Training with Hand Paddles

In this article, we’ll provide advice, hacks and tips on the many strength and technical benefits of swim training with hand paddles.

What are hand paddles?

Hand paddles are plastic/rubber hand-shaped discs.

They are worn over the swimmer’s palms and are attached to their hands by means of plastic/rubber/elastic cords which go over the backs of their hands.
Using them increases the surface area of a swimmer’s hand.
This requires the swimmer to catch and pull a larger volume of water whilst swimming, which in turn increases the resistance.
They are an essential part of a competitive swimmer’s training kit.

The benefits of training with hand paddles

Training with hand paddles can provide a swimmer with many benefits. These include,

Stroke technique

Many swim coaches often use them during their training sessions as they can extenuate a swimmer’s stroke, revealing its strengths and weaknesses.

This makes it easier to identify the areas of the stroke technique which requires further development.

Feel for the water

Swimming with paddles often increases the swimmer’s ability to feel the water.

A feel for the water is the ability of a swimmer to place their hands in the correct position, with the right amount of force to obtain maximum propulsion.
Some coaches find that swimmers increase their feel for the water when conducting alternate sets of swims with paddles and swims without paddles.

Upper body strength

Hand paddles are a great way to develop a swimmer’s upper body strength.

Swimming with them over a period of time should strengthen a swimmer’s back, chest, arms and shoulder muscles.

Endurance

Swimmers often use hand paddles to increase their endurance, by using them over long distances.

Many swimmers also find that swimming with them naturally increases the length of their stroke.

Speed

Many sprinters use hand paddles as a part of their speed development training.

The increased resistance and momentum they provide can be a really effective method of sprint training over shorter distances.

Adding a pull buoy

Many swimmers often use a pull buoy, when swimming with hand paddles to increase the resistance still further.

Types of hand paddles

There are a variety of paddles available.

Most of the major swimming equipment manufacturers produce a range of paddles, designed for specific purposes.

We have listed brief descriptions of the most common paddles below.

Hand Paddles

They are the most common form of general-purpose swimming paddle.

They are available in a variety of shapes and sizes.
The larger sizes are for use by senior and more experienced swimmers.
While the medium and smaller sizes are for the use of younger or less experienced swimmers.

Many of our swimmers use and recommend Speedo Tech Paddles. They find these the ideal hand paddles for resistance training”. These come in three sizes, small, medium and large.

Designed and engineered to help swimmers get the right hand position and the right technique
Get more from every stroke with the enhanced hydrodynamic design
Specially-created air foil shape to help hand lift motion
Several flow holes across the paddle improve aquatic sensitivity
A great training aid

Finger paddles

A small paddle, which as their name suggests, fits around the swimmer’s fingers and are used mainly for developing the hand entry technique

Many of our swimmers use and recommend Speedo Unisex Finger Paddles when performing sculling or ‘feel for the water’ drills.

Speedo technology ensures maximum comfort and fit
Engineered to create maximum resistance in the water
Increases upper body strength and power with every movement
Enjoy the improved grip and reduced hand fatigue with the ergonomically engineered shape
The stiff blade combines with a thermoplastic rubber over-moulding to provide high comfort with optimal power tranfesfer

Agility hand paddles

Agility hand paddles are strapless paddles design for developing a swimmer’s hand position.

The idea behind their design is that the paddles will remain on the swimmer’s hand with the correct stroke technique and will fall off their hands with poor stroke technique.

Swimming/Aqua gloves

Swimming/aqua gloves are usually fingerless neoprene gloves.

These are commonly used for aqua aerobics but should not be used for competitive swimming.

Choosing hand paddles

When choosing hand paddles, it’s important that the swimmer chooses paddles that are the correct size for them.

Choosing paddles that are too large for them, will result in the swimmer training with too greater resistance.
This could result in developing poor stroke technique and increases the risk of injury.
Choosing paddles that are too small for them, will result in the swimmer training with a too smaller resistance.
This could result in developing poor stroke technique and could reduce the effectiveness of their strength, speed and endurance training.
Ideally, swimmers should choose paddles that are approximately 10 to 20 per cent larger than their hand area.

Swimming with hand paddles

Swimmers should ensure that when they are using hand paddles, they focus on keeping their hands in the same position as they would do when swimming without paddles.

Fingertips should enter the water first.
The wrist should enter the water next.
This should be in a higher position than the fingertip.
The elbow should follow the wrist next into the water
Finally, the swimmer’s shoulder should be the last part of the arm to enter the water.
Swimmers should resist the need to spread their fingers out to the edge of their paddles, to enable a better grip.
This will ensure the continued development of a good stroke technique.

Safety notice

Although using hand paddles are a great training device, both coaches and swimmers should ensure that they are not overused.

Their overuse can increase the risk of a shoulder injury.
Therefore, they should be gradually introduced to any swimming programme.

Takeaways

Training with hand paddles can provide a swimmer with many benefits. These include,

Stroke technique
Feel for the water
Upper body strength
Endurance
Speed

While using hand paddles swimmers should ensure they focus on keeping their hands in their natural swimming position and that they do not overuse them in training which could increase the risk of a shoulder injury.

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