What accessories do you use in the pool and how do you incorporate them? When swimming at the PAC, I use AquaSphere swim fins as I find them most comfortable and training effective, and Speedo concave swim hand paddles, both large and medium to tax the upper body. Best for 200 repeats and 200 one arm repeats. (Scott Endsley, 57, San Diego, CA) I mainly use pull bouys, paddles, and kickboards. I mix and match because I need all the swim help I can get. This year I’ve added the Vasa Trainer so I’m excited to see what that adds to the mix. (Nick Logan, 30, Norwalk, CT) Coming from a pool background I use a lot of different equipment. I really like to mix it up and work on different things. They include short Zoomers to work on kick tempo and strength, Duct taped snorkel to work on lung strength and head position in the pool, and three types of paddles: 1) dinner plate paddles to build strength and fast tempo with large catch 2) Turtle paddles which are essentially anti-paddles to not allow you to catch water and work on catching water with the forearm 3) figure 8 paddles which look like a figure 8 that slide up your wrist and forearm and prevent you from dropping your elbow when you set your catch. Dropping my elbow is my biggest deficiency in swimming so I use the figure 8 paddles a lot. I use a pull buoy and a strap very often to work on upper body strength and posture in the water. (Casey Bateman, 22, Santa Maria, CA) I have short fins, small paddles, a pull buoy and a kick board. Most of the days I warm up with at least one set of pull and one set of kick. That way both engines are moving. Other days, when I am focus on "strength", I use my buoy and paddles for large portions, and also do IM sets. Doing other strokes helps strengthen the muscles all around without me even having to step near a weight room. Small fins (rather than the long ones) also help with leg strength and power. (Liz Baugher, 23, College Station, TX) I don't do any pull or kick sets so I don't use any buoys or kickboards or paddles. With my swimming background, I don't need them and I'm not a big fan of them. My motto is get in, warmup, do the main set and get out. I don't like to spend more than an hour in the pool and I won't be swimming with any swim aids during my races, so I just don't bother. I do, however, use the Finis Swimsense watch to track my laps, distance, pace, and stroke count. I also use the Finis SwiMp3 during my long swim over 2,500 yds. Since the Swimsense watch counts my laps, I just listen to my music and get into a groove. Before I know it, I'm done with my long swim. (Siphiwe Baleka, 40, Muncie, IN) I use Zoomer fins in my warmup and drills, small paddles for pull sets, and a piece of resistance tubing tied into a loop to virtually eliminate my kick to help me work on body position. We’ve started using the Finis Tempo Trainer to work on establishing our optimum stroke rate and to keep that tempo up throughout a long swim. I have a waterproofed iPod shuffle that I enjoy and it minimizes any tendency to chitchat so I can get through a workout faster! (Cortney Martin, 45, Blacksburg, VA) In the pool I use a kick board and a stopwatch. I combine things like squats, push-ups, burpees, and kettle bell swings with my pool sprints. (Laura Bergmann, 29, Ranson, WV) I use a pool buoy and paddles for part of my workout, usually 1,000 yards depending on the workout (Diane Camet, 41, San Diego, CA)