A pull buoy can be a wonderful training tool to help swimmers optimize their time in the water and focus on their stroke techniques. Almost all of the pull buoys are figure-eight shaped parts of foam, but they also come in other modules. A few of them are two pieces of foam bound by an elastic cord or string. Irrespective of their form, they are intended to be kept between your legs while you swim. A pull buoy is a training gadget that is used to help sustain the lower body so that you can concentrate on the technique of the arm. Put the pull buoy between your upper thighs and maintain your legs together tightly to keep them in position when you’re practicing on your pull technique. For each stroke, a pull buoy can be used to encourage you to focus on pulling your arm to improve the strength of your shoulder and arm.
Pull buoys are inserted between the legs of the swimmer to help facilitate the effective position of the body by raising the hips up in the water. When the swimmer’s hips are above the surface, they create less drag and move more quickly. Many swimmers enjoy “pulling” (using a pull buoy) because it enables them a kicking break that requires a lot of energy. Using a pull buoy often offers swimmers a chance to work on the sensation of water, which is the reason they grab and pull into the water. Pull buoys are very easy to deal with. Mostly, swimmers consider it much quicker and easier to float with a pull-buoy. Pull buoy prevents the scissor kicks while swimming. Scissor kicks minimize a lot of momentum by creating big drags and some other forces.
Benefits of Using a Pull Buoy
Here are some of the advantages of using a pull buoy for better swimming:
- Improves your body position
The swimmers who stay high above the pool are the fastest, gliding over the surface. Drag is significantly intensified as the legs and feet dropped. The use of a pull buoy lifts up the body of the swimmer, with the feet at or slightly below the surface. The buoy does not cause the lower body to sink or drag. Focus on the following points that can be corrected using a pull buoy to move to regular swimming:
- Focus on the head position
The position of your head being too high or too low may impact the position of your hips and legs, which might improve your drag. You need to place the pull buoy amid your thighs and try to stay on the black line with your eyes at an angle of about 45 ° underneath. This will help you to split the water surface easier, allowing less drag and more forward propulsion.
- Focus on the shoulder position
A really common misconception when swimming freestyle is continuously spinning the shoulders. This causes in an inaccurate grab step of the arm stroke as well as an anomalous leg kick in an effort to keep the body relaxed. Insert the pull buoy among your knees and envisage holding your upper body within a rectangle. The objective is to hold the body straightly, remove any unnecessary lateral motion, and make the arm stroke perfectly symmetrical.
- Focus on your core
The core connects your upper body to your lower body, establishing balance across your shoulders and your hips. If this region is too weak, your swim technique is not going to be very effective. Put a pull buoy between your ankles and try to concentrate on your core. Try to calm your body as best as you can and stretch your head as far as possible and by directing your feet behind you.
- Improves your breathing
Pull sets are also used for breath management and breathing exercises. Kicking will increase the heart and breathing rate of a swimmer, leaving less space to concentrate on how and where to breathe. Usually, a swimmer would use pull buoys for prolonged sets, the loss of kicking will provide a swimmer with less wind and more stamina. Without oxygen-depleting kicks and legwork, a swimmer will concentrate on setting a breathing rhythm and developing breath regulation to potentially use until the legs are brought into the equation.
- Concentrate on Arm Mechanics
As it is stated before, the body of a swimmer will imitate correct positioning in the water by using a pull buoy. Not everyone will be able to do this when kicking, so a pull set could be the only time a swimmer can concentrate on proper arm mechanics. Swimmers incorporating pull buoys will feel what it would be like if they had a stronger kick and good leg and hip placement, enabling their arms to land in the right position as well. Isolating arms for drilling function and stroke techniques is indeed one of the most frequent purposes of buoys.
- Focus on the technique
Another additional advantage of kicking off and saving energy is the potential to concentrate the energy on stroke technique. Arms can also get sloppy as a swimmer tries to maintain a powerful, steady kick. All the attention of a swimmer should be on improving the pace and positioning of the fins, making the pull buoy collection ideal for performing various exercises.
- Maintain Intensity
An efficient body structure will make you float across the water effortlessly. It’s critical that you retain your stroke rate just like it would be without a pull buoy. That way, if you swim without it, you do not pair a lower stroke rate with bad body shape.
Use a good quality pull buoy that would not get you in trouble. Various brands like Nike Anthracite, Finis, and Speedo are creating effective pull buoys. It is evident from the above article that pull buoy has many benefits. Pull buoy lets you pay attention to the technique of your arm and the glitches you make. It increases buoyancy and tends to help swimmers a lot.