Benefits of Using a Swimmer’s Snorkel

A snorkel gear is one of the most important in a swimmer’s arsenal. You might have hesitations at first as it may look weird and uncomfortable, but this is crucial in making you perform at your best. For competitive swimmers, this makes a great addition to their training must-haves. Turns out, it is not just for snorkeling!

So, why is it that you need to wear a snorkel? If you are still not convinced that you need one, keep on reading the rest of this short post and we’ll let you know more about the benefits of using a swimmer’s snorkel.

With all the benefits that we will list down below, for sure, it won’t take long before you will be grabbing a snorkeling set and using it the next time you train. Believe us, you need it!

1. Create Stroke Symmetry

One of the best reasons to use a swimmer’s snorkel is to improve the symmetry of your stroke. You don’t have to worry about having to turn your head to breathe. This means that you will be able to concentrate more on the technical aspect to improve your performance on the water.

Because it is a breathing aid, you will end up improving the balance of your stroke. If you are a sprinter, this becomes more important. Using a snorkel makes it possible to evenly and quickly rotate your arms, which is crucial in maintaining velocity.

Speaking of stroke symmetry, it helps in improving your arm strokes. Because you can breathe better, this prevents you from easily getting tired.

2. Increase Lung Capacity

To make you more comfortable when swimming with a snorkel, one of the most important is to have a nose piece. This will prevent water from getting in. At the same time, when you complement it with the use of a snorkel as a breathing tool, this is effective in improving lung capacity.

You might have a hard time breathing at first, but this should not be an issue. The goal is to make yourself used to such a situation. With consistent practice, this improves not only breathing technique but also lung capacity.

3. Improve Kicks

The use of a swimmer’s snorkel is also beneficial in terms of making you better at your kicks. Crossing ankles during rotation is one of the most common problems amongst swimmers. This might seem like a small thing, but it can negatively affect your movement on the water, and in turn, it slows you down.

Again, as mentioned earlier, there is no need to turn your head to be able to breathe as long as you are wearing a snorkel. This also allows you to maintain the consistency of your kicks. Your core rotation and body movements will also be improved as you get better on kicking as you swim. You don’t have to adjust your breathing, and instead, you can focus on kicking more efficiently.

4. Keep Proper Position of the Head

When you are swimming, experts recommend that you should keep your body in a straight position. This allows you to swim faster without wearing out your body, so you won’t feel tired. To keep your body in a straight line when you are swimming, you also need to position your head straight. By now, you most probably already know that this is possible by having a snorkel because it prevents you from turning your head just to breathe.

Wearing snorkel forces you to keep your head down looking on the ground. If you are not wearing a snorkel, you will end up looking forward or left and right.

For many, looking forward is the common practice when swimming. However, the problem is that your legs and hips can drop below the surface of the water. This can increase drag. One of the best ways to prevent this is by wearing a swimmer’s snorkel.

5. Improve Your Non-Dominant Side

Your dominant side is the side wherein you always breathe when you are swimming, especially if it is freestyle. While this is the common practice, this can be bad in the long run. Your muscles can suffer from uneven development, among other possible issues. This also causes endurance to be built only a single side.

To solve the problem of often breathing on your dominant side, one of the things that can help is the use of a swimmer’s snorkel. During your training, this makes it possible for you to breathe on both sides. It builds endurance and power as you breathe on your dominant and non-dominant sides.

6. Improve your Core Rotation

The core is one of the most important parts of the body that you use when you are swimming. In the case of most swimmers, they tend to rotate their head the same time as their core when they are on the water.

As earlier mentioned, one of the best things about wearing a snorkel is that it allows you to breathe on your side. Because of this, you can focus on improving the rotation of your core without doing it at the same time as you turn your head. This also allows you to focus your head under the water, which is another thing we have earlier highlighted in this article. Make sure to not move your head left and right when wearing a snorkel as this can cause water to get in and will make it more difficult for you to breathe.

7. Improve Speed

This can be a result of all the benefits that have been mentioned above. A good way to sum up the benefits of using a swimmer’s snorkel is the fact that it allows you to work on your techniques and become a better swimmer in no time. From improving your stroke symmetry to increasing lung capacity, it brings us to another significant benefit – it improves speed.

Especially for freestyle and breaststroke swimmers, it has been proven that using a snorkel in a 100-meter sprint will make you faster compared to swimming without a snorkel.

Wrap Up

This article tackles the benefits of using a swimmer’s snorkel. It is a must-have in your training gears. It improves your stroke, lung capacity, head position, and breathing techniques, among other things. You might look weird wearing it during your training sessions, but this should not matter given the fact that it can be beneficial in more ways than one.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab a snorkeling set now and change the way you train! It won’t take long before you realize that we are right with the things we claimed above!