Swim Fins & Proper Kicking Techniques

Swimming with fins benefits swimmers of all skill levels by increasing ankle flexibility, developing leg strength and improving overall cardiovascular fitness, body position and technique. The three main types of fins are short fins, long fins, and diving fins. Each of these fin types provide unique benefits based on the design. You should choose the type that best suits your swimming goals and practice proper kicking technique to prevent injury and derive the greatest benefit.

  1. Short Fins

    • Short fins, such as the Finis Zoomers Swim Fins, have a short blade and promote a shorter, faster kick than their long-blade counterparts. They provide resistance for your legs and keep your hips and feet on the surface of the water, making you more efficient in the water. In addition, they are useful for increasing ankle flexibility, which helps with your flutter kicking technique. They probably feel heavier and do not provide as much propulsion as long-blade fins. However, short fins are arguably the most effective for improving your kick and increasing ankle flexibility if you are a regular fitness or competitive swimmer.

    Long Fins

    • Long fins, such as the Sporti Floating Swim Fins, provide more power from each kick than do short fins, which is good for practicing underwater dolphin kicking in a streamline position. Long fins promote a slower kick and less resistance than short fins; therefore, training with long fins too much may decrease your natural fin-free kick efficiency. Conversely, if you are looking to lighten the load on your legs occasionally during a swim workout, long fins can be a good occasional addition. They do increase ankle flexibility as well, but the long blade may add unwanted stress to the Achilles tendon. Therefore, long fins can be a good occasional addition if you want to focus on underwater streamline body position.

    Diving Fins

    • These fins have the longest, lightest blade of the three, which is often vented and has an open, adjustable heel strap, providing maximum propulsion for snorkeling and SCUBA diving in large bodies of water. However, this high-power capacity of the diving fins means it is difficult to maintain a short, fast kick optimal for fitness swimming and provides minimal resistance for your legs. Therefore, diving fins are not the best choice for improving your pool swimming workout.

    Proper Kicking Techniques

    • The majority of your swimming power should come from your core and upper body, with the kick playing a minor role. Nevertheless, an efficient flutter kick is important to improve body position and minimize drag through the water with minimal effort. Focus on powering your kick from the hips and avoid excessive bending of your knees. Your hips and feet should be on the surface of the water, and your ankle joint should be loose without excessive flexing or pointing your toes. Finally, the timing of your kick with your stroke may affect your energy output. You may want to experiment with two, four, or six kicks per left/right arm cycle to see what pattern works best for you.