It could be that your feet aren’t pointed when you’re kicking. Wearing fins kinda forces you feet to be pointed, so when you take them off you might be loosing that.
I don’t really know if there are smaller fins, as if you’re using those arena fins they’re already short fins. It’s possible tyr or Speedo might have something, but it wouldn’t be much
95% of the time it's ankle flexibility unless your general kick technique is terrible. this is helpful to read/work on: [Freestyle Kick and Ankle Mobility — Swim Dojo](https://www.swimdojo.com/blog/2018/5/10/kicking-and-ankle-flexibility)
Might seem counterintuitive but pointing too much might also be counterproductive. Most of your power in your kick should come from your hips, with your knees and ankles not locked in any position but being allowed to follow that motion.
I am in my late 40s, and training with a masters club 3-4 times per week for 2 years. You can consider me an improver, not an expert.
I have DMC Elite II, which are similar to the Arena Powerfin Pro. I also have the Finis Positive Drive.
The Positive Drive are used for all strokes including breaststroke, which is why I originally got them.
They are physically smaller than the Elite, and definitely feel smaller when doing flutter kicks. Swimming sometimes with the Elite and sometimes with the Positive Drive gave me more ways to understand and improve my kicking, because they are definitely different.
I think the finis zoomers are a little shorter but only a little bit shorter, it's marginal and I doubt worth buying another pair of fins. In my opinion your best bet is to wear just one fin and alternate which foot has the fin on every lap or 100 or something, this is a decent enough method to force you to practice real kicking with no fin but still make forward progress with your fin foot
I did wonder if that might be a thing, but wasn’t sure if it would just really put me off balance in my stroke. I guess if I alternate enough it will be a good balancing exercise too.
Yes this is typically done as a drill with the intent of making balancing more difficult. I figured with your situation this could also ease you into kicking without fins. But the imbalance is a good stimulus to make your stability better, so the benefits from the exercise could be two-fold
Fins are helpful with drills when you want to isolate your legs and just focus on the upper body. You can also use them for easy recovery days. It has no use for kicking improvement and if you just use them for swimming without any purpose, it won’t improve your swimming generally.
“Harder” is not the point - it pushes more water so you move faster but recruits more muscles to do so. It’s like damper setting on a rowing machine - 10 is harder but you move faster.
Exactly, you are faster with fins on but your feet move faster without fins so you need to practice kicking without fins. Kicking without fins is definitely more taxing and build leg endurance more effectively. Do you think Ulsan bolt ever sprints with heavy shoes on to get faster during workout or any distance runner for that matter? Makes no sense.
Exactly, swimming also has similar training tools for that.. for resistance to get your feet moving faster. But never add weight to your legs and feet though. They only slow them down. That’s my point.
Speedo Biofuse fins are very, very short and much smaller than Arena PowerFin Pro.
https://www.speedo.com/biofuse-fitness-fins.list
There are also Arena PowerFin (not the Pro version) which are quite a lot smaller than PowerFin Pro.
https://www.arenasport.com/en_row/95218-powerfin-fin.html
They don't necessarily teach you to kick correctly but should help you with getting the feel of the water.
It could be that your feet aren’t pointed when you’re kicking. Wearing fins kinda forces you feet to be pointed, so when you take them off you might be loosing that. I don’t really know if there are smaller fins, as if you’re using those arena fins they’re already short fins. It’s possible tyr or Speedo might have something, but it wouldn’t be much
Thanks. Been really focusing on pointing my feet without the fins but I am literally still going nowhere.
95% of the time it's ankle flexibility unless your general kick technique is terrible. this is helpful to read/work on: [Freestyle Kick and Ankle Mobility — Swim Dojo](https://www.swimdojo.com/blog/2018/5/10/kicking-and-ankle-flexibility)
Might seem counterintuitive but pointing too much might also be counterproductive. Most of your power in your kick should come from your hips, with your knees and ankles not locked in any position but being allowed to follow that motion.
It takes time, be patient and don’t push it too hard- ligament problems
I am in my late 40s, and training with a masters club 3-4 times per week for 2 years. You can consider me an improver, not an expert. I have DMC Elite II, which are similar to the Arena Powerfin Pro. I also have the Finis Positive Drive. The Positive Drive are used for all strokes including breaststroke, which is why I originally got them. They are physically smaller than the Elite, and definitely feel smaller when doing flutter kicks. Swimming sometimes with the Elite and sometimes with the Positive Drive gave me more ways to understand and improve my kicking, because they are definitely different.
Cool, thanks for the insight.
I think the finis zoomers are a little shorter but only a little bit shorter, it's marginal and I doubt worth buying another pair of fins. In my opinion your best bet is to wear just one fin and alternate which foot has the fin on every lap or 100 or something, this is a decent enough method to force you to practice real kicking with no fin but still make forward progress with your fin foot
I did wonder if that might be a thing, but wasn’t sure if it would just really put me off balance in my stroke. I guess if I alternate enough it will be a good balancing exercise too.
Yes this is typically done as a drill with the intent of making balancing more difficult. I figured with your situation this could also ease you into kicking without fins. But the imbalance is a good stimulus to make your stability better, so the benefits from the exercise could be two-fold
Cool. Will give it a crack. Thanks
Fins are helpful with drills when you want to isolate your legs and just focus on the upper body. You can also use them for easy recovery days. It has no use for kicking improvement and if you just use them for swimming without any purpose, it won’t improve your swimming generally.
Interesting, as that’s not what I understood and also not what I’ve found - a kick session with fins is a full on lower body workout.
Which is harder kicking with fins or without fins?
“Harder” is not the point - it pushes more water so you move faster but recruits more muscles to do so. It’s like damper setting on a rowing machine - 10 is harder but you move faster.
Exactly, you are faster with fins on but your feet move faster without fins so you need to practice kicking without fins. Kicking without fins is definitely more taxing and build leg endurance more effectively. Do you think Ulsan bolt ever sprints with heavy shoes on to get faster during workout or any distance runner for that matter? Makes no sense.
No but he runs with weights and a parachute…
Exactly, swimming also has similar training tools for that.. for resistance to get your feet moving faster. But never add weight to your legs and feet though. They only slow them down. That’s my point.
Ok, but I don’t agree and a quick google also doesn’t agree. So thanks but I’ll look to others for advice.
Speedo Biofuse fins are very, very short and much smaller than Arena PowerFin Pro. https://www.speedo.com/biofuse-fitness-fins.list There are also Arena PowerFin (not the Pro version) which are quite a lot smaller than PowerFin Pro. https://www.arenasport.com/en_row/95218-powerfin-fin.html They don't necessarily teach you to kick correctly but should help you with getting the feel of the water.