Not-Essential but Nice to Have

1. Finis PT Paddles or Palm Paddles – conventional paddles work on the assumption that if you create a larger surface area for the hand to work against it will help you develop a greater catch and feel for the water. However, overuse of large paddles with poor technique can be very troublesome for your shoulders. They might also slow your stroke rate down to an unrealistically low rate and with swimming being limited more by technique than brute strength, the notion that you need to become stronger to swim faster is normally misguided. PT and Palm Paddles work as a direct opposite to a normal paddle in that their convex shape removes the sensation of a good catch and thus encourages you to bend your elbow more under the water to gain a better catch with the forearm. When used for the first time they really feel like your hands are slipping through the water but that is precisely the point – remove the paddle after 50 m to 100 m and your sense of ‘feel for the water’ is greatly heightened.
2. Other Conventional Paddles – there is a huge range of the more conventional style of paddle available on the market, with new designs being created all the time. Conventional paddles still have a place in the kit bag of more advanced swimmers with good stroke technique and certainly the smaller ‘finger paddles’ (not shown) are great for developing a better initial catch. Avoid overuse of any paddle and be wary of the desire to become stronger by using them – it’s usually the stronger athletes, who need a little more finesse in their stroke, who tend to reach for the big dinner-plate paddles before anyone else in the squad.
3. Finis Snorkel – snorkels are a good way of taking the breathing action out of the freestyle stroke giving you uninterrupted time to focus on other aspects of your stroke like rotation and your catch. Many swimmers find that they feel quite claustrophobic when using a snorkel because they subtly reduce the air flow and make the process more hypoxic than normal swimming. For this reason it is well worth trying one before investing to see how you get on with them.
4. Finis Tech Toc – developing your body rotation can feel like quite an alien concept for those who have swum completely flat for years but the Tech Toc helps you to tune into the rhythm and timing of this essential part of your stroke. The Tech Toc is a hollow cylinder containing a large ball bearing, which sits on your lower back held in place by a waist strap. As you swim it provides an audible click and kinaesthetic sensation as to how well you are rotating. Its name comes from the fact that if you are rotating efficiently you will hear and feel the ball bearing roll to one end of the tube and make a ‘toc’ sound and then with the next stroke it should roll to the other end and make a ‘toc’ sound. If you are not rotating well enough it will remain silent!
5. Swimming watches by Finis, Garmin and Swimovate – great for gadget lovers everywhere! These sophisticated devices use accelerometers to be able to tell each time you take a stroke, when you reach the end of the pool and when you turn to come back. By recording this data for subsequent review, the swimmer is able to build up a very clear picture of how well they are pacing themselves. All watches contain an algorithm to calculate a ‘SWOLF score’ which is based on the ‘swim golf’ idea that if you add the number of strokes taken in a given length to the time in seconds to complete that length, you will have an index of ‘efficiency’ with the theory being that the lower the score, the more efficient the swimmer.
   As you will read in the rest of this book, SWOLF scores are not always a true indication of actual swimming efficiency and for this reason Swim Smooth tend not to use this measure as it can predispose people to overly lengthening their strokes. The Garmin 910 XT watch also contains a GPS receiver, which allows you to use the watch in the open water and check how far and how straight you have swum.