I can’t seem to go without fins swimming Freestyle or even the breaststroke. I have to kick much faster to keep myself straight and without sinking. How do I remedy this and convert back?
How are you doing breaststroke with fins? Try swimming with a pull buoy to get balance in your body position then take it away and add your kick.
Zuri said:
How are you doing breaststroke with fins? Try swimming with a pull buoy to get balance in your body position then take it away and add your kick.
Found it on YouTube. It’s quite doable.
@Gabi
It’s not though. The breaststroke kick can’t be done properly with regular fins.
Clay said:
@Gabi
It’s not though. The breaststroke kick can’t be done properly with regular fins.
Agreed. I almost go backward doing breaststroke with normal fins when I flip my feet out with normal fins. I can just about get away with round Finis positive drive ones and super super short Speedo Biofuse (they are more like foot widener) although both annoying and more of a hindrance. But Arena PowerFin Pro? Nope…
Clay said:
@Gabi
It’s not though. The breaststroke kick can’t be done properly with regular fins.
I must have regular fins.
@Gabi
You will hurt yourself doing breaststroke with fins.
Gracen said:
@Gabi
You will hurt yourself doing breaststroke with fins.
Haven’t yet! It’s become quite natural.
Gracen said:
@Gabi
You will hurt yourself doing breaststroke with fins.
Haven’t yet! It’s become quite natural.
You might not be kicking properly in breaststroke if it feels natural.
Gracen said:
@Gabi
You will hurt yourself doing breaststroke with fins.
Haven’t yet! It’s become quite natural.
Why ask for advice if you are not going to listen?
Fins are not for breaststroke, end of sentence. Keep doing it a) you WILL hurt yourself or b) you will develop poor breaststroke kicking skills or c) both of the above.
Now, as for your question, two things come to mind: a) you probably have poor head and body position, work on this; and b) you probably also have a poor catch, work on maintaining a high elbow and staying long on your stroke.
Finally, propulsion from your kick is completely ineffective and inefficient during a swim. Most (if not all) non-professional swimmers should focus on using the legs mostly for stability. Of all the energy used during your kick, less than 10% translates to forward propulsion. And that statistic is for professional swimmers, who have a better and more efficient kick. In regular swimmers, I think that percentage is much less (probably less than 5%). Hence, there is really no reason to kick during your swim other than for body position, stability and glide.
Seems you have sinking legs. You can focus on expanding your hip joints, engaging your core muscles while you swim.
Corwin said:
Seems you have sinking legs. You can focus on expanding your hip joints, engaging your core muscles while you swim.
Just by engaging my core muscles it fixes this?
Corwin said:
Seems you have sinking legs. You can focus on expanding your hip joints, engaging your core muscles while you swim.
Just by engaging my core muscles it fixes this?
It will be a good start. Gaining the muscle memory to hold your balance while gliding in freestyle is not easy. If you can, find someone to film your swim so you can increase awareness of your body position in water. The awareness itself helps a lot too.
Start using a pull buoy and focus on using your hands for propulsion. You’re sinking because you got into a bad habit of relying on your legs.
Develop your whip kick without using fins. Work on kick drills for a few weeks and you should see the difference. A steady and slow one-beat kick should generate enough float to stay level. I’ve got beginner buddies who got too attached to fins and didn’t develop proper whip kicks in the end.
@Flint
I wouldn’t say I’m a beginner. I can currently do 110 laps without many breaks. And that’s usually to adjust my nose clip, goggles, or MP3. It’s definitely more endurance than speed. But yes, I see where you’re coming from with using the fins as training wheels. I will try everything suggested! Thank you! 
@Gabi
Oh sorry. I guess it’s mostly just the difference between with and without fins then. Feet just don’t generate half as much force as fins do.
@Gabi
Are all 110 laps with fins?
Yessss? 
I think fins are probably making it worse for you. I’d start by doing some pull drills. Get some paddles and a pull buoy.
Do some 50m sets and focus on body position for a start. You want your hips up near the surface which means you’ll have to use your core as your legs are off limits in this case.
Also, using paddles for 50m sets will give more power to your pull and allow you some extra momentum to feel out the water without fins.
Fins should be a training aid, but if you’re wanting to get faster or swim without them, you’ll want to focus on drills.
Also… when you’re swimming along freestyle, where are you looking? Ahead or straight down?