Fist glove report

I also took up Scott Lemley's offer of a free pair of
Fistgloves in exchange for a report, so here goes.

I have been swimming freestyle for roughly three months,
starting from scratch with the "Swimming Made Easy" book
by Terry Laughlin, and I'm trying to "find my stroke",
having never had one to begin with. I have been using
the Fistgloves for a couple of weeks, and I must say I
like them.

After putting them on, which is a bit of a struggle at
first, it takes a bit of rethinking to get yourself
propelled. Never much of a kicker, unlike the previous
poster I don't find myself kicking harder to maintain
balance, but instead adjusting my body position and rotating
more prominently. Basically you lose the opportunity to
cheat using your palms to compensate for bad rolling or
stroke flaws. I used to experience some pain in my left
shoulder (I breathe mainly to my right), but with the better
rotation, this has subsided. My head position also seems to
have benefited from the gloves as I don't lift my head as
much anymore.

I usually swim a couple of lengths for warmup, then do
about 15 minutes of glove swimming before taking them off
and doing my "main" set. I also like to do another 10
minutes at the end of my pool session, or when I feel my
technique is suffering from fatigue. To end my sessions on
the sensation of flying effortlessly through the water that
comes from removing the gloves is a good feeling to carry
with you home.

On the issue of Fistgloves vs. actual fists, for me, being
able to relax the arm is a big advantage of the gloves over
clenching your fists. Also, anything that relieves you from
one more thing to keep in mind is a good thing, at least in
my book, or at my stage of swimming.

IMHO, the gloves are a good training device for anyone
concerned with their stroke technique, and who can stand up
to the mental strain of publicly fiddling about with
conspicuous pieces of equipment that ostensibly just make
them swim slower. Myself, I think they look rather cool.

/Par

*wishes he'd taken up Scott on the offer*

"Par Svensson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I also took up Scott Lemley's offer of a free pair of
Fistgloves in exchange for a report, so here goes.

I have been swimming freestyle for roughly three months,
starting from scratch with the "Swimming Made Easy" book
by Terry Laughlin, and I'm trying to "find my stroke",
having never had one to begin with. I have been using
the Fistgloves for a couple of weeks, and I must say I
like them.

After putting them on, which is a bit of a struggle at
first, it takes a bit of rethinking to get yourself
propelled. Never much of a kicker, unlike the previous
poster I don't find myself kicking harder to maintain
balance, but instead adjusting my body position and
rotating more prominently. Basically you lose the
opportunity to cheat using your palms to compensate for
bad rolling or stroke flaws. I used to experience some
pain in my left shoulder (I breathe mainly to my right),
but with the better rotation, this has subsided. My head
position also seems to have benefited from the gloves as I
don't lift my head as much anymore.

I usually swim a couple of lengths for warmup, then do
about 15 minutes of glove swimming before taking them off
and doing my "main" set. I also like to do another 10
minutes at the end of my pool session, or when I feel my
technique is suffering from fatigue. To end my sessions on
the sensation of flying effortlessly through the water
that comes from removing the gloves is a good feeling to
carry with you home.

On the issue of Fistgloves vs. actual fists, for me, being
able to relax the arm is a big advantage of the gloves
over clenching your fists. Also, anything that relieves
you from one more thing to keep in mind is a good thing,
at least in my book, or at my stage of swimming.

IMHO, the gloves are a good training device for anyone
concerned with their stroke technique, and who can stand
up to the mental strain of publicly fiddling about with
conspicuous pieces of equipment that ostensibly just make
them swim slower. Myself, I think they look rather cool.

/Par

I could never get the second one on after putting on the
first one. How did you do it? Don

"Par Svensson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I also took up Scott Lemley's offer of a free pair of
Fistgloves in exchange for a report, so here goes.

I have been swimming freestyle for roughly three months,
starting from scratch with the "Swimming Made Easy" book
by Terry Laughlin, and I'm trying to "find my stroke",
having never had one to begin with. I have been using
the Fistgloves for a couple of weeks, and I must say I
like them.

After putting them on, which is a bit of a struggle at
first, it takes a bit of rethinking to get yourself
propelled. Never much of a kicker, unlike the previous
poster I don't find myself kicking harder to maintain
balance, but instead adjusting my body position and
rotating more prominently. Basically you lose the
opportunity to cheat using your palms to compensate for
bad rolling or stroke flaws. I used to experience some
pain in my left shoulder (I breathe mainly to my right),
but with the better rotation, this has subsided. My head
position also seems to have benefited from the gloves as I
don't lift my head as much anymore.

