I cannot Flip Turn

Then don't! That is all.    

You CAN flipturn!  You just don't know how. 

I dont either....was thinking of putting that on my off-season to do list...along with learning the 'fly.....

Practice makes perfect!  I can't do it without getting water up my nose..... yet.

My pool has a sign, "NO flip turns" so it's a moot point whether one can or cannot

I need to swim there, then I won't feel like such a dork.

It is on my off season to do list.....so that at master's I don't feel like such a dork and lose so much time at the wall.....

Personally I can flip turn but do not. I practice how I race and I've yet to find an OW tri that you can flip turn in.

and following that argument, I haven't found any where you have to come to a dead stop every 25m and then get yourself back up to speed. 

Hey I did that in my first TRI.  Needless to say my swim time was BOP!

I used to swim in high school which was a little longer than a couple years ago....anyway I've been swimming as an adult for the last couple years during my tri training.  Out of curiosity I timed my self last week on 25m repeats with flip turn vs no flip turn.  I saved an average of 3 seconds per length using a flip turn.  However the energy spent on lengths with flip turn was quite a bit more compared to the lengths without.  So 3 seconds to me isn't worth it, I can make that time up on the bike.

Why do they have such a sign?

Because flip turns are not allowed in the pool.

Dan....... your pool is weird. 

Why are flip turns not allowed in the pool?

Probably because both ends of the pool are about 3' deep, is my guess. The middle is 8' but it's an inverted bell shaped curve for a bottom.

See? I was right! Its weird.    

Dan....... your pool is weird.

X2. That whole argument doesn't work, flip turns or open turn, you are still doing turns regardless. I wouldn't worry about flip turns. If you want to do them, it takes practice but has little bearing on your overall swim training.


....and Dan's pool is wierd.

Edited by bryancd 2009-08-04 7:19 AM

If you are expending more energy with flip turns then you are not effecient at flip turns.

agreed  though I will say what keeps me from doing them right now (well mine suck) is the breathlessness - as someone with asthma I like the extra breath at the wall on open turns.  But now that my swim stroke is getting better (just slow not ridiculously slow) I see where I lose LOTS of time next to others....

Flip turns have nothing to do with triathlon, but everything to do with swim training.  Especially if you are going to go to masters, which is a great way to get faster, then to not slow the lane down at the wall you almost have to.

Try this,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtP8xgzm6do

Practice, practice, practice.  I have found this is the best way to learn anything.  The hardest part for me was 'when to start the flip'.

Agreed. 

and yes, Dan's pool is weird.    However, 3' is plenty deep enough to do a flip turn.