Over many years, the swim technique encouraged by shinfinTM fins has given Rick a better kick, improved stroke, relaxed breathing and a dramatic increase in endurance. He tends to swim freestyle about 5-6 km a week, fitness swimming in pools and in the ocean. What’s more, these benefits carry over to his no-fins swimming style too. This all flows on from the better aligned, streamlined horizontal body position that he feels the fins promoting. Importantly, he feels the incredible workout in his thighs, glutes and abdomen because the fins guide him to kick from his hips. Rick can see clearly that regular foot fins don’t come close in comparison.
Rick’s review from Perth, Australia
“Thank you for prompt service and a great product. By the second session I was already noticing marked improvement in my kick, but also more generally in my stroke and breathing, as a flow-on from the better aligned body position the fins promote. What I hadn’t really considered (the added bonus I suppose) is the dramatic improvement in my endurance, allowing me to extend my lap distance each session. And my no-fins kick is also improving. So, good on you for taking a strong concept all the way through the process of invention and manufacture, to realise an extraordinary Aussie design innovation.”
4 months later: “I’m still using my shinfinTM fins three times every week, swimming an average of 5-6 km a week at present. I’ve found them kind of addictive! My endurance has improved dramatically, and so has my general fitness. I’m now much more relaxed in the water, and breathing smoothly and easily. The improved horizontality of body position has helped me work on my freestyle stroke, to streamline my swim technique. I’ve been able to really concentrate on technical aspects of my stroke, like kick beat, or bilateral breathing. The long, slow, strong 2-beat kick provides an incredible workout for my abdomen, glutes, thighs, and even my shoulders, as my arms are working stronger, to maintain momentum. I’m happy to help encourage more people to adopt shinfinTM fins, because I believe in the quality of the design and product!”
4 years later: “I swear by the fins, for promoting a good horizontal body position, improving my stroke and working my thighs, quads and glutes. Regular fins don’t come close in comparison.”
Rick’s review: Fins to improve kick, breathing, endurance & overall stroke technique
“I just made my first shinfinTM purchase online, and can’t wait for them to arrive so I can get into the pool with them. A friend suggested I look into your product, after seeing the New Inventors TV spot some time ago. I was impressed enough to order immediately. I’m sure there will be further orders to follow, for others once they see me using them at the pool.”
Reply
We`ll send your fins shortly so you should get them next week.
Rick
“Thank you for prompt service and a great product. My fins arrived last Friday, and I’ve used them three times in the five days since. Initially, it took some getting used to the strap and buckle mechanism. Perhaps inclusion of illustrations with the information tips sheet may speed that up? I resorted to reviewing the website pictures.”
“The first session was gradual adjustment, with a creeping sense of wow! By the second session I was already noticing marked improvement in my kick, but also more generally in my stroke and breathing, as a flow-on from the better aligned body position the fins promote.”
“What I hadn’t really considered (the added bonus I suppose) is the dramatic improvement in my endurance, allowing me to extend my lap distance each session.”
“And my no-fins kick is also improving.”
“So, good on you for taking a strong concept all the way through the process of invention and manufacture, to realise an extraordinary Aussie design innovation.”
Reply
Thank you for your kind reply Rick and for your suggestions. I’m glad you like the fins so much and are already feeling the benefits of them. Please let me know how you progress over the next week or so. I would be very interested to hear how your swimming progresses.
Rick (4 months later)
“How’s business? I hope its growing in leaps and bounds. I’m still using my shinfinTM fins three times every week, swimming an average of 5-6 km a week at present. I’ve found them kind of addictive! That helps me keep going back to the pool for more, even on those cold or wet nights.”
Improved endurance & fitness
“My endurance has improved dramatically, and so has my general fitness. Perhaps the most useful benefit for me has been in training myself not to be a sprinter! I learned to swim as a kid, in the ocean, often in weedy conditions and a strong sea breeze. So as a youngster, my inclination was always to race through my laps as fast as possible and get out quick. No longer! I’m now much more relaxed in the water, and breathing smoothly and easily.”
Horizontal body & streamlined technique
“The improved horizontality of body position has helped me work on my freestyle stroke, to streamline my swim technique. I’ve been able to really concentrate on technical aspects of my stroke, like kick beat, or bilateral breathing. Curiously, I’ve found I’m most comfortable when using the shinfinTM fins, swimming with a slow 2-beat kick. That is a bit of a contrast with my kick when not wearing the fins, which is a more typical 4-beat kick. However, the long, slow, strong 2-beat kick provides an incredible workout for my abdomen, glutes, thighs, and even my shoulders, as my arms are working stronger, to maintain momentum.”
“So all in all, I’m happy!”
“I’ve had a lot of queries and quizzical looks while at the pool. I refer them all to the shinfinTM website, and a couple of times have allowed other swimmers to trial the fins. They are usually quite surprised at the stronger workout they get. Several people have said to me that if the shinfinTM fins were available in the aquatic centre store, they might buy them, or that the swim training clubs should be trialling them, as a way to promote shinfinTM fins more widely.”
Reply
Great to hear from you again and thank you very much for your detailed reply. We get a lot of great feedback like this. It is very useful to hear what you have found with your fins as you are clearly using them well, feeling the right things and getting the benefits from them. Can I ask a favour please? Would you mind if I put some extracts from your emails on the website?
I would be particularly interested to hear more about your feeling and experimentation with the 2-beat vs 4-beat kick. How comfortable do you feel using the fins with a 4-beat kick? Have you tried sliding the fins up your legs a little to reduce the leverage for a 4-beat kick? Maybe up about 4 cm, so the fin tip is at the base of your toe, might feel better?
