Swimming - I haven't updated in AGES

[cjsmith]

Tried flippers on Friday. I bet the lifeguard was in pain from holding in his laughter.

It is very easy to get my legs tangled when turning around at the end of a lap if I'm wearing four-foot-long blades sticking off the end of my feet. What? They're not four feet long? Man, once I get in the pool they're at least that big. I think they're even longer when I'm walking on the tile beside the pool.

I sure do move faster with those things on. Wow. I definitely can't do the scissor-kick; I have to flutter-kick. I grabbed a board to practice that for a lap.

After a few laps my feet were in screaming cramping blinding agony. They felt like they'd seized and were now rock-solid curled claws. I suspect a) I have no musculature in my feet any more, b) it's hard to get those things to move properly if they're even a tiny bit loose, c) there's a lot of resistance to fight when turning around. If I am to use these I will have to start very gradually: start with half a lap and work my way up...

So I pulled them off, tried another couple of laps, and quit. I think the only thing that got a workout Friday morning was the nonexistent muscles in my feet.

(Yeah, they ached afterward (the messed-up part did). So flippers won't save me from that.)

Ah well. Progress: I'm still going and I'm still learning what NOT to do!

Comments

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

Flippers put a lot of stress on your feet--all the movement feels like it gets magnified.
Since I'm coming to the game late, do you mind my asking what it is that is wrong with your feet? Maybe I can think of something that will help.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I figured most of the stress would be on my ankles and calves, and maybe that's true. My feet have atrophied badly.

I don't know what is wrong with my feet -- well, except that they hurt. The pain is in the ball of my foot, both feet, in or below (plantar to) the third and fourth metatarsal/phalangeal joints. There's a bit of information in my userinfo but it's badly outdated. The update is: Morton's neuroma wasn't the problem, there's no diagnosis, there's no prognosis, and my (second) podiatrist is methodically going down the list of painkillers (none of which do squat). I am wearing post-op shoes because they take the weight off the forefoot. I am walking as little as possible in the hopes that they'll suddenly heal themselves one fine day.

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

FYI, fins usually hurt feet. It is common for even near-elite level swimmers to get foot pain and cramps if fins are worn for too long. There is a lot of extra resisitance and weight put on the feet when wearing them, so while they work your legs, they also work your feet. When I was recovering from an ankle and foot injury I couldn't wear fins.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh interesting. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions when I thought the cramping meant my feet were severely wimpy.

Maybe, long-term, it would be good for my feet if I used fins just a little bit each time I went. I am never sure whether to baby them or to exercise/stretch them.

[hillybiker.livejournal.com]

I used to dive and snorkel, a LOT, when I lived in Panama and the best way to get your feet/legs in shape for flippers is to do calf raises (ie. stand on the balls of your feet on something at least 4 inches higher than the floor and then drop your heels down as low as they'll go and then raise them as high as they'll go, over and over and over and ...)

If your feet cannot handle this exercise, I'd highly recommend that you avoid wearing flippers.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I can't put weight on the ball of my foot. Everything else in my body is, or should be (unless I've favored it too long), working fine. Calf muscles are fine, ankle flexibility is fine -- but I can't do the calf raises.

No flippers, then?

[erisian-fields.livejournal.com]

There are mini fins (http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/1267.htm) that might work better for you if you're looking for more of a resistance element to your swimming routine.

With the bigger fins, kick from your hip, moving the part of your leg between your hip and knee. Everything below the knee should be relaxed and essentially floppy, with a bit of a toe point partway through the kick cycle.

Before you add anything like fins or paddles, you should really practice your kicks and strokes until you're really good at them. Paddles and fins can reinforce bad kick and stroke habits if not used properly.

To keep you from getting bored, there are swim workouts you can try. Here (http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/swim-cgi/work_search.pl) are some. Caution, not all of those listed are actually beginner level workouts. You may need a longer time or a shorter distance for your practice level. Most of them are easily adjusted, though, if you know all the strokes called for.

