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How to Perfect Your
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Scuba flippers help you to glide through the water with more ease and less effort. However, to get the most out of your flippers (and your kicks!), there are a few pointers to follow.
•Almost all arm movements are wasted when you are swimming with flippers. In fact, working the arms can actually do more harm than good. If you use your arms while you swim with fins, you’ll expend an incredible about of energy – which will increase your air consumption (and decrease dive time – boo!).
•The only exception may be if you are snorkeling and there is a potential of bumping into rocks, people, or the boat! Put one arm bent in front of your head so that your forearm can act as a cushion between your noggin and those objects!
•So, what to do with those pesky arms? Let them dangle by your waist – flowing gently behind you. If you are wearing a wetsuit, the contouring will help this position to become more natural.
•Using your arms can be a hard habit to break – but, once you do, those extra underwater minutes and sea life sightings will be your reward.
She’s All Legs
•Now that your legs are doing all of the work (as they
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•Going back to the ‘strongest muscles’ point – it is really important that you let your thigh do the work, rather than your calf. You’ll find that you will experience leg cramps very quickly if you don’t.
•There are many different schools of thought as to which kick style and scuba flipper technique is the best. All-in-all, it truly depends on your fin type (rigidness), leg strength, and intended speed. Taking all three of these into account, you will be able to find a kick style that allows you to get the most out of your flippers.
Two Styles
There are many different styles and opinions as to what is the best scuba flipper technique to move you through the water; however, two of the most popular are the Flutter Kick and Frog Kick.
Flutter Kick
The flutter kick can be used by almost anyone. It is similar to the kick used in free-style swimming – except that you are underwater and the motion is much more fluid. You want to focus on the power for the kick coming from your hips and thighs. If you have too much movement and strength coming from your knees or calves, you will cramp very easily. For speed using this kick, you will do a rapid, short kick. You will want your fins to just clear the top and bottom of the wake that you are leaving behind. Additionally, really think about your profile for speed. This goes back to your arm placement. Are you as streamlined as possible? For towing a load or for swimming efficiently with the flutter kick, focus on a long, wider kick. Although this scuba flipper technique is widely known and fairly easy to use, it has a few disadvantages. First, the flutter kick is not as efficient as the frog kick and second, it is much easier for you to stir up the ocean bottom and sand while employing this style of kick.
Frog Kick
The second style that I will address is the frog kick. It is much like the kick style that is done with the breaststroke; however, it is a bit shorter and modified. Once again, you want the focus to be on your hips and thighs. The frog kick is done by spreading the legs, rotating the fins so that the bottom of the flipper blades come as close to facing each other as possible and then bringing the flippers back together and forcing the water between the blades of the fins.
Unlike the flutter kick, this scuba flipper technique stops almost all of the turbulence to the area around the diver and demands less energy. Another added benefit of the frog kick is that you will most likely swim straighter. The reason is that you are being pushed from the water that is moving between your fins. Because this motion is in the center of your body, not on either side as with the flutter kick, you will glide through the water much straighter.
Tips
•Don’t overpower your fins. When you have too much flex in the scuba flippers early in the kick,
you won’t receive power from the latter part of the kick. This is referred to as overpowering. If you don’t feel like you are kicking too hard and this is still a problem, you may need to move to a stiffer blade. However, beware – a more rigid blade, if you aren’t ready for it, can cause pain and cramping in your legs as you swim.
•Practice makes perfect. Keep trying. Practice in the pool or just out goofing around. It will take time to get used to swimming with flippers. I personally cramped up at least the first five times I wore my flippers just because I wasn’t used to the motion. Keep with it - you’ll get it!
•Try out different styles. Find the scuba flipper technique that works with your body and your fins. If it isn’t a mainstream method – who cares?! If you feel comfortable and relaxed – then it’s the right style!
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