CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING & WEIGHT LOSS:  

If you significantly improve your cardiovascular conditioning level through exercise,  you will decrease body fat percentage.  If you exercise enough to lose weight, your cardiovascular conditioning will improve significantly in the process.   Zoomers fins make both goals attainable. 

Will using Zoomers fins make your kick better when you are not using fins?   A little, but not that much.  Zoomers fins will get your legs in much better condition.  When you swim without fins, you will be able to kick harder, longer, but how well your bare foot moves water will not have improved very much.   If you are an adult fitness swimmer and wear Zoomers fins for most of your workout, then the efficiency of your unaided foot is not to important.  Just keep wearing Zoomers fins.  If you want to swim faster, you must improve the efficiency of your unassisted kick.  You can. Read the info about HOW THE KICK WORKS and also click over to the page on stretching ankles with the Rack. 

If you want to find out how to use Zoomers fins and how they work, click Zoomers fins.

What does it take to lose weight (decrease body fat percentage)?  Why has it traditionally been difficult to lose weight when using swimming as a primary form of exercise.

To lose weight one must be able to do an exercise which will keep the heart rate elevated for a prolonged period of time (25 to 40 minutes).  It was very hard to do this while swimming until I developed the Zoomers swim fin.

To decrease body fat percentage, when exercising one must meet three criteria.

1. A  major percentage of the body muscle mass must be used.   Since approximately 60% of your body muscle mass is in your legs, the legs must be active throughout the exercise period.  It is even better if arms and legs are active together.

2. The exercise must be performed at a moderately high level of intensity so the heart rate is significantly elevated.   This does not mean at maximum intensity.   Maximum intensity can only be sustained for a couple minutes. 

3.  The exercise must be performed for a prolonged period of time: from 25 to 40 minutes.

Before I invented Zoomers fins, swimming was ineffective as a means to control or lose weight.  Why?  If the legs were used aggressively enough to elevate the heart rate, the swimmer would tire rapidly.  Criteria #3, (swimming for a long time) could not be satisfied.    If the swimmer swam at a pace which could be sustained throughout the workout, then they could not swim hard enough to cause a significantly elevated heart rate.  Criteria #2 would not be satisfied.   If they increased intensity (#2) and did so for a long time (3) then they could not use the legs.  Criteria #1 would not be satisfied. 

Why Do Zoomers work??? The actual limitation for all three of the above criteria is how much oxygen you are able to breathe in per minute.  If  you are able to take in more oxygen, then you can support the use of more muscle mass, (1.) at greater intensity (2.) for a longer time (3.).

When you swim crawl stroke with Zoomers fins,  more muscles in the legs are working harder so more blood flow and more oxygen is required.  The additional propulsion from Zoomers fins let your arms cycle slightly faster. This allows you to breathe slightly more often which lets you take in the enough additional oxygen needed.  The ability to breathe more often and take in more oxygen is why Zoomers fins allow higher cardiovascular conditioning levels (they let you work harder). 

What are the differences between Zoomers fins and long blade fins? If you swim with a standard, long blade fin, the legs will become tired after a few laps.  This causes the kick to slow which in turn, slows the arms.   If the arms cycle more slowly,  you do not get to breathe as often, you get less oxygen and cannot support as high of a level of exercise.   

It will take time, possibly several months, to get to the point where you can swim hard enough to lose weight.  If you have been unsuccessful  in weight control attempts throughout your life, then this is not a long time to wait, and it is something to which you will always have access. The goal is to eventually swim 4 or more times per week for 30 to 40 minutes.  This is what it takes.  Decreasing or controlling body fat percentage is not easy.  It takes a commitment and a genuine desire, but,  Zoomers fins make it possible.  After you   swim a few times, you will have an idea of how long you can swim in a workout.   Zoomers fins will let you swim faster than you have before.  At first you will go too fast and will not be able to sustain the pace.  After a few swims, you will be able to establish a pace that you can maintain throughout your workout. Swim at this pace, for example, 20 laps in 10 minutes.  Each time you go swimming, see if you can swim for a little longer (1 to 2 minutes longer), but keep the pace the same. When you reach the point where you can swim for 20 to 30 minutes, then, count the number of laps you swim in the workout.  Next, see if you can swim a little farther in the same period of time.  For example, if you swim 30 laps in your workout, see if you can swim 32 in the same period of time.  Gradually continue to increase the number of laps.  As you see, it is necessary to keep track of how long you swim and how far you swim if you are to be successful.  

If you want more information on how to swim better, I have a few videotapes which will help.  Click here