hips and fins?

rosebarnalice

I've got an arthritic hip that has progressively taken a lot of power out of my kick. I still have good movement in the pool, and it feels good overall (mostly freestyle, but I sometimes throw in a couple of breast stroke or side stroke/scissor kick laps for flexibility) .

I'm wondering if shortie swim fins could help me regain my freestyle power, or if they'll alter my form so much that they'll do more harm than good?

Any experience out there?

girlwithcurls2

Hi @rosebarnalice ! I didn't see this because my pool has been closed for a year, so I'm not swimming (so I stopped coming here...) However, I sometimes use shortie fins. I have found that I don't have to move my legs as much as I do with the longer ones, so it might be helpful for your hip. I realize that you posted this in November, and you may have sorted it out by now, but my guess would be that they might help. If you tried them, did it work? Sometimes they also help me streamline because I don't need to really power with my legs (I have a weak kick). You might also try a different kick when doing the crawl. I think it's called a 2-beat kick? I'm not sure. I tried it because I was kicking so maniacally that I expended way too much energy on the part of the stroke that wasn't really going to propel me. It felt strange at first, but I really like it. It's a much more relaxed stroke, IMO.

Happy swims to you! I'm jealous I miss my pool so much!

rosebarnalice

Thanks, @girlwithcurls2 ! I did figure it out- I got a pair, and I do like them, but I have to be careful. While they shift the power of my kick to the upper thigh and abs and give my shoulder some relief, I can get terrible foot cramps if I use them too much.

I rotate workouts: Tues with fins flipflopping freestyle and backstroke (avg 37 laps in 45 minutes); Thurs barefoot all freestyle (avg 33 laps), Fri mixup kickboard frog kick & freestyle (avg 31 laps). That seems to make my hip happy and my cramping feet happy too. -:)

girlwithcurls2

rosebarnalice wrote: »

Thanks, @girlwithcurls2 ! I did figure it out- I got a pair, and I do like them, but I have to be careful. While they shift the power of my kick to the upper thigh and abs and give my shoulder some relief, I can get terrible foot cramps if I use them too much.

I rotate workouts: Tues with fins flipflopping freestyle and backstroke (avg 37 laps in 45 minutes); Thurs barefoot all freestyle (avg 33 laps), Fri mixup kickboard frog kick & freestyle (avg 31 laps). That seems to make my hip happy and my cramping feet happy too. -:)

Yay! I'm so glad you found a solution! I got word that our outdoor city pools might open this summer, but there aren't many of them, and there is a lot of programming to fit into them. I have no idea when I'll be able to really swim regularly. In the meantime, I am walking more than I ever have, which my knee hated at first, but I backed waaay down, began again with short walks + lots of rest days, and consistent PT. And I'm building up my rowing time because I miss the sustained cardio & meditation that swimming gave me.

Hooray for a happy hip and cramp-less feet!!

kayak4water

I too, used to cramp when I put on fins, as well as after 30 minutes of freestyle.
I began keeping a food diary using this app, which showed that my potassium intake was really low. When I corrected that, the incidence of cramping went to zero.
I know about swimming with arthritic hips. I can't swim backstroke for now and if I'm not careful freestyle bothers me. I had to tweak my dolphin kick for my hips not to bother me while swimming butterfly. I hope all that changes after I get my worst hip replaced.

Best of luck to you!