Swimming on the surface

[Draugen]

What is the most efficient way to swim with fins on the surface of the water? When I swim on the surface I'm not able to get a efficient kick. I feel that i use much more energy and muscle force than I do when fully submerged.

What is the best technique/style to use to swim in the surface over longer distances, while still being able to breath regularly (with or without snorkel)?

 

[Bill]

Try the longer fins, like C4-81 at low power. With shorter soft fins, I think on your back with small, stiff legged kicks is very efficient.

 

[Draugen]

Hmm, I just imagined that even longer fins would mean more wasted effort. If you have longer fins will they stay in the water during the kick and not just flap on the top?

Swimming under water works great though - I wish I had gills

 

[sjurba]

One reson could be combinaton of a thick suit/socks and lack of legstrenght,I found that when I uppgraded to carbonfins, surfaceswimming got more difficult untill I had built up the legstrenght acordingly,I used some ancleweights to help get my legs deeper. Its kind of the same problem with 7mm socks and suit aswell.

 

[monkeyhatfork]

i've found c4 mustangs the easiest for surface swimming cause they don't have tendons. If I'm covering larges distances(several miles) i often swim with my arms allot or combination to save my legs for the actual dives.

 

[hteas]

I use a technique where I bend the blades by kicking with my calves, then psuh back against the bent blades. This pushes the water back and you forward, instead of pushing down on the water and expecting it to be pushed back. It's much faster than the "straight leg" kick many of us learned as we learned to dive.
The push kick is much faster and easier than straight legged, based on my tests and others trying the technique.
It also helps to have blades soft enough to bend enough for the technique to work. I have soft and medium blades I use it with. My old Picasso Black teams were way too stiff for the technique.

 

[Scoobaru]

Imagine riding a bicycle, then go through the same motions but slower. This is what I use for covering several surface miles. You Should find this reduces the strain on your knees and helps keep the fins under the surface which gives you more propulsion than fins flapping around in the air.

 

[ReefTroll]

You can always adopt a sort of side stroke too. twist below the waist and kick with sideways fins.

 

[Bill]

'If you have longer fins will they stay in the water during the kick '
That's where the long soft fins work best. They were originally designed for surface racing. Concorde was the first one that we got in S. California, about 40 years ago. I think that they 'S' curve to stay under water. Great efficiency as long as you don't try for power/speed. Ideally the undulation would start about your waist, but the human body won't do that.

 

[Max.Hofbauer]

Using monofin, the best way to get a powerful kick on the surface is to dolphin while laying on your side, lower arm extended forward, upper arm backwards. Undulate in a long stroke coming from the hip or even from the shoulder.

 

[Draugen]

Weights around my ankles might be an option, and of course I'm training up my leg strenght.

So I guess I'll be getting soft, long fins. I'll happily choose efficiency on longer surface distances over speed and power. I'll of course try out the sidestroke too. Sounds kind of interesting.

The bicycle technique sound a bit strange. I've always been told that I should avoid that motion and try to keep my legs fairly straight. Is the bicycle motion a common technique to use with freediving fins?

Thanks for all the great tips!

 

[Scoobaru]

The bicycle technique is what I use for surface swimming as it is less strenuous on the knees and I find it helps keep the ankles submerged which gives the best surface propulsion. But underwater I try to keep my legs extended (as straight as possible) and use a normal finning technique.

Just my 2p worth

 

[tycoonelyk]

If turn over on your back you get a much more efficiant kick, and it's a lot easier.

 

[Scoobaru]

If turn over on your back you get a much more efficiant kick, and it's a lot easier.

Very true but the only downside is you cannot see where you are going

 

[tycoonelyk]

Very true but the only downside is you cannot see where you are going

When I do it I just tilt my head back far enough to see, but not to far so I don't get water in my eyes.

 

[growingupninja]

When covering distance on the surface in bi-fins I sometime swim on my side, stereo kicking. I am usually carrying a speargun and other gear/game. My mouth may or may not be in the water; to breathe I just tilt it out. My fins are lousy for surface swimming and I don't like snorkels... mostly to cover distance I swim a 1 or 2 meters under the surface and when I want to breathe I just pop out and breathe forward or sideways. Again, I am usually carrying stuff so I am not using my arms. Playing in a pool with long fins I do much the same thing but for breathing I may do a dolphin kick, breathe to the side, and do one arm stroke (it is a one armed butterfly) to dive back under the surface. Even if I am mostly stereo kicking, I like dolphin kicks when breaking the surface since the movement helps me move vertically with very little wasted energy.

 

[Haydn]

Use fins that will match your breathing pattern, ie 50 breaths per minute, kick 50 times per minute. The problem with long fins is the kick rate is far too slow. I use Dolphin fins (rubber ones from Russia....the ones with the swirly colour schme and used a lolt for fins foot pockets) Rubbish to dive with but great for conitinuos swiming. Also hold onto your dive float in front of you and keep your head above water all the time. Swimming like this, I maintain nearly two miles an hour, all day, and the next and the next.