Becoming a stronger swimmer

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scarletrayne19
scarletrayne19 Posts: 35 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Alright, now that I've gotten into a little better shape, I want to become a stronger swimmer. My favorite thing to do is kayak, and I know "how" to swim but I feel like my swimming skills aren't good enough to help myself in an emergency situation.

So I thought maybe I'll start doing 30 min of swimming once a week at the gym to try and build up technique/endurance. Do any of you have any advice or recommend any programs I can try? Is once a week and 30 min a session enough for what I'm trying to achieve?

Replies

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    I'd suggest looking for a kayaking class that covers emergency handling skills because you would need more than swimming skills. YMCA often offers stroke/technique classes for adults. Any form of cardio & strength training will help your swimming, but to really make progress specific to swimming I'd suggest at least 2x a week. It will help build your muscle memory more effectively. Have fun!
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
    edited March 2016
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    I was a competitive swimmer in high school, and we would practice for 2-3 hours a day five times a week, so my idea of practice and your idea may be totally different...

    But, what kind of kayaking are you doing? Lakes and calm bodies of water? Open sea? Rivers? Swimming in all of these conditions are totally different. Plus, you will have a life vest on normally, which completely changes your range of motion and alters your stroke. So in short, swimming at the gym may build up your strength and conditioning, but may not translate to the exact use intended. But, what it will give you is confidence that if something unforeseen does happen, you have the strength to cope with it.

    Good luck!
  • rldeclercq4
    rldeclercq4 Posts: 269 Member
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    I'd suggest going 2x per week for 45 minutes. If you're not used to swimming you're really not going to cover very much ground in just 30 minutes. Focuse on your stroke form - to quote Happy Gilmore "it's all in the hips" - and your kick.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    I love swimming and kayaking. Both are great in and of themselves! Open water swimming is the best. Just did a few miles off of Captiva island last week.

    Getting better at swimming requires getting stronger by doing it more often and also getting your stroke(s) right. It really helps to have someone give you feedback to improve your stroke, both when your fresh and particularly as you tire later in the workout. Bad habits are hard to break, so start early.

    If you can find a master's swim class, join it for a while. I did it in my 20s and still benefit from the experience now.
  • johnwelk
    johnwelk Posts: 396 Member
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    Swimming once a week is fine, just going to take a while to build up stamina and endurance. Adding a second day will help tremendously. You certainly can get a solid workout in in 30min. I swim twice a week, one swim is about 45min, anywhere between 1600-2000m. The other is a shorter speed workout, about 800 meters of sprints, takes about 30min. I upvote joining a masters class, at least for a few sessions.
  • Montepulciano
    Montepulciano Posts: 845 Member
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    No idea where you are starting on swimming but if it is at the beginning this is a good place to start.

    http://ruthkazez.com/swimming/ZeroTo1mile.html
  • ccjlgrider
    ccjlgrider Posts: 49 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Get this book. My daughter (a competitive swimmer) and I read one of her books about technique for all strokes and it was great. Great descriptions, photos and workouts. This book is freestyle only. For freestyle, focus on a high elbow catch and pull. That is key.

    Swim Speed Workouts for Swimmers and Triathletes by Sheila Taormina.
  • aliciamariaq
    aliciamariaq Posts: 272 Member
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    30 minutes is plenty of time to start out with. I agree with @lorrpb, at least twice a week would be ideal for muscle memory and gaining strength/endurance.
    The best thing would be to take a classbut if that's not possible there are tons of youtube videos to help you with technique etc.
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
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    I second all the advice to download some swim workouts to follow, laminate them and take them poolside. To see a noticeable improvement in a reasonable timeframe you probably want to think about swimming 3x a week and choose a distance such as 400m to race every now and then so that you can see proof of your improvements - you will improve but you might not notice it unless you get the stopwatch out as you'll just be swimming faster for the same effort. If it's available to you I highly recommend taking adult swim lessons for technique refinement or there might be a triathlon or swim club you can join at your local pool.

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