[hillybiker.livejournal.com]

Given how a flipper works on the foot, I would say that if you can't put your weight on the balls of your foot, wearing a flipper will only keep causing you pain because you do have a fair bit of pressure (not as much as lifting your own weight via a calf raise though) right on the ball via straining against the water resistance with the rest of your leg.

Now, there may well be specialty flippers for people with problems similar to yours, but I don't know. There are quite a few types made, and I personally really love the "dolphin flipper" which is one giant (usually about 2.5 to 3 ft wide) one that you put both feet into -- talk about moving FAST. But I think this may put even more pressure on the ball of the foot because you are able to use almost your whole body to propel you along, with a lot of that stress being transferred to the feet.

If you're having that much pain and doctors don't even know for sure what is going on, I'd aim to be on the safer side and not use flippers so as not to aggravate your problem.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Darn. I had been trying the flippers as a way of stopping my toes from bending. Water resistance bending my toes, affecting those bad joints, can cause them to ache for the rest of the day.

Thanks for the info!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Mainly I was looking for something that would keep my toes from bending due to water resistance. Probably the smallest fin made would be the right choice.

Thanks also for the workouts. I am sure my form is AWFUL...

[hillybiker.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, interesting ... to keep the toes from bending you could try a number of things, including the small fins mentioned below. Alternatively, whenever I've broken toes (usually in martial arts) I've found that a good way to keep them from bending, even when swimming, is to tape them up -- crude but useful. That has allowed me to go out snorkeling the day after I broke them, even when they are all swollen up and purple :-)

Another thing to try is to pick up a pilates tape and do all of the leg lift exercises with a huge amount of concentration on keeping your toes in just the right position until you can do it without thinking. Then when you go swimming it should almost be automatic to keep your foot in the proper position.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

*nod* I may have to tape 'em, yeah.

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

Flippers do that to lots of people. Especially if they are the stiff ones. (I have the blue Zoomers, the red ones are stuffer.) My sister warned me about them early on and I got bad foot cramps when I first used them. flipper stuff (http://swimming.about.com/cs/flippers/a/swim_fins.htm)

I liked them because I have an inefficient kick (yeah stole that from the link) and they actually helped me move thru the water. If you end up wanting to use flippers I will send you mine. They fit my feet and I have size 8-9 feet depending on the shoes.

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

Those flippers at the mini fins link are the Zoomers I was talking about in my other comment.

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

I agree that if you cannot put weight on your foot fins are a not so great idea as the added pressure and resistance from the fins will really do a number on your feet.

Taping might be a good option. It's what I did when I had a foot and ankle injury and was swimming. It helped keep the foot from moving around.

[moriamerri.livejournal.com]

Well, the purpose of trying flippers was (I think!) to find out if they would help. So, bravo for the successful experiment. On to the next.

What is that quote of Thomas Edison or someone about having never made any mistakes but having done a thousand experiments that didn't result in desired effect. Whoever it was, they said it much better than that.

What about something LIKE your shoes, but worn in the water, that prevents (most kinds of) foot movement? I'm thinking home made....

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I think the real answer is to get something to help hold my foot rigid (thus lowering the wear&tear on those bad joints) but with NO extra area to it like fins have. So, tape, or maybe those little swim-shoes children wear sometimes.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I saw someone with them at the Y this morning! I was soooooo tempted to ask to try them. ;-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

On to the next.

I guess so!

What about something LIKE your shoes, but worn in the water, that prevents (most kinds of) foot movement? I'm thinking home made....

Yes. I am thinking of a few things:
1) tape. Probably low rigidity, high annoyance factor.
2) swim shoes. I don't know if they come in adult sizes.
3) something homemade, with a base probably starting from foam-bottomed flip-flops.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the offer! I have size 5EE or 5EEEE feet (this means I wear a 7). I'll see if I can get to a store and at least try some on.