Welcome to Gear Talk with Annie and Brooke from Swimrun Labs.

In this episode, we do a deep dive into Swim Paddles for Swimrun. If you’re new to Swimrun you’ve probably seen photos or videos of races with folks wearing giant paddles, and other swimrun gear, as part of the race kit. We discuss why paddles are so ubiquitous in Swimrun, how to minimize your risk of injury in using paddles, and we have a discussion of what paddles we’ve used, and why. 

Gear Updates/First Impressions

The Ark Sports ORNÖ 02 sagas continue with Chipper developing a hole in the sleeve area of his suit. He applied a patch kit. He got some advice from Annie on how to fix it and reached out to Ark Sports for more advice on how to patch the hole. We shall see how that holds up and report back.

Main Discussion: Swim Paddles

History of Using Swim Paddles in Swimrun

As the sport of Swimrun has evolved over the last 15 years, the ability of teams to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible (while wearing a full kit) has resulted in a lot of optimization for forwarding propulsion during the swim legs. Over the years the pattern that emerged was using a big pull buoy (such as the Ark Sports Keel) coupled with a large set of swim paddles as the established method for most speed. 

As you will see below, the answer to whether swimming with giant paddles makes you faster is that “it depends.” It depends on a lot of factors that we will discuss below.

Swim Paddle Education 

We chatted with Coach John Stevens for his advice on paddles.

Legend has it that John was actually born with paddles on his hands. He is the only Swimrunner we’ve ever heard of with a stroke so powerful that he actually cracked a paddle in half while swimming. One of the strongest swimmers on the US Swimrun circuit, John and his partner have won Odyssey Casco Bay every year of its running since 2016. He has coached swimming at many levels and currently offers his coaching services to triathletes and Swimrun athletes through Purple Patch Fitness.

Should every Swimrunner use paddles?

• Every Swimrun athlete should aspire to use paddles, but it may not be the right thing off the bat. For example- my Swimrun partner Matt Hurley couldn’t translate paddles to his stroke, it slowed his cadence too much and actually slowed him down. Do it unless you have a hx of shoulder issues, and make sure you’re in shape swimming wise and your form is there.
• What guidelines and technique elements should someone keep in mind if they are interested in safely and sustainably using paddles?
  • Work on the catch. If you’re dropping the elbow on the catch you’re pulling with just your hand and putting a strain on the bicep and rotator cuff. The idea is a high elbow allows you to scoop water with your forearm too and engage your lats.
  • If you know you have a tendency to drop your elbow, build into paddles very intentionally.
  • If you push out to the side to balance your breath stroke or do the keyhole or S, you are also liable for injury with paddles.
  • Midline cross over is another liability.
  • Elements in Swimrun such as shoes, wetsuit, and pull buoy cause less rotation, more of a square swim stroke is actually better for Swimrun and better for injury prevention with paddles. don’t let your arm move out or in, keep it it’s lane and elbow high.

Injury Prevention when using Paddles for Swimrun

This is obviously super important because we don’t want anyone getting hurt trying to keep up with Joneses. Brooke wrote a pretty detailed article all about shoulder injury prevention in Swimrun that we recommend that everyone check out. 

Are Bigger (Paddles) Better?

Coach John weighed in on this question as well.

• How can an athlete determine optimal paddle size, and what are the pitfalls of a paddle that’s too large vs. a paddle that’s too small?
  • Always start smaller than you think you need and build into it. Even if you’re advanced, start small.
  • If your turnover has slowed down, your paddle is too big and you’re likely depowering your stroke.
  • Elements of the course should be taken into account when decided what size paddles to use.
• We are seeing a paddle size trend to a larger and larger paddle among European racers- should we follow suit?
  • NO. This works for very few people. Be honest about how strong of a swimmer you are. Do you have resiliency build up in your shoulders? If you are this person, you’re probably a lifelong swimmer, you’ve probably used paddles and know how to use them.
• Flat vs. curved- any thoughts?
  • Fan of flat. Allow you to get a hold of the water and pull more directly.
  • Always look for holes in the flat paddle- the more the better and if there are no holes you might as well consider them to be the next size up because there is so much more resistance.
  • Curved paddles don’t hold water as well per John’s opinion

Finally, we asked Coach John about what paddles he uses and why.

• Favorite paddle- what do you use for training and racing?
  • 2 or 3 different size paddles: small for shorter faster stuff with higher cadence arm turnover
  • Tempo or longer and harder = medium size paddle
  • Endurance or aerobic pace long sessions= large paddles to just build strength
  • After taking time off a couple of years ago for an injury he transitioned from using med size paddles for racing down to small.
  • Big paddles were out because: shoulder injury, front swimmer, slow cadence
  • Strokemaker- tried and true and huge range of sizes, very durable
  • Also likes the ark paddle, it’s a lot lighter. Can’t say he notices the weight when swimming, they are nice for stuffing in your wetsuit.
  • Durability is really key in Swimrun- the lighter the less durable and encountering rocks in transition is notorious for snapping paddles.

What Swimrun Paddles Are We Using

Chipper:

Roka Pro Swim Paddles $23 (For Training)

Ark Blade $32 (For Racing)

Chris:

Roka Pro Swim Paddles $23 (Currently using these for training and racing)

Speedo Power Plus Paddles $19.99 (Previously used these for training)

Brooke and Annie:

Finis Agility Paddles $21.99 (For Training)

Synergy Power Swim Paddles $8.95 (For Racing)

Final Thoughts

We can say with some certainty that using paddles will make you faster but that comes with some caveats. 

First, make sure that you ease into using paddles to make sure that you build up strength and technique. Strength building and Injury prevention should be the top priority as you start using paddles. Check out this article on Swimrunlabs.com for an amazing resource on shoulder injury prevention in swimrun. 

Second, bigger isn’t always better…when it comes to swimming paddles. Take into account your strength and technique as well as the racecourse that you are training for. Wind, waves, and currents can definitely minimize any potential speed gains in using giant paddles and destroy your shoulders in the process.

Finally, take into account durability. Make sure whatever paddles you end up using are strong enough to handle rocky swim exits and everything else that can come at you during a race. Nothing derails a race faster than having gear issues so think ahead about replacing straps and checking for cracks before something breaks.

That’s it for this week’s Gear Talk show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram and on Twitter. Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, and/or meme ideas. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.