Additional Uses/Tips/Support:
Comparing Eel-Fin monofin to traditional monofins
- Traditional monofins promote power to the propulsion phase and discourage power to the ‘recovery’ phase
- Traditional monofins encourage too much knees bend
- Traditional monofins encourage too much knee width
- Traditional monofins don’t train a natural ankle pivot
- Traditional monofins are too much fun, by promoting a false sense of value for bad technique (a super bad technique can often match the speed of a great technique)
- Traditional monofins don’t discourage bad technique at all
How to Use the Eel-Fin:
Fix body dolphin – kicking forward, away from mid-line only
- Move the weight to the end (this creates a big exaggerated body dolphin)
- Build the body dolphin on the sides and not the stomach or back for old habits come back
Fix body dolphin – kicking back, away from mid-line only (too much knee bend)
- Have the weight at the far end and follow the pendulum motion
- Practice body dolphins on the side with the Eel-Fin
Fix body dolphin – kicking uneven distances, front to back
- Have the weight at the far end and follow the pendulum motion
- Always build the body dolphins on the side
Fix too slow/fast tempo
- Start with the weight at the far end to create an exaggerated body dolphin
- Slowly move the weight in to increase the tempo
- Move the weight close to the feet to simulate a race pace, 0.45 second undulation
- Use a Tempo Trainer and the Eel-Fin to build the perfect tempo and technique
Developing Kick Recovery Muscles
- Arguably the one of the most important ways to improve the 5th stroke (underwater undulations) is with the recovery phase of the undulation
- As young swimmers we learn to move forward with only a powerful down kick, and do little to power our recovery
- In our ‘Recovery Muscle’ link below we provide many drills and methods to help develop the recovery muscles
Feedback (Swimmers FEEL / Coaches SEE / Video for Self-Analysis):
- If you are not FEELING the force of pulling your feet back UP on these drills, you are not likely doing it correctly
- You will need to FEEL less down power with less knee bend from your normal kick to set up a true recovery
Using the Eel-Fin to Fine Tune Kick Recovery Muscles
Underwater Bi-lateral Undulation
Link ‘Training with the Eel-Fin’
The quick version of our link is:
- Start with the Lil’ Red Kick at the far position from the feet, tell the swimmers to swim (ON THEIR SIDE) ‘Big Eel’ with the largest undulations they can make (trying to use the entire lane)
- Once they feel the undulations forward and back and use the weight as a ‘pendulum’, they move the weight to mid-point on the Eel-Fin and have them ‘feel’ the tempo of the ‘pendulum’ (which will be faster this time). Again, ONLY on their side at this point
- Next move the weight as close to their feet as possible and have them feel fast undulations
- Then add undulations with the weight in the ‘fast’ position on the back (facing up)
- Last add ‘belly down’ undulations (best to close the eyes so they don’t go back to old habits)
Feedback (Swimmers FEEL / Coaches SEE / Video for Self-Analysis):
- The weight on the Eel-Fin will force an equal undulation front and back… if you ignore the ‘FEEL’ of the weight it will be very awkward and jerk a lot.
- WAIT until you FEEL the fin finish fully forward and fully backward before you change direction of the kick
- Be sure you are leading your undulations from the ‘rib hinge’ and not just with the knees
Training with the Eel-Fin
Using the Eel-Fin to Fine Tune a Bi-lateral undulation
Increasing Flip Turn Speed
- The Eel-Fin can help develop and have swimmers FEEL the muscles need for a fast flip turn
- 5-stroke flip turn drill is great with the Eel-Fin
- Focus on flipping the fin through the air with FORCE to drive it deep into the water so you can finish your roll back to your belly
Feedback (Swimmers FEEL / Coaches SEE / Video for Self-Analysis):
- See our drill (in the link below) of doing a handstand and slamming your feet down to the water. This will help you FEEL the muscles needed for a fast recovery on the flip turn.
