Courtesy of Aqua Knuckles, a SwimSwam partner.
Aqua Knuckles would like to extend a warm welcome to Peter Plavec. Peter is a very accomplished Masters swimmer. Peter finds his niche in the wintery water swims. Peter is an IWSA (International Winter Swimming Association) World Champion and World Record Holder in the 1000 meter freestyle. Peter can often be seen swimming without a wetsuit in the snow! We wanted to sit down and get to know Peter to understand what makes him tick as a Masters Swimmer and content creator.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Slovakia in a small village. When I was 12, we moved to Komárno, a city near the Hungarian border. Now I live in Vienna, Austria with my wife, Vivien. We love it here so much; we will stay here probably until the pension. We will then likely move maybe to a country near to the sea…
What was your first memory of swimming? How did you get into swimming?
I remember, when I was a child, we were very often on a vacation near the water. It was always a lake or sea. My parents taught me how to swim. When I started school, we were at a swim camp, but I could never swim very well. I did, maybe, 30-50m breaststroke and that was it. I discovered swimming again 7 years ago. I started to do ice baths. I saw that others are not only sitting in the cold water, but also swimming. I hired a coach and the journey began…
What do love about swimming?
Wow. There is so much. I can´t list it all. I love everything about swimming. Every movement, even the chlorine in the pool is ok for me…
What are some of your swimming accomplishments?
I had the luck to swim the North Channel two ways in a four-person relay with the team Sportfanatic. We were the first four-person team to do this accomplishment. I´m really proud of it. In 2022, I was the IISA (International Ice Swimming Association) World Champion in ice swimming in my age group in the 500m freestyle event in Glogow, Poland. In 2023, I was the IWSA World Champion in my age group in the 1000 meter freestyle event and I set the new World Record in my age group. What I´m also proud of is my swim in Vigo, Spain last summer. I swam the Batalla de Rande 27km marathon race in the Atlantic Ocean – without a wetsuit, of course! I was the 10th fastest man without a wetsuit. I would also like to mention my ICEMILE from 2020 in Burghausen, Germany. I was a terrible swimmer. I swam the ICEMILE in 4.43°C water and 2.00°C air in 34 minutes 9 seconds.
Please describe your most difficult swim/competition? Why?
The hardest, for sure, was the North Channel. Not the swim or the cold…but the animals. I was swimming in the night through a field of lion´s mane jellyfish. It was a pain I will never forget.
What style of training do you embrace?
I train 1x per week with a squad of triathletes, 1x per week in open water, and another 5 sessions in a pool working on my technique and speed. I like this combination.
LCM or SCY?
Both of them. I have a 25m pool at home, so I train most of the time in it, but I love to swim in the outdoor 50m pool as well in the summer. I try to mix it up. But racing in open water, of course, or in a pool built on a lake or river…
Favorite distance race?
10km for sure. It is long enough to be in flow but not too long to get totally exhausted.
Most exciting race at the Olympics? Why?
This is a hard question. I love to watch the 100free because it´s very fast but also technical. But the main 2 races I enjoy are the 1500 free and the 10km open water marathon because I can cheer for my idols!
What is your social platform’s theme?
I started my Instagram page “peter.plavec” almost 5 years ago. I have over 100K followers. I would like to spread the love of swimming and motivate as many people as I can to start swimming. If those following me are already swimmers, I want to show them that improvement is possible at any age.
How do you keep up with swimming and creating content?
I have a good plan. I try to prepare my content in advance and if I feel a good moment, then I just post it. My wife helps me a lot with photos and videos. It wouldn´t be possible alone.
Any advice for a new swimmer?
Yes. Find the best coach in the town you live in and ask them for help. They will show you the way and then you will never, ever stop swimming.!
Any advice for a new creator?
Yes! Have a strategy and be consistent. I have been posting at least once a day for 5 years. Every day! Sometimes people love my content very much, sometimes not. But I still continue.
Open fingers or closed fingers?
Of course – open fingers! But not too much. It is not easy to find the sweet spot but there is a fantastic piece of swim equipment that can help…Aqua Knuckles!
Is there anything else you would like to say, Peter?
I hope I´m a good example that a non-sporty guy in his 30´s can achieve a lot in swimming – even if he didn´t start swimming as a child. Start today!
Thanks so much for your time, Peter!! This was fun!!
Thank you!
Why does open-finger swimming make you swim faster?
When swimmers pull through the water with their fingers slightly opened (about 5-10 mm apart), they push more water. Water does not escape through slightly spread fingers. As the hands enter the water, they form a thin boundary layer. The water closest to the hand sticks to the hand to form this layer. The boundary layer is like a glove on the hand, adding more surface area to your hand. How thick the boundary layer is will depend on the speed of your hand through the water and the shape of your fingers. When you spread your fingers, water gets trapped between the spaces of your fingers because of this boundary layer. This effectively increases the surface area of your hand.
