6 Accessories To Improve Your Swimming Workout

Using certain accessories when we go swimming can help boost our performance and physical results. In this article we'll talk about some of them and review how we can include them in our routine.

To improve your swimming workout, you must fine-tune your technique. If you want to achieve this, you can use accessories that allow you to improve your performance. This will also make your training more comfortable and efficient.

Accessories to improve your swimming workout

1- Kickboard

It’s an essential accessory when you want to improve your swimming workout, especially for a competition. With a kickboard, you focus the attention and effort on the lower part of your body, especially your legs and feet.

Generally, this kind of board is made from foam or cork. Swimmers hold on to the top of the board with both hands and they swim, by only moving their legs. This way, they focus all their physical effort on their legs.

2- Paddles

Paddles help to strengthen and add resistance to your arms. By using paddles, the exercise becomes more intense and productive. Because you’re exerting greater resistance to your strokes, you must use greater muscle power and balance. Doing this helps to tone your muscles and increases your swimming speed.

Paddles look like a mix between a ping pong paddle and a glove. They have a flat section that covers the palm of your hand and a strap to hold it in place, so that it doesn’t come off.

3- Snorkel

Snorkel is an accessory that’s been recently integrated into this sport. Swimmers who already use it will recognize the benefits that it brings to their swimming workout.

A swimming snorkel isn’t the same as a conventional snorkel. The main difference is in the air inlet and outlet system. The lateral tubes through which the air enters are independent from the air outlet through which you exhale.

With this type of accessory, external air is always available, and the inlet tube is not filled with the CO2 that is exhaled continuously.

Using a snorkel allows you to stop focusing on the air that your breath and focus on your body instead. Therefore, by using a snorkel, swimmers can forget about the head movements that they must make, in order to breathe. The can experience relaxed breathing, while focusing on the way their arms and legs move.

Snorkels can be used by beginners or experienced swimmers in high intensity series. Obviously, the routines will be different in both cases.

4- Pull buoy (or leg float)

The pull buoy is a very popular accessory to improve your swimming workout. It’s especially useful to improve the strength in your arms and legs.

It’s a floating device shaped like an eight, which is usually made from closed cell foam. Swimmers place it between their legs to keep them from moving and avoid leg propulsion.

With a pull buoy, their legs float the whole time. Because of this, swimmers can focus on their arms and core and disregard the leg kick that usually keeps them from sinking.

5- Fins

Swimming fins are a good resource to strengthen your legs and increase the flexibility in your ankles. There are different types of fins. If you’re a beginner, we suggest using long and wide fins, because they can help you to boost your propulsion. On the other hand, experienced swimmers often use short and straight fins.

Training routines are the same with and without fins. The difference is in the time it takes to do the same number of laps. Using fins can help you to complete your workout in less time than if you’re not using them.

6- Swimsuit

Every experienced swimmer knows that it’s very important to choose the right swimsuit. This garment must provide the best comfort and durability. It must also reduce friction and drag in the water, increasing the efficiency of the swimmer’s motion.

Swimsuits aren’t all the same. The materials that they’re made from will determine, to a large extent, the comfort, the fit, the durability and the capability to reduce friction in the water. Ideally, swimmers should be able to forget they have a swimsuit on.

Swimmers should feel as if the swimsuit is almost their own skin, and it shouldn’t cause any discomfort or skin drag at all. Likewise, it should improve the swimmer’s forward motion by eliminating resistance from the water.

The most popular material is PBT (polybutylene terephthalate). The swimsuits made with this material are very resistant to sun and chlorine, and they also meet comfort and fit requirements.

Sports equipment shops offer kits that include accessories specially chosen and designed for any type of training that you want to perform.