by
Olivier Poirier-Leroy
Swim fins are one of swimmers’ weapons for faster swimming. Here’s how to use them smartly for improving technique, power, and speed.
Swim fins increase the surface area of swimmers’ feet, displacing more water, creating larger vortices, significantly increasing velocities when kicking and swimming.
Fins are a popular tool for swimmers for a few reasons, including increased velocities above and below the surface of the water and reduced exertion (cough-it’s easier than regular swimming).
Swim fins come in a range of sizes and shapes (short blade fins are the superior option for swimmers), but where swimmers and coaches often get hung up is how to use fins for improving swim performance.
Because they make swimming feel easier, training fins can easily become a crutch. They can also change stroke and kick kinematics, so overuse can actually change technique for the worse.
In this guide, we will look at some high-performance tips for how to use swim fins for better swim workouts and training. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of how fins can be used strategically for helping you swim faster fin-free.
Let’s jump in.
The ways that swimmers and coaches can use swim fins to improve swim workouts include:
Next, we will look at each tip and include some practical suggestions for maximizing improvement in the water.
Let’s start at the start of the swim workout: warming up!
Generally speaking, the least pleasant part of the session. Cold water, cold muscles, and the impending doom of a tough main set dominates your thoughts.
Using swim fins during the warm-up has become a staple in my own training and the swimmers I work with for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it reduces excess strain on the shoulders.
Swimmers do enough overhead rotations in each workout; warm-up should not include “hard” arm strokes anymore than necessary beyond the shoulder joints being warm for the main set.
Fins also get swimmers into a mindset of longer walls and better body position. The added surface area on the fins gives swimmers more of a “pop” on the downkick, keeping them horizontal along the surface of the water. And even though fins make swimming feel easier, they do activate the muscle groups in the legs better than regular swimming.
By using fins during warm-up, swimmers can reduce overloading the shoulders, easing the shoulder joints into the workout, start swimmers off with excellent body positioning, and also get the leg muscles churning sooner.
Using swim fins is an excellent way to improve your upkick. The upkick is by far the most overlooked part of the kick and is linked to significantly faster kicking.
For example, a study published in the Journal of Sports Biomechanics titled “Comparison of foot pressure distribution and foot kinematics in undulatory underwater swimming between performance levels” showed that the fast kickers demonstrated much faster upkick velocity compared to the slower kickers.
Atkinson et al., (2014), in analyzing the underwater dolphin kick of a group of national-level swimmers, found that the elite kickers had faster toe speed during the upkick phase.
The added surface area of fins gives swimmers a better opportunity to feel and work the upkick, building a more balanced kicking motion.
Swim fins significantly increase distance per stroke.
One study with a group 11 experienced male swimmers had them swim 50’s freestyle fast with paddles, fins, and without equipment. Perhaps unsurprisingly, when the swimmers rocked their swim fins, distance per stroke skyrocketed, increasing to 2.46m from 2.02m.
Distance per stroke is important as it demonstrates efficiency of movement, power in propulsion, and reduced drag. Fins promote more efficient swimming, giving you a model for what it looks and feels like to swim with enhanced DPS.
When using fins, take note of:
One of the perks of swim gear like fins is that it provides a mental and physical model of how our body can move more efficiently through the water. So take notes and apply to your regular swimming.
Elite and non-elite swimmers know the importance of a fast underwater dolphin kick. Fins are one of the weapons of choice for improving dolphin kick technique and power.
Using fins are an excellent tool for a better dolphin kick as the increased surface area on the blades increases sensory awareness of each phase and movement, from undulation to knee bend to toe speed.
Swim fins are an excellent tool for reinforcing a hip-driven kick that reduces excess knee bend.
Too much knee bend when kicking causes velocity to crater.
A study published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living titled “Ankle joint flexibility affects undulatory swimming speed” tested different levels of ankle restriction on kicking speeds with ten well-trained swimmers. As ankle range of motion decreased, swimmers compensated by bending their knees. Which led to a ton of increased drag and slower kicking.
When using swim fins, swimmers use a slightly slimmer kick amplitude (~10% less according to Zamparo et al., 2002) and kicking from the hips and reducing speed-crushing excessive knee bend.
Again, fins “teach” the body what it takes to move more efficiently in the water, and using an optimal kick amplitude that also reduces excess knee bend is a lesson to learn from your swim fins.
Where swim fins are the most fun is when using them for speed and power work. After all, who doesn’t LOVE hauling chlorinated a** across the pool while wearing fins?
Because kicking and swimming with fins significantly increase propulsion, swimmers have the opportunity to train at higher intensities and fire more fast-twitch muscles.
A study examined the different speeds and kinematics of all-out swimming with fins, paddles, and without equipment. Fins easily led the pack (2.1m/s), followed by paddles (1.86m/s), and equipment-free swimming at the back of the lane (1.71m/s).
Sprint-focused work with fins can include:
For the sprint-focused swimmer, using swim fins is a bit of a no-brainer as you’ll power up kick and swim speeds.
Not all fins are created equal. Swimmers have the choice between short and long blade fins. Rubber and silicone construction. Different levels of stiffness and flex. Edged rails, drainage chutes, different heel designs. For swimmers and swim parents, choosing the right swim fins can quickly get overwhelming.
Youth and beginner swimmers should start out with floating mid-length fins. These are more lightweight than short blade fins (I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but rubber is lighter and less dense than silicone) and much cheaper.
The increased surface area on the blade helps swimmers stay at the surface via a more powerful downkick and learn hydrodynamic body positioning.
The larger blade also promotes more sensory awareness on the upkick phase, where swimmers tend to lose a lot of momentum and treat as a recovery phase instead of using it for propulsion.
The FINIS Floating Fins and the Sporti Floating Fins are two excellent choices for swimmers looking for a mid to long blade training fin.
More experienced competitive swimmers should opt for silicone-made short blade fins. These are extremely comfortable, long-lasting (silicone doesn’t crack from extended chlorine exposure and very rarely tears), and the short blade better mimics kicking tempo.
This leads to better transfer when training with fins to kicking without them.
The best “elite” fins are the DMC Elite Max fins. They are made with a silicone derivative called silform that is softer and more “flexy” compared to regular silicone.
Makes for an excellent and highly swim-specific movement pattern when kicking fast with them on. DMC Elite Max fins are expensive, but they are now about the same price as the Arena Powerfin Pro II’s, which formerly had the edge due to a significantly reduced price point.
Swim fins are one of the most common types of swim gear at the end of the lane. They are also frequently misused or used as a crutch.
Using the tips and intel above, you can strategically use your swim fins to target areas of improvement, whether it’s powering up a deadly dolphin kick, learning better distance per stroke, protecting your shoulders for overuse, or to learn better kick technique.
Happy swimming (and kicking)!
5 Swim Workouts and Sets with Fins. Looking for some ideas for sets and workouts to do with fins? Here are some of my favorites that work a broad range of skills and energy systems.
Olivier Poirier-Leroy Olivier Poirier-Leroy is the founder of YourSwimLog.com. He is an author, former national level swimmer, two-time Olympic Trials qualifier, and swim coach.
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