I forgot to ask my question...

It's a must have skill if you are a swimmer and are planning on competing in swimming events, especially long distance ones.
As a triathlete you won't be doing any flips, so there is no point in wasting valuable practice time on something that has as much benefit to your tri performance as learning to juggle does. I can do flips, but I never do them for that reason. Same with pushing off the wall. Yeah, I can flip, push off the wall, glide for about 5-10 meters and then swim the rest of the lap, but what's the point? There won't be any walls out in the lake/ocean on the race day...

I agree with Harris. As a triathlete you do not need to know how to do flip turns. I used to be a swimmer in high school and know how to do them but since there is no walls in the pools of any of the lakes I plan to swim in I do not use them in practice. I only push off the wall enough so I can get back into my form. I don't push and glide.

Edited by kgart 2004-03-12 3:09 PM

This user's post has been ignored.

I agree with the other posts in that there will be no walls to push off of which kind of defeats the whole endurance purpose however I tend to use them just because I feel like stopping to turn kills my momentum. If you'd really like to learn them here is a link with video that I used to get me started. Then I just practiced it a few times a night after my regular swim sessions until I got it down. This way I wasnt really "wasting time" it was just extra.

http://www.goswim.tv/2004welcome/indexframe.html

Click on Video Clips then scroll down a bit under the "Starts and Turns" section is "Flip turn sequence"

Edit:
Also there is somewhere else on that site that actually walks you through each exercise one by one with individual sequences rather than all exercises in the same video so look around and you should be able to find it.

Edited by soupaman 2004-03-12 4:05 PM

Learning to do flip turns is not a necessity for most triathletes, but it is useful nonethelss. At least it cannot hurt. For my first sprint triathlon, the swim leg will be in a pool at a local university, so I have been practicing my flip turns. After doing a workout yesterday, I pulled off to the non-lane side of the pool and practiced swimming towards the wall from a few strokes away. I have not done these in years so I am trying my best to do them from memory. First, when I get about one stroke away from the side, I dive idownward, hands on my head, and do a sort of somersault. I bring my feet onto the side of the pool and allow the momentum to push intol my legs until they are completely compressed. Then I spring off the side of the pool and turn right side up, bringing my arms forward. When I feel that I am slowing, I allow myself to rise to the surface and resume my stroke.

My first triathlon isn't in open water, it is in a pool. I don't practice flip turns because, 1., I really don't know how to do them properly, and 2., my goggles always end up filling with water. Any ideas on why that happens? Are my goggles to loose or is my head in the wrong position when I push away from the wall?

I also agree that right now I look forward to those few seconds of "free breathing" that I get when I turn around after 25 yards. If I was in open water, I'd be hurting I think.

Below is my answer to this qustion from a few weeks ago. Good Luck!


I can help with this. I have taught hundreds of people, from 3 years old on up to PADI Dive Masters, all using the same basic approach. First, make sure that you are pretty comfortable doing somersaults in the water. Next, stand with your arms extended and fingertips just barely touching the wall and practice somersaulting close to the wall. When you are comfortable with that, move back to the flags and swim to the wall and somersault just before your fingertips touch the wall, just somersault as in the previous step. When confortable with swimming in and somersaulting, try swimming in, flipping and placing your feet on the wall as you come to a face up position. When you've got the foot thing down, try to swim in, flip, place feet and push off On YOUR BACK in a streamline position. When you can execute the pushoff and streamline on your back, you can add the turn over to your stomach and swimming. By far the easiset way to learn the flipturn is to break it down into steps, practice each step until comfortable, then move on to the next step. Good luck, let me know how it goes!

I have to put in my 2 cents again on this - You should do the flip turns when you are training for swimming. It gives your back a stretch! Open turns puts more pressure on your back.

Get with someone there in the pool who is dooing it and ask them for help.

One drill we used to do was stand out 10 yds or so from the wall and do a couple of quick flips off the bottom as fast as possible. Next swim in to the wall and just flip over and plant your feet. The motion is similar.

In previous posts we discussed that it really isn't a flip at all, more of a fold and unfold.

well said Haris!

I really haven't learned to do flip turns. If someday I become super-swimmer,and am bored, I might try to learn them. For now, I am focusing on my form and reducing stroke count.
Just my 2 cents
Jen

Hermom,

At what point do you turn over onto your stomach? Before or after you push off the wall? I have always flipped, and turned before pushing off, but I'm self taught and not sure if that's correct. Thanks.

They're fun to do though, and that's motivating for me.  Sometimes I miss the wall entirely, try to push and just get water, then start to sink.  Kind of annoying, but mostly fun.

You should push off on your back and turn to your stomach after or as you extend your legs. Get into a tight streamline position prior to your first pull. You should also start your kick as soon as you start to lose the momentum from your push-off. Good luck, let me know if I can help with anything else.

FYI, I do know how to juggle, but not when doing a flip turn!

Sharon

I am a no push no flip kinda guy myself. I have a hard enough time just swimming. Jack

I also do not push nor flip (and not just because I don't know how). Since I cannot do this in the lake, I try to swim as much of the distance as possible. It is truly amazing though what a difference that tiny little "rest" gives you at the turn around compared to open water....

I wouldn't worry about flip turns. I dislocated my shoulder 13 times while doing flip turns in races while in high school. The pain isn't worth it.

Mike