Hand paddles are a stalwart in most swimmers bags. Let me tell you why.

Paddles add variety to workouts, correction to technique and build strength. Using paddles can help swimmers correct hand entry and expanding the surface of one's hand to build muscle. Removing tubing wrist straps will significantly increase these effects and improve "feel" of the water. They come in many shapes, sizes and colors. If you are new to paddles start small and build.

Beginners:

Adults and children (I recommend no younger than 10) can start with smaller sizes. For simplicity sake we will use the Strokemaker hand paddles as our initial guide. If you are shopping for a child the red XS pair is a good place to start. This is also an acceptable starting point for lap swimmers who swim up to a mile.

As your strength grows you can move up to larger sizes. I currently train with the large red paddles.

Intermediate:

Children in the club swimming program might graduate to the green small paddles around 11 or 12. This is also a good paddle for lap swimmers who routinely swim over 2,000 yards/meters in a session.

Advanced:

Yellow medium or red large paddles are appropriate for high school swimmers in a year round club program, or perhaps a select few middle school aged boys or girls who are solid in stroke foundation. Medium to large sized paddles are also a good fit for some triathlon or masters swimmers who train over 3,000 yards/meters in a workout.

Beast Mode:

XL (blue) or XXL(green) are typically for collegiate male swimmers, sometimes female. They are huge.

Paddles, while awesome, need to be monitored actively by coaches. If swimmers are misusing them the results can be a bummer. Going backwards from a technique standpoint would be a bummer. Injuring your shoulder would be worse. Actively pay attention to your strokes, especially when using specialty equipment like paddles.

And now a note from one of our customers:

A couple of years ago I purchased a set of the ergonomic paddles for myself to use during my swim training and think they are great. That said over the past few months I have been working with patrons who have had strokes which paralyzed one side of their body and have found my paddles are excellent for them. The paddle is not too hard to put on their paralyzed hand which allows them to have it lie flat which is a relief for them however it helps them also exercise the limb too. Every patron I have put it on...loves what it does for them and want to buy one for themselves. They are also passing on the idea to their physios and hospitals where they are being treated as they are a cost effective tool that people without insurance can afford.

I thought you would enjoy hearing this very different application of the paddles and you might be able to change your marketing plan to include stroke victims and their respective care providers.

Marta Jones-Tromm

There is a great deal of variety out in the paddle market place. Allow me to personally recommend TYR's Catalyst line as well as our "sample" paddle Strokemakers. They are simple, effective and worth the investment.