also come in different shapes, made to emphasize specific aspects of the pull. Specialty paddles, like those that go on your forearms or come in unique shapes, can be useful if they solve a specific problem you have. However, they can also force you into unnatural pulling patterns if you’re not using them correctly or if they’re not appropriate for you.

Fortunately, you don’t even need to buy a pair of these paddles. At the end of this article, I’ll show you how to use one pair of regular paddles to accomplish multiple goals. Flat, hand-shaped paddles with small holes tend to work best for most individuals.

I tend to favor Strokemaker paddles, as they offer a variety of sizes, are simple in design, durable, and inexpensive. Other similar paddles are available that will get the job done, too. If you have a specific technical problem you want to solve, you have money to burn, and you’re willing to experiment, you can consider specialty paddles. If not, I would stick with what is simple and effective.

Easing into swimming with paddles

Once you find a great pair of paddles, it’s time to start using them. The first key consideration is to ease into it. Paddles can potentially increase the load your upper body experiences, as well as alter your skills. Both changes will expose your upper body to new stress. The last thing you want to do is add a lot of stress to your shoulders.

Start small and start slow. If you’ve never used paddles before, start with something like 10% of your workout, and only use them every other workout. This is pretty conservative, but you’re better off going slow than getting injured.

From there, you can slowly ramp it up based on your response. For most, there’s no need to perform more than 25% of your training with paddles. There are diminishing returns in terms of improvement, and ultimately, you need to be able to swim well without the paddles, not with them, so paddleless swimming should be the focus.

As promised, here are two simple ways to introduce paddles that put less stress on your shoulders while also increasing your technical skill. First, try holding your paddles upside down. This forces you to learn how to pull with your forearm and your hand as a unit, which is critical for creating more propulsion. Your goal is to then execute your pull in the same way without the paddle.

Second, try holding your paddles by pinching them. This requires you to be very deliberate with your entry and very stable with your wrist as you pull, or you’ll lose control of the paddle. Both skills are critical for creating propulsion. (Just start with short reps, as your hands will get tired!)