Lose the Buoy

Pull buoys have one central drawback: They fool you into thinking you’re balanced. They’re so popular with thousands of swimmers because poor balance is such a common problem. So long as you have a buoy on, it supports your hips and legs. You feel better and swim faster. The problem is that using it never seems to teach you how to stay balanced after you use it. As soon as you remove the buoy, that sinking feeling is right back and you’re no better off than before. Want to feel better without the buoy—permanently? Balance drills, keeping your head in line with your spine, swimming “downhill,” and swimming with fistgloves® produce lasting lessons in how to stay balanced while you swim.

And as for the idea that training with a buoy strengthens your pull by overloading and isolating your arms, in fact, it does just the opposite. The artificial buoyancy of the buoy raises your body in the water; it underloads your arms—no training benefit at all. Moreover, using a buoy can actually hurt your stroking power, because power doesn’t come from the arms; it comes from core-body rotation. Buoys are likely to inhibit your body roll, interfering with your rhythm and power. Fortunately, once you do learn balance, putting on a buoy should feel all wrong, which will soon discourage you from using one.

The sole circumstance in which there might be some value in using a buoy is this: If you are one of those extremely lean or densely muscled athletes who seems permanently balance-challenged, if you experience what feels like terminal struggle while doing balance drills, if you have a “frantic” kick, you may be able to selectively use a buoy as one way to break the cycle of struggling. Using a fairly small buoy, swim a relaxed pool length. Keep your head in line and swim as silently as you can. As you do, tune in to how it feels to be supported, to be able to glide an unhurried arm forward and swim a little “taller,” to be able to let go of your kick. Can’t feel it after one length? Do a few more 25s that way. When those sensations come, just capture and imprint them. Then remove the buoy and swim two 25s without it. Keep your head in line and swim downhill. Swim as gently and quietly as possible. You have just one goal: to get your no-buoy laps to feel as much like the buoy lap as possible. Patiently repeat this pattern for ten or fifteen minutes. As your no-buoy laps begin to feel as relaxed as the buoyed laps, add more unbuoyed 25s.