Just like hand paddles, fins increase the area of the surface pushing against the water-in this case, your feet. You might kick with the same effort, but with fins, you'll move more water and therefore travel farther-and more efficiently. Increase the effort, and you'll feel the extra resistance that added surface area creates. "Fins are great for strengthening the large muscles of your legs," says Jane Katz, Ed.D., world Masters swimming champion. "But they should be used, like most equipment, intermittently, not all the time." The added resistance can strain your knees and ankles if your body's not used to it. So start off slow and easy and increase your distance gradually.

Fins really start to pay for themselves when you're working on your butterfly or backstroke. In the butterfly, using them helps you get a feel for the all-important dolphin kick. At the same time, they make that kick more powerful, which means you ride higher in the water, and that means it's easier to get your arms up and out of the water, Katz writes in her book Swimming for Total Fitness (Doubleday, 1993). Your entire stroke becomes more fluid and powerful. In the backstroke, fins keep your legs from sinking, so your body stays balanced in the water, and you stay more relaxed.

In addition to mastering the butterfly and backstroke, you can use fins for variety, to make your swimming more cardiovascularly intense and to focus on flexibility in your ankles. Just remember to allow plenty of room for turns-going faster means that wall will come up sooner. And here's a trick to prevent tripping over your fins: Walk backward.

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