Becoming a stronger swimmer with paddle workouts

You don’t need a lot for swim training. As long as you have your goggles, a swimsuit and somewhere to swim, you’re set. However, there are other pieces of gear that—while not necessarily essential for the act of swimming—can help you improve your technique and, in effect, help you get faster. Swim paddles are a great piece of equipment that can be used to highlight what you’re doing wrong in your stroke, and they could be the difference between you being in the middle of the pack or the front at your next race.

Why use paddles?

First and foremost, paddles are great for swimmers because they force you to maintain a high elbow for every stroke. When swimming freestyle, a high elbow will help increase propulsion. The more you swim with paddles, the more natural a high elbow will feel during your stroke, and soon enough it will become your go-to form whenever you hop in the pool, whether you’re wearing paddles or not.

Another benefit of paddles is the resistance they create. They are of course much bigger than your hands, and with more surface area, you will pull much more water with every stroke. This will be tougher and tire your shoulders out much quicker than swimming paddle-free, but it will also help you go further with each stroke and faster overall. You might not see immediate results in your regular swimming after just a few paddle-focused sets, but after a while, you will notice that your stroke is becoming more efficient and that you’re seeing more distance per stroke and faster splits in general.

Things to think about

You might be excited to get a pair of paddles and hop into the pool as soon as you can, but you need to be careful when using them. If you’re new to the paddle game, you should get a smaller set. If you get paddles that are too big, you will strain your shoulders and elbows, and this could lead to injury. Even if you have a small set of paddles, be sure not to push too hard. You should get tired when using them, but if you feel any actual pain, stop and take it easy.

Another thing to consider is how often you use the paddles. They are helpful tools, but they can be overused. You need to make sure to still swim without paddles regularly so that you can implement the technique you learn with them into your paddle-free stroke.

The workout

There are so many options you can choose from when deciding on a paddle-focused workout, but here is one to get you started.

Warmup (600m): 

• 200m any stroke
• 100m drill
• 100m pull
• 4x50m kick (build from 1 to 4) with 15 seconds rest between each lap

Main set (1,600m):

• 400m (with paddles)
• 2x200m with one minute rest (first with paddles, second without)
• 4x100m with 30 seconds rest (alternate paddles, no paddles)
• 8x50m with 30 seconds rest (no paddles)

Cool down (300m):

• 300m choice

Total: 2,500m

For the main set, don’t worry about speed for the reps with paddles. Instead, focus on your form, maintaining a high elbow, and pulling as much water as you can with each stroke. For the reps with no paddles, you should go fast (but still keep your form in mind, just as you have been when using the paddles). In the cool down, you can choose any stroke you like, but make sure to stretch out your shoulders no matter which you decide to do.