Best swimming training fins according to redditors

you will get what you need there when you get there. Anything else is for your own PT and you can't take it with you.

Your pack choice is meh. I never used it but I would get used to rucking with an old shitty alice pack since worst case that's what you'd use. The fin choice is good though that's actually what I used for PT back in the day. Make sure you get lots of practice with fins and without and doing a fuck ton of pushups and and pull ups after doing a lot of CSS. For funsies.

This is the exact model I used so yours is basically the same

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014F4RJ0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

check out this collection of workouts that is not hosted by /r/military and I just found laying around

https://www.reddit.com/r/navyseals/comments/3s5lep/compiled_exercise_programs/

Have you got some fin keepers? Losing a fin sucks. I like these ones. The triangle keepers make my feet cramp up.

Work on your fitness. It's much more fun when you're not gassed all the time. Learn to duck dive properly. There's plenty of how-tos on Youtube. It'll help you save energy.

Try to relax when you're getting worked over by a wave. If you tense up you burn more O2.

$10 on Amazon. 3/5 stars (47 reviews) with 38% being 5 star reviews and 37% being 1 star.


Most common complaints: too tight, product breaks/tears, does not make you swim faster.

I've used products similar to these and they absolutely help you swim faster, assuming you're swimming freestyle and have the upper body strength to pull the added resistance. These ones however are sized for children and will likely become trash shortly after the first use.

Drills:

2 kicks per pull

butterfly kick w/breast pull

Both should keep you mindful of the butterfly-like motion your body should be doing through the course of the stroke and break you out of the "gonna stick my head up and breath" mold that you're probably stuck in.

Kick:
Breaststroke fins - http://www.amazon.com/Speedo-Breaststroke-Training-Green-Small/dp/B000MFEZL8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464907086&sr=8-1

Nothing makes your kick honest like those fins. You'll get out of the "sideways scissor" in a hurry.

As far as racing, /u/DuskytheHusky has it right. Deep water is fast water, and you're never faster than when you've pushed off the wall, so maximize it, and keep your profile low and tight with respect to the direction you're moving.

A binder of workouts would be good. His own gear would be a great gift: they sell pull buoys, fins, [kickboards] (http://swimming.epicsports.com/prod/32101/the-finals-kickboard-swim-training-aids.html), and a mesh bag to put it all in.

Swim lessons aren't a BAD idea, but sometimes swim instructors aren't very good. What your husband probably needs is an actual coach. I know there are some sites (can't find them right now) that you can send in an underwater video of his swimming stroke to be analyzed by a professional (but that might be annoying?). This site has lots of swimming technique videos. I have some of these videos and they are actually pretty good.

I hope that helps!

It sounds as though you aren't scared of the water, just that you don't know how to start. That's good.

Get yourself a kickboard. That way, you have something to hold onto while you learn the basics. Also, swimming goggles. The inability to see clearly under water scares some people.

Start by learning how to kick:
Hold the front of the board, so you're kind of propped up on top, and kick you legs. Do it rhythmically; don't flail. Keep your toes pointed out (away) and your legs straight.

Then learn how to breath:
Now hold your board at the end closer to you. Don't lock your arms, so you have room to turn your head. Keep your head facing down/angled away, you'll hurt your neck otherwise. When you need to take a breath, turn your head to the side (alternate sides if you can) instead of popping it directly upward. This should get you comfortable with having your head under the water most of the time.

Side note: getting pool water in your ears or eyes is really not that bad. The ears might hurt like a sonofabitch, but it doesn't happen often, and some alcohol drops make that go away. The eyes will just sting slightly, but you can still see decently without goggles. Don't be afraid of either.

Getting the arms going:
Same thing as the previous step, except now you'll be taking strokes with your arms, too. Stroke: dip your hand and a bit of your forearm in the water (don't go deeper!), and pull back steadily along the top foot-or-so of water until your hand is near your waist. Then use your elbow to bring it up and out of the water and move it just above the top of the water to hold on to the kickboard again. Alternate sides (must be left-right-left-right (apologies for the Coldplay reference)). When you have to breathe, turn your head to the side of that stroke (while your arm is coming up to the kickboard) and take a quick breath. These are short and strong breaths, lasting between half of a second and a full second. The more relaxed you are, the longer your breaths will last. Your strokes should not coincide with your kicks; kick continuously, but make your strokes long and slow.

Get rid of the kickboard:
Now, put it all together! You'll be stroking and kicking more quickly, so try to breathe every three or four strokes. Don't forget to look forward so you don't crash into a wall!

Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you want more clarity or suggestions on something.

Fuck it, who cares if its childish! :P

They make them for adults too, not as mermaidy but heres one. Just search for like "monofin". Theres a guy here with a big expensive one that uses it for scuba diving...I am infinitely jealous of him.

I don't like zoomers, they're made of hard rubber. I like the cheap snorkeling fins that are made of the stretchy rubber that wraps the foot so there isn't any rubbing. They work great, and they're loose enough that your kicking tempo won't be slowed down too much. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Long-Floating-Fin-Blue-Yellow/dp/B001M0O4XQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1458252453&sr=1-1&keywords=swim+fins

Get to know Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Team-Sports-America-NFL0109-829-Baltimore/dp/B001UFHWV4/

I would not recommend doing the butterfly stroke right away then.. You can find it on youtube and they have some tutorials. A kickboard is this.

It allows you to float on top of the water and only use your legs to get to either side of the pool.

but for the other strokes and such I'm sure you can find a great website to teach you how to do it. I'm looking into it right now.

I've had a similar new swimmer experience as you trying to swim free style for distance.

Pull buoy was great, but I used it too much.

So I graduated to fins (http://www.amazon.com/FINIS-2-35-003-Zoomers-Gold-Yellow-Zoomers/dp/B004O6G9W4), but tried to consciously not get hooked on using them more than whole stroke swimming based on my aforementioned pull buoy addiction. Fins are still lots of fun, but I use them sparingly.

From there, I went to using kick board in between sets and a LOT at the end of workouts. My basic goal being to get the muscle memory in place (my kick, like yours, was only good for short distances) so that I can kick without thinking about it. As has been stated above, it's really all about body position (mostly head and hips for me). This last piece worked wonders for me.

Good luck!

i was thinking of maybe getting some of these http://www.amazon.com/FINIS-2-35-003-Zoomers-Gold-Yellow-Zoomers/dp/B004O6G9W4 and a kickboard. feel like that could work for a good while no?

http://www.amazon.com/Speedo-7530318-001-Adult-Kickboard-Black/dp/B005M0I46K/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1371146089&sr=1-1&keywords=kickboard

Has anyone tried this ?
http://www.amazon.com/FINIS-1-05-014-Tech-Toc/dp/B001GQ2BPE/

We don't put them on in the shallows, we'll hold onto them until it's deep enough to swim. Basically, after you dive under the first wave or two, take 3 or 4 strokes to get to deeper water then thrown the fins on. We spend a LOT of time training with fins, including ranked races against other trainees, so getting proficient to the point were it takes sub 5 seconds to put them on is expected.

Also, I'd like to point out that the fins we use are not normal swim or five fins, but are usually body surfing or body boarding fins, like these, these, or these.

probably a bit

they sell this on amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Easyinsmile-Swimming-Eco-Friendly-Exercise-Increased-Resistance/dp/B07253GSH7/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1536059523&sr=8-14&keywords=webbed+swim+gloves

Something like this? What size foot are you/did you size up?