Golf balls have been taking advantage of the boundary layer for years to achieve better distance and control. The dimples on a golf ball create a thinner boundary layer that stays closer to the ball’s surface. This helps the air flow tighter to the surface of the golf ball creating less of a wake. The dimples on a golf ball reduce the drag by half. In swimming, we are trying to increase the drag from our hands.
Spreading the fingers gives the hands more surface area. Spreading your fingers is accomplishing the same effect as wearing paddles. You can’t wear paddles during a race, but you can spread your fingers during a race for a similar effect. The pull is a very important part of the stroke. The more powerful you can make your pull, the more powerful your stroke is. Wearing Aqua Knuckles offers the swimmer the ability to get very precise with his/her finger placement on one of the most important aspects of the propulsion of the stroke – the hand surface area. Using Aqua Knuckles really helps create a precise finger position which can be hard to accomplish otherwise. There are multiple scientific papers online and now some videos comparing open-finger swimming to closed-finger swimming. The papers all indicate that open-finger swimming is a better method of generating a more powerful pull by increasing your hand-surface area by as much as 10%. On a side note, we’ve also discovered that wearing Aqua Knuckles decreases stroke count.
Open finger swimming also increases the nerves exposed to the water by up to 35%. When you swim closed finger the sides of your fingers are not getting exposed to the water. When a coach talks about “feeling the water”, this is how you can feel more. Having a better feel for the water helps swimmers make those micro adjustments to their pull helping them swim faster. Some coaches believe the best swimmers edge is having a better feel for the water.
What are Aqua Knuckles?
Aqua Knuckles are training aids worn during swim practice for competitive swimmers and anyone who wants to move through the water faster (surfers use them, too). Aqua Knuckles are double silicone bands slipped over the ring and middle fingers of each hand. They are sold in pairs and follow ring finger sizing, though many swimmers prefer a snug fit.
Why should swimmers use Aqua Knuckles?
Training with Aqua Knuckles on a few sets during practice at least every other day makes swimmers faster when they race at meets. Our extensive testing with competitive swimmers indicates that swimmers can shave off as much as .5 seconds per 50 yards.
I am interested in trying Aqua Knuckles but my coach doesn’t know about them. What should I do?
Please email your coach a link to this information or other Aqua Knuckles info that’s out there on the internet – like our FAQ page: https://aquaknuckles.com/pages/faqs or this video on our home page: https://aquaknuckles.com.
It is too hard for me to incorporate Aqua Knuckles into my workouts. How can I get over this hurdle?
It can be challenging to incorporate new training aids into your workouts. Innovative and open-minded swimmers know that utilizing Aqua Knuckles has made them faster and was well worth the time it took for them to develop the habit of incorporating Aqua Knuckles into some of their sets. Developing the effective habit of training with Aqua Knuckles will take about a week. Your Aqua Knuckles will arrive in a colorful mesh bag that easily fits into your existing gear bag. You should utilize Aqua Knuckles on one of your main sets. An example of an Aqua Knuckles workout is below:
Example of incorporating Aqua Knuckles into a workout:
- 200 w/ Aqua Knuckles
- -25 Scull / 25 Power Catch / 50 Distance per stroke
- 200 Choice Kick
- 6×150 @ 4:00
- -50 with chute (drop the chute at end of 50 go right into the 100IM)
- -100IM descend by round 1-4 Hold 5&6
- -odd rounds with Aqua Knuckles
- 4×300 @ 4:00
- -Desc 1-4
- -Odd Rds with Aqua Knuckles
- -Even Rds w/ paddles
- -Every 4th 25 no free
- 8×50 @ 3:00
- -AFAP (As Fast AS Possible!!!)
- -Odds with Aqua Knuckles
Aqua Knuckles make swimmers faster. Our customer feedback from coaches and swimmers all over the world is very exciting and we are thrilled!
Use Code SWIMSWAM15 to get 15% off your next purchase.
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John O’Grady – Founder, Aqua Knuckles
John has been a competitive swimmer for more than 40 years and continues to learn and innovate. His love of the water has seen him through age-group swimming, high school teams, Divisions I and II college teams and masters swimming. He has competed in open water competitions in the Atlantic Ocean and has practiced in the English Channel. It is hard to find this guy out of the water! John resides in Southern California and coaches the Spartans of La Canada club swim team in La Canada, California: www.spartanswim.com. When he is not in the water or on a pool deck, John runs a boutique media services company focused on creative projects of all kinds for both large and small entities. He enjoys cooking, surfing, travel, photography and spending time with his wife and children, all of whom are competitive swimmers.
