Many people start swimming with fins and are initially surprised by the pain in their feet and ankles. Ankle mobility is the cause of pain when it comes to swimming with fins, which requires both practice and stretching. It usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to feel like you can complete a fin swimming workout without such discomfort in your feet and ankles. This is one of the many reasons why we recommend add mobility training to your workouts.

You can do this swim workout any day of the week. However, we tend to use this one to “end leg day.” It takes about 30 minutes and swims non-stop. This uses a simple recovery method that keeps you moving so you don’t have to stop. We call it “turtle back“.

Use a pair of fins – either easy-to-don fins if you’re new to swimming, or diving fins if you’re diving or preparing for the military. special operations diving programs. Ultimately, it would be better to use a larger fin, like those used in scuba diving. The military uses rocket or jet fins in its dive school training. It’s good to get over the initial pain well before starting these schools, as the learning curve takes a few weeks.

This is how you get used to the ankle pain that usually follows a few hundred meters of fin swimming. This workout gradually builds strength in the hips and legs and slowly works on ankle mobility. The ankles take significant torque from the fin as it hyper stretches with each kick.

Here is the workout:

Repeat 10 to 20 times (depending on your abilities):

• Swim 75 meters in Combat Swimmer Stroke (CSS) or freestyle with fins
• Swim 25 meters on the back of a turtle
• No rest. You can catch your breath with the turtle.

If you are on a long course (50 meter pool), try the following version:

Repeat 10 times.

• Swim 150 meters in CSS or freestyle with fins.
• Swim 50 meters on the back of a turtle.

Here is a video description of the workout: Swimming with fins with turtle recovery

This is a good way to gain experience with 1,000 to 2,000 meters of fins, as you may find that you cannot complete the training due to ankle pain. If this happens, remove the fins and replace the workout with the following. 50/50 training:

Repeat five times (no fins).

• Swim 50 meters freestyle.
• Swim 50 meters CSS or breaststroke.
• Rest and stretch your legs if necessary.

Once your ankles start to feel better, try the fins again. This process will build both durability and mobility in the ankles, which are necessary for being able to dive for long periods of time and swim longer in open water later in your training.

Take your swimming to new levels by adding one or two fin workouts per week if you enjoy swimming as your primary cardio. However, if you are preparing to attend military diving or rescue swimming schools, you need to develop your ankles and legs to handle long swims with large fins. Start small, increase size and distances, and don the larger fins when you’re ready to brave the tides and open water currents, swim and dive.

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