I usually swim a couple of lengths for warmup, then do
about 15 minutes of glove swimming before taking them off
and doing my "main" set. I also like to do another 10
minutes at the end of my pool session, or when I feel my
technique is suffering from fatigue. To end my sessions on
the sensation of flying effortlessly through the water
that comes from removing the gloves is a good feeling to
carry with you home.

On the issue of Fistgloves vs. actual fists, for me, being
able to relax the arm is a big advantage of the gloves
over clenching your fists. Also, anything that relieves
you from one more thing to keep in mind is a good thing,
at least in my book, or at my stage of swimming.

IMHO, the gloves are a good training device for anyone
concerned with their stroke technique, and who can stand
up to the mental strain of publicly fiddling about with
conspicuous pieces of equipment that ostensibly just make
them swim slower. Myself, I think they look rather cool.

/Par

"Donald Graft" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<Houxc.69785$Ly.41956@attbi_s01>...

Quoted message said:

I could never get the second one on after putting on the
first one. How did you do it? Don

A dab of water-based lubrication works fine for me. If the
combination of lubricant and rubber gloves makes you queasy,
I'm told a little hair conditioner does the trick as well.

/Par

Donald Graft asked . . . I could never get the second one on
after putting on the first one. How did you do it?

Hi Don. For the first time user, this is the biggest
challenge. I purposely left the thumb as "opposable" so you
can grip the second fistglove by the wrist end as you stick
your hand into it. Using a single drop of hair conditioner
makes that second fistglove really slick and helps a lot.
Then just introduce some water into that fistglove and swish
it around inside to "rinse" off the conditioner. Opening up
that fistglove's wrist and opening and closing your hand
will "shoot" the water and conditioner mixture out.

I struggled for quite awhile at the beginning with the idea
of putting a zipper in the back of each fistglove to make it
easier to put them on. The cost, of course, would have
tripled compared to the single latex glove. No moving parts
make the fistglove about as simple to make (and cheap) as
possible. The downside is they're a little bit more
challenging to get on. I assure you, after a week or so of
using them, putting on fistgloves is almost as easy as
putting on and adjusting a swim cap or a pair of goggles.

Regards,

Scott

In article <Houxc.69785$Ly.41956@attbi_s01>,

Donald Graft said:

I could never get the second one on after putting on the
first one. How did you do it?

I just fill mine with water so the latex is more slippery.

Ross

I had used swim gloves prior to Scott's latest offer and
have found them useful. I managed to tear a pair that Scott
replaced free of charge and also sent a signed poster of his
Seven Laws of Swimming.

The effect after taking these off is dramatic. The hands
feel like they are huge and are super sensitive to the feel
of the water. I do not get the same feeling using just a
clenched fist, nor is it as relaxed clenching the fist
without them. I think that it has improved the assistance of
the forearm in my stroke.

It is hard not to like the product of a guy who seems to
care so much about swimming and is genuinely interested in
people's experience with them as an aid to improvement.

Ian

"diablo" <[email hidden]> wrote in -"]news:[email hidden]-
kc.rr.com:

Quoted message said:

*wishes he'd taken up Scott on the offer*

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Donald Graft asked . . . I could never get the second one
on after putting on the first one. How did you do it?

Quoted message said:

(Scott Lemley) wrote:. For the first time user, this is
the biggest challenge.

It was difficult, but I find the Fistglove Magnum, my name
for the purple XL size, to be much easier. I don't think
that size was available when Don tested them.

Donal Fagan AIA Donal@DonalO'Fagan.com (Anglicise the name
to reply by e-mail)

[email hidden] (Hugo Zhang) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

About two weeks ago, I took a challenge from Coach Scott,
the inventor of Fist Gloves, and asked him to send me a
free pair of his gloves. He kindly sent me two pairs of
different sizes with a long email of instructions and
drill sets.

I tried them on yesterday.

Look and Feel: They are made of thick rubber and fit
snugly and tightly over my closed fists. I did not have to
tense my arms like I usually do when I swim with closed
fists. My arms felf relaxed.

Drill set: After 400 yards warm up, I put them on. They
were easy to put on. I swam 600 yards with them. I had to
kick harder to keep my body high because my closed hand
could not catch enough water. I tried to keep my elbow
high and use my forearms to do the work. I had the most
increditable feeling after I took them off and swam the
first 100 yards. My hands had the great pressure and
sensation of catching water, similar to that of wearing
paddles. Because of the great catch and hard kicking, my
body felt riding high in the water with great speed. The
sensation lasted for a few sets of 100s.

I have yet to discover the long term benefits of these
gloves yet. But I like them and they will become another
tool in my mesh bag, together with my Zura fins, paddles
and pull buoys.

Hugo Zhang

Scott Lemley is a swim coach in Alaska. Fist gloves have
been a labor of love (so far) for him. Send him some money
for crying out loud! 🙂

Eric