Triathlon - what do I do with swimming paddles?

One of my christmas presents this year (from a friend that knows of my interest in triathlons but does not swim himself) was some swim paddles. How do these help my swim training? Are there specific drills I should do to get these benefits, or do I just use them with my existing swim workouts?

Don't over do them. Think of them like hill running if you have any experience with that. Also they should help with your 'feel' for the water. How big are they? Would advise against giantic massive ones, better to have somewhat small ones instead,

I used paddles a lot when I was competitive swimming in high school. They create a more efficient "pull" in the water than your hand does, so you it increases the amount of work you do with each stroke. The theory, as I understand it, is that increases your power on each stroke. Be advised - you will have a tendency to cup your hand when you use these, which will make you hands ache. Relax the hand and try the paddles - they probably will increase your upper body strength.

Be careful of paddles.
Paddles can do much more harm than good if you are not careful. If your stroke isn't proper the paddles can exacerbate the problems in your stroke. They can also lead to shoulder problems. I know of people who love their paddles - I also know people who think they cause problems with their stroke and don't use them.

Definitely be careful with them. They are good training tools, but its very easy to overdo, and to give yourself rotator cuff problems. (Believe me, I know about this part of it!)

The paddles are not to be used to "get stronger" through resistance training. They should be used to improve your feel of the water, and to improve your stroke. They will specifically cure you of dropped elbows...espescially if you remove the bands that go around your wrist, and only leave the little band that goes around your middle finger. If you swim with dropped elbows the paddles will fall off.

Basically they provide greater surface area to your hand, and thereby greater resistance to the water. This is not about resistance training like using weights, but rather to exaggerate the feel of the water so that you can more easily appreciate the different resistance you feel when your hands are pitched properly, your arms are in the right place, etc. And also to give you the feeling of moving fast through the water.

Beware of overuse because they can give shoulder injury really really quickly. Read about them on the web or in training books.

Chris - I second what folks have said here. Definitely what lemurhouse said about the straps. In all my years of swimming, I NEVER used paddles with anything but the middle finger tubing. (The only kind I ever used were basic, rectangular, medium sized paddles.) That forces you to "finesse" your way through the water, rather than "force" your way. Paddles are best used for improving stroke technique. Your turnover will (and should) be slower with paddles. Focus on your stroke. Notice how your hands leave the water and how they enter and focus on your catch. You'll have fun playing with them. And like folks said - don't overdo it - it will lead to shoulder injuries.

Remember, paddles are a tool, not a crutch! (I'm having memories of these guys at masters workouts who would CRANK when we were pulling, and then seriously LAG once they took their paddles off.) Don't let that be you! :)

Thanks for all the replies, everybody. At this point I'm new enough to swim training that I'm not sure I would know by myself how to distinguish proper from improper use of these things, nor do I have a well-defined sense of what proper strokes feel like with or without the paddles. I have been relying on external sources (the occasional swim lesson coach) to tell me if what I am doing looks right. Given the risk of injury that ran through the replies, I may play around a bit with these, but more serious and sustained use will probably wait until a future round of coaching that I can bring them to.

Chris