Coach-recommended Swim Equipment

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Key equipment for improving on the swim

In this podcast, Coach Gerry Rodrigues address the best equipment to benefit the triathlete swimmer so they can get the most out of their workouts. There are several swimming equipment items that triathletes should use to maximize their improvement. The first and most used tool is a front facing high tube snorkel. The reason is that the snorkel allows for a focus on the mechanics and allows the athlete to work on the mechanics without having the added problems caused by head movement during breathing. It is primarily used to focus on proper alignment.

The next item is one of the favorite tools among triathletes to use, the buoy. The best recommended buoy is the Jones Eney Bouy which has two hollow chambers that can be filled with water and used further for power pulling sets. Going along with the buoy is the ankle strap to lock in the feet to really cut off kicking and focus on pulling and alignment. The snorkel, buoy, and ankle straps are the best used all together for pulling sets. It allows one to work heavily on the straight-line alignment for all pulling sets.

In pulling sets, many people may want to use paddles as well. Gerry discusses the harms and benefits of paddle use in an article here. The paddles that Coach Gerry suggests are specific ones called the Tech Paddles. These paddles attach to the forearm while the hand grips a spool with a fist to hold them in place. This type of paddle takes away the hand sensation in normal pulling and puts the emphasis on the forearm. This helps to build stronger forearm pulling and focus on a higher elbow.

The next beneficial item is a tempo trainer. This is a small device with a metronome that clips right into a swim cap. A tempo trainer helps count and establish a normal strokes-per-minute rate. This tool is useful for working on increasing your strokes per minute. Another useful tool is dry-land stretch cords which can additionally be used for a warm up before a race.

The final equipment items are the fins. These are used to promote recovery of the legs after any swim, run or bike training. They are never used for fast kicking but can be helpful in teaching the proper kicking form.

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date: September 28, 2017

Team BT