Who does flip turns and why?

You will probably get a lot of responses to this but it boils down to a few point/counter points.

1. I don't do them because it isn't what I do in OWS so I'm wasting effort.
2. I do them because it has less interuption in my stroke / breathing / rythm than grabbing the wall so it is more like OWS
3. I don't do them because it hurts / I get water in my nose / I have health issues that prevent it.
4. I do them because I do a lot of pool tri's (colder regions) and it helps.

For me personally, I don't really know how to do them so sometimes, if I'm bored, I'll play at them for a while.  If I ever happen to get good at them, I'll do them more.

There are two general answers to flip turns.

1. Do them, because (fill in reason).   A common reason is that flip turns are what "real" swimmers do when doing laps in a pool, and many of us feel that triathletes should strive to be a fully competent swimmers, fully competent cyclists, and fully competent runners, rather than accepting "almost competent is good enough, after all I'm a triathlete".  Another common reason is that flip turns often result in more fluid, less interrupted, smoother swimming than open turns.

2. Don't do them, because (fill in reason).  A common reason is that OWS is not like pool swimming anyway, so there's little benefit to a triathlete to practice a skill like flip turns that won't be utilized come race day.

If you want to do them, do them.  If you don't, don't.  I do them simply because it's the natural thing to do for me as a swimmer.  I do think it's a good skill to learn to make you a better overall swimmer but I would put it pretty low on the priority list of skills to acquire. 

if you don't do flip turns how are you going to be an elitist over the other triathletes at your pool?

If doing flip turns is MORE of an exertion, you are doing them incorrectly.

Now that is a good reason.

I guess what I mean is that I do not put a lot of effort in pushing off and coasting and getting most out of it like a real swimmer would. My mind set is I'm there to work on my stroke, not pushing off a wall as best I can. I have read though that doing flips will bring your HR up more though and that is what I've found. Wether that is in my head or not I don't know.

I was resistant to do them at first using the logic that I wouldn't be doing them in OWS. Since I started doing flip turns a couple of years ago my swimming times rapidly went down both pool and OWS. It makes my work-outs  smooth and efficient. I wish I hadn't been an anti at first because I'm sure I could have shortened my learning curve

I wouldn't worry too much about HR during swimming. I also push off just hard enough to get me back up to cruising speed unless I am suffering through hard intervals.

Gliding during the push is an important skill to learn IMHO because it helps me focus on being streamline. Bigger improvements can be made by most people by cutting through the water efficiently than by splashing your arms harder.

Not looking like a dork... another good reason.

JHC.... 20 flippin times to post...

Thanks for your experience. Perhaps it would be worth the rhythm like others have said too. That would be a benefit

For me, this ^^^^^   You saved me a lot of typing.

Wait, we run around in spandex shorts and sausage-casing tops, half the time covered in advertising, and you are worried about looking like a dork?

One thing I find perplexing about the tri crowd is the reluctance to take the next step in each discipline to put them on par with folks who excel in a single discipline.  Doing flip turns is a basic skill for being a good swimmer and there's no arguing that at all.  If you don't do them, fine, but don't expect your swimming to be as good as it should be.  If you honestly think that coming to a dead stop, grabbing the wall, doing the breath gasp, pushing off in the water plow position and going a whopping 1 yard underwater is good for your swimming, keep it up.  Otherwise, learn to flip.  I've heard every tri excuse in the book for not flipping but the moment a non flipper gets it down the story changes immediately and is always accompanied by "why didn't I learn to do this sooner?"

And, another curiosity about the reluctance of tri geeks to do flip turns is their willingness to slap on every swim training toy made, which have absolutely no benefit for the average triathlete swimmer.

Go to a pool with a good group of swimming triathletes.  Every single one will be dong flip turns.  Hmmm, kind of makes you wonder.

Your comments kind of conflict with each other.  I am lucky enough to have an olympic swim coach in the family.  Sadly for me he lives far away but he was here long enough to teach me flip turns in like 5 minutes.  Others have tried and failed.  But, as he was giving me instructions for the rest of my swim training he told me the toys I should buy.  So, if real swimmers flip turn and you say we should too cause we want to step up to the next level then shouldn't we then also use "toys" cause well, the real swimmers do?  Granted you have to know when and how but that's a different argument.

I flip turn cause it actually makes swimming more interesting and fun for me.  I find I stay in the grove better.  I don't find it takes extra energy to do.  If anything, now that I know how to do them to stop and turn at the wall without the flip turn seems "harder".

I said average triathlete swimmer in regards to toys.  Training toys have a definite purpose, as you said, if used correctly.  Fins for load sets.  I'm no fan of buoys and paddles because I loaf when I wear them, but that's just me.

x3...lets not overstate the importance of the flip turn, is it a skill yes, whether it helps in tri training is debatable (of course we do that on BT a lot)....I dont do them, but I can see how they keep you in a rhythm and maybe I will learn them one day.....however lets not kid ourselves, the only reason why the so called "real swimmers" do them is that probably one day  along time ago in a land far far away when they realized they could not build 100 meter plus pools someone said " if I could make that turn faster I would win a lot more races" thereofore the birth of the Flip Turn.

I just started learning flip turns about two weeks ago.  After doing open turns at the pool for the last two years I figured it was time.  So as a flip turn "newbie" here is my immediate observation.  It definitely makes my swim sessions tougher.  No more nice big lung-fulls of air at the wall.  Those three seconds or so resurfacing from the glide can seem like an eternity. 

My masters coach tells me a good flip turn will provide about a 4 second advantage over an open turn.  I have yet to test this theory. 

But mostly.....I think it will help me learn to live out of my "comfort zone" whereas aerobic capacity is concerned.

I've been swimming for years but never tried to learn to flip turn.  That is until last summer when I was at the pool with my kids.  They were in their first swim lessons before they could walk and are both very good swimmers.  Anyway, they were doing flip turns and they wanted to see me do one.  Well, it was not pretty.  But we made a game of it.  Now I routinely flip turn.  The one advantage that I feel I am getting is I have to control my breathing more. 

Lots of people don't flip turn.  No reason to if it's not something you are interested in.