How to Swim With Flippers

Not just relegated to SCUBA gear any longer, swim with flippers and enjoy your enhanced water performance. Flippers come in a variety of styles and sizes, enabling swimmers to glide through the water with greater ease. Flippers may help you kick your stroke up several notches in speed, although you should ease into using flippers while you swim or you may experience discomfort and pain.

Things You'll Need

  • Booties (depending on style of flipper)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Select flippers that fit your feet snugly without constricting your feet uncomfortably. Flippers must be tight enough to stay on your feet as you swim, yet they should not hurt. Some flipper styles require a bootie to protect your feet and others go directly onto your feet.

    • 2

      Warm up by swimming without flippers for several minutes. Because swimming with flippers can cause shin and ankle strain, warming up first before you put flippers on can help you to swim better with them.

    • 3

      Place the flippers (and booties, if applicable) onto your feet and enter the water.

    • 4

      Push yourself off and glide through the water with your arms extended straight out in front, hands aligned beside each other.

    • 5

      Begin flutter kicking with your legs by moving your legs up and down in the water from your hips. Bend your knees slightly while you move your legs up and down.

    • 6

      Move one arm down to take a stroke while your other arm remains outstretched in front. Complete the stroke by stretching both arms out in front again. Rest your legs while you glide through the propulsion, if necessary, or continue flutter kicking.

    • 7

      Switch to the other arm to take a stroke, kicking through the propulsion or resting for a second or two.

    • 8

      Swim using this technique for 500 meters and then remove the flippers and swim for 500 meters without flippers.

    • 9

      Repeat the process of only swimming with flippers for 500 meters at a time for about three weeks and then your ankles and shins should be strong enough to swim with flippers for longer distances.