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Swimming Training Fins for Legs
~ shinfin™ Swim Training Benefits ~
Swim training fins for legs = freedom for feet
Swimming training fins that strap to your legs
I have written this page for good/elite swimmers and their coaches. It highlights the evolutionary benefits of swimming training with shinfin™ swim fins.
Good swim training fins must work with your natural swimming stroke, otherwise they can do you more harm than good. Swim training fins should "feel right" when you wear them. All your body movements (arms too) should be similar to your natural stroke. You should use the same muscles, in the same muscle sequence as your natural stroke. Your swim fins should always "feel right" even when you swim slower (perhaps to work on your upper body technique), or swim faster (perhaps with a higher beat kick). When you take off your swim training fins, your natural swimming stroke must return immediately without adjusting your stroke. Then you know your swim training fins are enhancing your natural stroke.
I have designed shinfin™ swim fins to offer you all these swim training advantages, and more. They achieve this by connecting power directly to your legs, above your ankle joints. Your feet and ankles are free to move normally and you swim with your natural stroke. Foot flippers cannot work with your natural stroke (even if you cut them short across the toes) basically because they are connected to your feet. This is why shinfin™ swim fins are an evolution from all foot flippers (even short training fins).
~ for freestyle, backstroke, butterfly (not breaststroke)
~ mantain horizontal, streamlined body position
~ fin power connects directly to your legs
~ add more leg power into your natural stroke
~ extra speed from up and down kicks
~ swim training with slow, medium and fast kick rates
~ swimming training with 2, 4 & 6-beat kicks
~ relaxed & comfortable feet and ankles
~ your feet move like without fins
~ your ankles flex like without fins
~ no extra stress in your feet and ankles
~ normal dive - curl your toes over the edge
~ flip-turn and easy push-off from wall
~ safer water entry and exit
~ safer walking
~ same muscles as without fins
~ same muscle sequence as without fins
~ power from thighs, buttocks, stomach, torso
~ relaxed and comfortable calf muscles
~ no extra strain in Achilles tendons
~ adjust fin position on leg to match your kick
~ legs stay horizontal, even for slow swim training
~ avoid dropped-knee "bicycle kick"
~ for full stroke and kick-only exercises
~ swim training with or without a kickboard
~ swim training fins give time for arm exercises
~ ideal for recovery swimming training
~ excellent for many water exercises
~ improve cardiovascular capacity and strength
~ for sea swimming training too
~ swim training for adults and children
I have designed shinfin™ swim fins to match the natural streamlined kicks for freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. Since about 1990, I have developed over 50 prototypes. Testing has included beginner and intermediate swimmers through to elite swimmers at the Australian Institute of Sport and in the Australian Olympic Team. Testing has also included physically and intellectually disabled swimmers. I have studied swim training with shinfin™ swim fins, with foot flippers and without any fins, using underwater video equipment and biomechanical analysis.
Good and elite swimmers and swim coaches quickly recognise the natural, streamlined kick of shinfin™ swim fins and their swimming training benefits. You feel how they help to keep your body horizontal for less drag. You feel how they guide you to kick from your hips, with only a little knee-bend. You feel the power of shinfin™ swimming fins coming from the big muscles in your upper legs, buttocks, stomach and torso. These are same muscles you use for good "no-fins" swimming (without straining your feet, ankles and calf muscles like foot flippers). You also feel how they give the correct body balance to support your arm stroke. So you know your swim training with shinfin™ swim fins is strengthening your natural kick - you can feel it. That's why they also improve your "no-fins" swimming technique (arms too), stroke efficiency and speed. I offer you shinfin™ swim fins as biomechanically advanced swim fins, an evolutionary step up from all foot flippers (even short, training foot flippers).
Most swimmers and coaches know that foot flippers corrupt your kick. Foot flippers cannot give similar swimming training advantages simply because they attach to your feet. They stiffen and cramp your feet and ankles, and disrupt water flow. Foot flippers change your body position and your ankle, knee and hip movements, often to a "bicycle-kick" with knees bent too low. You can't kick at your normal rate and you use different muscles. You know your swim training is wrong because your body remembers the corrupt foot flipper kick even after you take them off. That's why it takes a few laps without foot flippers, before your stroke feels natural again. Some coaches cut foot flippers short to try to improve them, but they are still connected to your feet so the problems remain. Other coaches refuse to use foot flippers at all for swimming training.
Marc, I am really enjoying my shinfin™ fins. The work out I am getting now is a huge improvement. When I take the fins off and swim without them my kick is a lot stronger than it used to be. Also wearing the fins helps my positioning so much that I can use hand paddles without using a pull buoy. I can't say enough good things about them, I will definitely recommend shinfin™ fins to fellow swimmers. Many Thanks. – Lorri from Santa Fe, New Mexico.
I tried them right away (only freestyle kick). This is my first observation: a) The allow for a relatively fast kick b) They guide to a "higher on the water" and a better balanced position for the freestyle. c) They take the load off the knees - this is important for me because I bought the fins for my niece (a 15 year old competitive swimmer) who has some knee ligament problems. I am extremely happy with the purchase. …and then, 4 weeks later… I really like the fins. I am going to order another pair for myself. - George from Ottowa, Canada.
Without a doubt the weakest part of my swimming was my kick. I tried specific kick training and have utilised ordinary fins for years, but as soon I started to swim, the kick would stop and my legs would just ‘hang’ there. The shinfin™ fins have helped me in two ways. First, the transition from fins to no-fins is easier to make with shinfin™ fins than with ordinary fins. Swimming with shinfin™ fins more closely resembles the action I am trying to achieve. That is, the predominant propulsion is still coming from the arms with support from the legs. Second, I am learning that good body rotation starts with the legs and I have experienced moments with the shinfin™ fins where everything seems to come together and I actually feel like a ‘proper' swimmer”. - John from New South Wales, Australia.
We are very happy with the fins and my son's times have taken a huge dive recently. This we believe is due to him starting to develop his kick better, and also his own determination to achieve greater results. - Bev from Whyalla Swim School, SA Australia.
It took me a few times swimming with them before I got comfortable, but I do like them …. I am planning on using them for training for fitness. I enjoy swimming training with fins to reduce the dependence on my upper body. I used the traditional fin quite extensively while serving in the military and I know that there is too much strain on the small muscle groups of the lower leg and foot. I was interested enough by reading your website information to give them a try. - Brock from Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
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