Using the Eel-Fin to Fine Tune Flip Turns
Supplemental Drills/Uses:
There is an ‘expense’ to the time needed to install the Eel-Fin and train with them. Because of the time to install them, it is best to plan a 20-60 min set with the Eel-fins to work on a range of things that the Eel-fin can help with before taking them off. It is more efficient to use them for 1 practice a week instead of several short sets each week. For that reason we like to incorporate the Eel-fins into a wider range of workouts. For instance:
- Pull sets – The Eel-Fin certainly eliminates kicking and thus is ideal for pull sets
- Flip turn practice – Flip turns take a lot of core power with the Eel-fin in place
- Flow drill (rib hinge) – butterfly Flow drill is ideal with the Eel-fin as it ensure a rib hinge and leg recovery
- Breast pull with undulation – the Eel-fin is great to work on full extension on the breast stroke arm recovery
- Flow drill, then breast stroke
- Flow drill, then breast strokes (focusing on slam kick down and fast back up on recovery)
- Flat Butterfly drill (see link ‘Using Eel-Fin to help with Recovery Leg Muscles’)
- Use on Pull Only sets to optimize underwaters
- 5 stroke flip turns
- Salo Triangles
- Explosive breakouts with FR BK FL, fly drills (Flip turns on walls not open turns)
- Head up body dolphins with hands down by side (stomach or back)
- 360 T-Press with body dolphins
- Corkscrew body dolphins FR and BK
Training Flip Turns – Keep Feet Close to Surface
- Flip turn practices can be greatly enhanced with any Eel-Fin (Pro version is ideal)
- Most swimmers bend at the waist by pushing the feet down as they start their turn
- The Eel-Fins will catch water as the ‘down kick’ tries to recover back through the water and into the air
- Thus the fin can train swimmers WHY is it is so important not to ‘downkick’ into turns
- The ‘head nod’ is followed by the ‘waist bend’ to initiate the turn. The goal should be to start the rotation by nodding the head first, then bend at the waist. This order of progression will help keep the feet closer to the surface as the waist bends. The Eel-Fins will magnify how much the feet are ‘down kicking’ into the turns.
Flow Drill
- Train swimmers for better underwater undulations with the Flow Drill by ‘hinging at the ribs’
- This drill trains them to press the chest (not the head) instead of the kicking with the knees
- Add the Eel-Fin (any size) to this drill to help train the feel of a full flow
- Later add a Tempo Trainer to train a 0:45 sec undulation rate
Recovery Power
Clearly the muscles required to power the recovery phase of the underwater undulations is the most important ‘lost art’ for many swimmers. As they learn the Flow Drill (rib hinge) they will only be able to add power to the undulation when they improve their recovery muscles
The ‘Power Down’ drill is ideal to help swimmers feel and develop recovery leg muscles
- Lay on the back and ‘power down’ with the body by pressing down on the head and the feet
- Then ONLY drift up with the legs (do not KICK forward)
- Add the Pro Eel-Fin for this drill and add a side twist
Vertical Kicking
- Develop even more recovery muscles by vertical kicking with the Eel-Fins
- Raise the arms up in streamline for 15+ seconds then 30 seconds with arms down to sides
- Add weights to the hands to develop even more power
Each Eel-Fin includes several items that you can use for other purposes:
- Each Eel-Fin includes:
- Main fin
- 1 Knee Strap http://www.oneswim.mainstreammarketingservices.com/knee-strap/
- 2 Ankle Straps http://www.oneswim.mainstreammarketingservices.com/ankle-strap/
- Full Eel-Fin Kits include:
- Lil’ Red Kick http://www.oneswim.mainstreammarketingservices.com/kickboards/
3 Sizes/5 packages available:
- Junior Eel-Fin (Up to 12yrs)
- (1) Junior Eel-Fin
- (2) Junior Eel-Fin & Lil’ Red Kick Combo
- Regular Eel-Fin (13yrs & Up)
- (3) Regular Eel-Fin
- (4) Regular Eel-Fin & Lil’ Red Kick Combo
- Pro Eel-Fin (Advanced High School, Collegiate, Olympians)
- (5) Pro Eel-Fin
Underwaters with the Eel-Fin
A thorough review of how we suggest you train underwater undulations on the pool deck. The Eel-Fin is NOT a product to hand to a swimmer and ask “what do you think?” This video is a must-watch for coaches wanting to incorporate the Eel-Fin into their program.