Hey swimmers!

ElliottTN

I would like to start swimming as well. The only issue is about the only swimming I've ever done is the kind where you don't drown. I've been looking up some starter programs but with everything else I do know in the gym and running is that there is probably more bad training programs out there than good and I really have no idea how to tell them apart.

My initial goal wouldn't be speed but more just endurance in something like freestyle. Dare I say I'd really like to try a triathlon some day. Anyone have any resources with good comptitent training programs for someone who's only experience is making it to the side of a lake without dying or getting water in his beer?

Thanks!

Capt_Apollo

this is one of my favorite sites for swim work outs: http://ruthkazez.com/50swimworkouts.html

ElliottTN

Thank you kind sir!

Capt_Apollo

swimming a good free style is like getting your dead lift form perfect. there are a lot of little things that need to go right. the difference is that when lifting you put it back down and reset, and you don't get a chance to do that with swimming.

the most basic thing about freestyle is that you need to remain streamlined. the wider you are going through the water, the more effort it'll take.

first thing first, head position. keep it low in the water, chin tucked to your chest. you're not superman flying, so don't be looking up. use the markers at the bottom of the pool to guide you. when it turns to a T you know you're at the wall. keeping the chin down like that is perfect for breathing too, as when you turn your head, only one eyeball should come out of the water. and don't be turning your head so much you look at the ceiling. there is nothing up there for you to read. look at the side of the pool.

found some articles for you

http://www.active.com/swimming/articles/10-elements-of-a-perfect-freestyle-stroke-part-1-880413

http://www.active.com/swimming/articles/developing-the-catch-and-roll-in-free-and-back

http://www.active.com/triathlon/articles/perfect-practice-makes-perfect-overhaul-your-swim-technique-this-winter-883435

http://www.active.com/swimming/articles/common-freestyle-flaws-and-how-to-fix-them

KathryneJY

I'm not sure where you are, but in my area the community centers offer adult lessons which will help you focus on your strokes, breathing and in water form. The one I took was pretty inexpensive ($50 for 10 half hour lessons) and it helped me immensely with endurance and form. That said, I was already a swimmer. My husband, who is like a cat and hates the water, took adult lessons from beginner level and is doing great.

While online resources are great, the in-the-pool feedback will be much easier to implement as there is someone watching your form. It's sometimes hard to ensure your doing your drills and strokes right by trying to remember a video you watched at home.

Once you are competent in the water, and have the endurance to swim the required Tri distance, getting a swim coach and/or joining a swim club is a great next step to prepare you for competition. I am not a competitive swimmer, but I do swim regularly.

ElliottTN

I'm not very competent in the water at all right now. My endurance in everything else is pretty good, I'm almost at marathon distance in my runs and I can bike all day long. I just know that swimming is a completely different beast so I'll be starting at a very low base.

My initial plan is to just find some beginner workouts and work through them so I can get a little endurance in the water up. Then, when I can swim a bit longer then I would reach-out and pay for a bit of training to show me all my amazing bad habits and lack of form.

My thought process around this is to be able to have enough endurance in the water to be able to really get something out of a pay per session swim coach as opposed to paying someone just starting off when I don't have the endurance to really put in the amount of work yet in correcting my form. Does that make sense? Am I going about this the wrong way?

My gym does have a pool so I can go beat up kids to get a lane. The private sessions for training the offer is a bit high though (like $35 bucks a session) and they do not allow outside trainers in.

Capt_Apollo

elliot, i'd do the opposite. you need a coach more in the beginning, to help you get your form correct. then you can get rid of them as you build your endurance.

do some work outs, have fun, see where you'd like to improve, but you'll need a coach to improve.

margaretturk

Swimming is a great total body workout. They just had a woman on the news in the Twin Cities who competes in triathlons and could go pro. She did not learn to swim until she was in high school. KathryneJY is correct community centers offer adult classes and so do the Y's. There are coaches who give private lessons too. Look for an instructor you feel comfortable with and/ or a class that works for you. A good instructor will break it down: comfort in the water, floating, kicking, stroke, and breathing. Good luck and be patience with yourself while you are learning a new skill.

Triciad811

elliot, i'd do the opposite. you need a coach more in the beginning, to help you get your form correct. then you can get rid of them as you build your endurance.

do some work outs, have fun, see where you'd like to improve, but you'll need a coach to improve.

^^ This !! My daughter has been a competitive swimmer since she was 8 yrs old (she is now 19 and swimming on the Ball State club team). Form is very very important.

KathryneJY

elliot, i'd do the opposite. you need a coach more in the beginning, to help you get your form correct. then you can get rid of them as you build your endurance.

do some work outs, have fun, see where you'd like to improve, but you'll need a coach to improve.

I agree with this. I've been swimming my whole life, but until I got the coaching my endurance (effciency in the water) had a lot to be desired. Breathing and form are what you need for endurance. When I started swimming for fitness again, I could barely swim 50 meters without stopping. After I took the class, which was a "swimfit" class, I can do 2500 meters without stopping. I'm not fast (this takes me about an hour), but I get a far better workout.

ElliottTN

Thanks for the input and catching my misconceptions!

ohpiper

My Y offered a program called "Total Immersion" which takes you back, step-by-step, through the fundamentals. I would enourage this type of approach. I previously had to swim lap by lap, but have now done several sprint triathlons. It's a good approach.

janer4jc

I just learned to swim a couple of years ago in preparation for a triathlon. The website I used was http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/
I would recommend lessons as well. Explain your goals to the instructor and you could get a lot of instruction in just a few weeks.