Swimming is not a natural form of locomotion, and as a result technique is as important as physical strength and fitness. Effective swimming involves the use of the whole body working with the water, not fighting against it. To do this we need to move away from the simplistic view that we use our hands as paddles, pulling our bodies through the water.

PT Paddles have been designed to help you find and develop your Perfect Technique and improve your swimming. This is how they work:

PT Paddles are shaped to deflect water around your hand, effectively removing it from the swimming equation. Watch this great little clip to see them in action:

By removing the hand as a paddle, swimmers have to find other methods of generating propulsion. Because your hand can no longer ‘grip’ the water to pull your body through the water your body adjusts your stroke to try and increase your catch.

The only way that your body can do this is by keeping your elbow up as your hand comes down at the beginning of your stroke, allowing you to use your forearm to catch water and pull yourself through the water. When you swim without the paddles, you will feel stronger and faster in the water. Its a little like swimming with fists clenched, however, this drill tends to see the swimmer becoming very tense and rigid - the pure benefit of the paddles is that they allow you to maintain a superbly relaxed stroke which is what freestyle is all about! The paddles are manufactured from extremely durable materials that are UV and chlorine resistant so they will last. The material has been carefully selected to be of a very similar density to water. This is to allow for strokes that are as close to the athlete’s normal swimming style as possible, therefore maximising the benefit gained from using the paddles.

1. They encourage you to swim with a higher elbow and better technique.
   
2. You feel a little more unstable while using the paddles and this teaches you to use your core muscles to stabilise your body.
   
3. PT Paddles enhance your ‘feel for the water’ - you’ll know exactly what we mean when you use them. Because most of your hand (except your thumb, pinky-finger and the tips of your other fingers) is shadowed by the paddle while you are using them, when you then take them off your senses are heightened.
   
4. It is easier to pull your hand through the water PT Paddles reduce the stress put on your shoulder joint and surrounding muscles, thereby reducing the possibility of injuries, and assisting with recovery from injury.
   
5. Swimmers experience increased ‘body awareness’ which improves their co-ordination and timing.
   
6. Because the paddles have been ergonomically designed they are extremely comfortable and allow you to swim naturally.
   
7. Improvements in hip rotation allow you to generate more power from each arm stroke.

As with any new piece of equipment, you should only use your PT Paddles for a few hundred meters the first few times you swim with them. Be warned: they will feel strange! But you will grow accustomed to them quickly.
You can use your paddles for drills or full stroke swimming, and they can be used for any stroke. Please see our Sample Sessions page for ideas of sessions that will help you get the most out of your training. If you find something that works well for your training, please drop us an email and we can put it up for others to try!

Athletes using the paddles have found that they can be used very effectively as a warm up tool before sprint/ race pace training or races. They are especially good as they reinforce the brain's training of the optimal technique and then when removed the swimmer experiences increased perception of water on the hand (described as swimming with bin lids for hands!!) leading to powerful, smooth swimming and faster times!

order now and be one of the first to try the new, improved design!