Thank you also for spreading the shinfinTM word. Personal recommendations are the best thing for helping a new idea like this along, so I really appreciate it. We have a lot of customers using shinfinTM fins for lap swimming around the world. I’d be interested to learn your views on the following tips.
Swim Techinque
They are designed to work best with a good streamlined kick like swimmers use for freestyle, backstroke or fly (not breaststroke). We get a lot of great feedback from swimmers saying that swimming with shinfinTM fins (especially full stroke swimming) improves their horizontal body position, breathing, speed and overall swimming technique (arms too). The shinfinTM kick does more than just add leg power. It balances your arm pull and supports good breathing technique. For example, in freestyle, there is often a larger kick down with the left leg when the right arm pulls (and with the right leg when the left arm pulls), a diagonal force balance across your body.
I think they work best for full stroke swimming. That is what I really designed them for. For kicking exercises, you might like to keep your arms going but with longer strokes and not pulling so hard. Then your kick technique is most likely to remain the same, so you are strengthening for the right action. Also, you should feel your arm stroke lengthening and becoming smoother, and your breathing nice and regular. These are other benefits of training with shinfinTM fins. You can use them for kick only exercises, with or without a kickboard. However, your body position and hence kicking technique is more likely to change with a kickboard.
Improve “no-fins” kick
Most importantly, the benefits of swimming with shinfinTM fins transfer across to your “no-fins” swimming too, especially if you swim a bit more just after you take off your shinfinTM fins. This is because the shinfinTM kick is very similar to a proper streamlined “no-fins” kick. You feel the shinfinTM power in your thighs, buttocks, stomach and torso, the same muscles as for good “no-fins” swimming. A foot flipper kick is very different, with more knee-bend and power in your calf muscles and ankles. So foot flippers can’t provide the same benefits. Their biomechanics is all wrong for a proper streamlined “no-fins” kick.
I have a suggestion for you. Immediately after swimming with the shinfinTM fins for a while, take them off and swim a bit more. You should find that your body remembers the shinfinTM kick pattern, so your “no-fins” swimming improves too. If you keep doing this each time you go swimming then you should notice continual improvements in your swimming technique. I would be very interested to hear how you get on with this. Any questions just ask, I am here to help.
Rick
“Thank you, I appreciate your response. Feel free to use my feedback comments as a testimonial if you like. I’m happy to help encourage more people to adopt shinfinTM fins, because I believe in the quality of the design and product! Your advice and comments are helpful too.”
“I agree with the observation about swimming more laps after removing the fins. It’s a noticable improvement that happens.”
“I will play around with the suggestion of fitting further up the leg for the 4-beat kick, and see how that goes. I’ll let you know later, how I get on.”
Reply
Thank you for your kind permission Rick. All the best with your continued experiments and I look forward very much to hearing how you go.
Reply (4 years later)
Your new straps should be arriving in the next few days (if they haven’t already arrived). I’d love to hear an update of how you have been getting on with your fins over the last four years if you get a moment to email me. Are you still as happy with your fins swimming as much? How is your endurance, fitness and 4-beat kick going?
Are you happy with the way the straps have lasted? Do you swim in a chlorine pool? By the way, the polyurethane fins are extremely tough, and sunlight and chlorine water won’t really affect them. So you should get many years of use from the fins. The straps are made from a high quality natural rubber with UV protection. But time, sunlight and chlorine will slowly degrade and crack the rubber. To increase the life, please rinse the fins after use (especially the straps), keep them out of the sun and keep away from sharp objects. Then you should get a good few years of use from the straps like your first straps.
Rick ( 4 years later)
“Good to hear from you again! It’s been years. Your database must be incredibly well organised. I reckon a lot of bigger companies could take a lesson or two about customer relations from you :-)”
“My replacement straps haven’t arrived yet, perhaps in Monday’s post. I am replacing them because I snapped one, removing a fin in haste one day when I was not paying attention. In terms of durability, I think the straps are pretty good, considering they are rubber.”
“I swear by the fins, for promoting a good horizontal body position, improving my stroke and working my thighs, quads and glutes. Regular fins don’t come close in comparison. I’m hooked on the easy glide!”
“I mix up my swimming these days between ocean and pool (salt not chlorine). I rinse my kit off after every swim too.”
“I’ve had to rein in my laps and also shinfinTM fins use unfortunately, for the last four months or so, due to a lower back injury from lifting. My inner abdominals were damaged, but are gradually coming back into play. I was getting mid-back and shoulder pain after 700 metres or so, so have only been doing gentle swims since it happened. My physiotherapist has just given me the nod to strap the fins on again and gradually up the laps, and I’m itching for the exercise!”
Reply
Many thanks for your reply Rick. That’s great to hear, and very interesting.
Conclusion
The swim technique encouraged by shinfinTM fins will help you to develop a better kick, improved stroke, relaxed breathing and more endurance. They work for freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. You can use them in pools and in the ocean, for fitness swimming and many other water activities too. Furthermore, these advantages also improve your no-fins swimming style. This stems from the fact that shinfinTM fins promote a streamlined horizontal body position that is better aligned. You will feel a great workout in your abdomen, glutes and thighs. This is because the fins guide you to kick from your hips. You will discover that regular foot fins cannot achieve these benefits.
Related reviews illustrate swim technique improvements such as proper stroke, breathing and body position for triathlon swim training, streamlined body and stronger kick for competitive Masters swimming and stronger muscles for better butterfly for pool and sea swimming. Further reviews demonstrate that shinfinTM fins achieve this with comfort, without foot cramps and without sore feet and back pain.