Stationary Swimming tool

"rd" left this mess on Thu, 29 May 2003 02:13:21 GMT for The Way to clean up:

Quoted message said:

Anyone ever heard of a training tool that features a bungee line attached to the waist and anchored
to the pool deck - kind of a poor man's "endless pool"?

I've seen it advertised in Swimming World, but never used it.

I think there are actually several variations on this theme. Scanning SW I see www.nzmfg.com has
one, swininfo.com seems to have a whole series of them. Go take a look.

Tao te Carl

"Jesus, just because it's a newsgroup doesn't mean you have to act like adolescents." - Jon C.

They are called stretch cords. They have a nylon webbed belt that goes around your waist and a loop
of nylon webbing at the other end. This is to attach the cord to the base of the starting block, or
ladder, etc. They come in usually two sizes. One has a 18 foot cord(I think that is the size) and
the other is a 4 foot cord. I have used both. The long cord works well in large pool, but is too
long for those bathtub sized hotel pools. You can used them for either intense sprint work for about
30 seconds, or you can use them as a "poor man's endless pool". The short one works well in hotel
pools, but be ready for a lot of stares by confused bathers. Once you get into your groove you just
keep swimming as you normally would. The only drawback is that unless there is a clock on the wall
that you can see while you are swimming, there is no way to tell how far/long you have swum. I
solved the problem by having my wife time
me. It works, but is by no means a substitute for a real swim. I use only as a last resort, when
there are no short/long course pools available. As to where you can get one, try Keifer.com.
Good luck.

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

Quoted message said:

Anyone ever heard of a training tool that features a bungee line attached

to

Quoted message said:

the waist and anchored to the pool deck - kind of a poor man's "endless pool"?

Links?
Reviews?

Try "Stretch Cords." They're an excellent training tool. You can probably find them at just about
any swim store; try swim2000.com.

Tethered swimming, or should I say negative resistance will help you eliminate "dead spots" from
your stroke. It really helps swimmers to learn to maintain constant pressure on the water; ie., an
effective, kayak stroking style. It's particularly helpful if you reduce your kick or eliminate it
all together.

But, If you swim with a long, forward stroke, then you should practice a constant 6 beat kick during
your tethered swims. If you don't or can't maintain an effective kick while swimming front quadrant
freestyle, then you won't be able to conserve your momentum.

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

Quoted message said:

Anyone ever heard of a training tool that features a bungee line attached

to

Quoted message said:

the waist and anchored to the pool deck - kind of a poor man's "endless pool"?

Links?
Reviews?

Thanks!

these stretch cords are also used by professional swimmers at my local pool. first they swim at
normal pace then the coach whistles they start swimming like mad. never seen it used by recreational
swimmers though.

expat in NL

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Anyone ever heard of a training tool that features a bungee line attached

to

Quoted message said:

the waist and anchored to the pool deck - kind of a poor man's "endless pool"?

Links?
Reviews?

Try "Stretch Cords." They're an excellent training tool. You can probably find them at just about
any swim store; try swim2000.com.

Tethered swimming, or should I say negative resistance will help you eliminate "dead spots" from
your stroke. It really helps swimmers to learn to maintain constant pressure on the water; ie., an
effective, kayak stroking style. It's particularly helpful if you reduce your kick or eliminate it
all together.

But, If you swim with a long, forward stroke, then you should practice a constant 6 beat kick
during your tethered swims. If you don't or can't maintain an effective kick while swimming front
quadrant freestyle, then you won't be able to conserve your momentum.

Very intesting. It sounds like these cords may provide quite a bit of value as a training tool.

It's certainly easy to see the dots on the bottom of the pool slow down dramatically when one stops
stroking. However, that's not nearly as effective as swimming against a tether where the "dead
spots" in the stroke will quickly pull you backwards. So telling a swimmer to maintain as constant a
velocity as possible, as measured by not moving forward or backward on the tether seems like it
would provide a lot of value.

-Eric