Just learning to swim
maxxi
Posts: 27 Member
Hi everyone
I am an adult and only learning to swim now, I do have a moderate fear of water and I have managed to overcome it to start swimming a bit of freestyle. I am still taking lessons and need to learn the breathing technique before I feel confident enough to do laps.
My question is, what is a good swimming plan for a beginner who wants to accomplish enough to make swimming a part of their workout routine.
Also i am struggling with the timing of breaststroke, and find myself not going anywhere fast as a result, any tips here would be appreciated!
Thank you!
I am an adult and only learning to swim now, I do have a moderate fear of water and I have managed to overcome it to start swimming a bit of freestyle. I am still taking lessons and need to learn the breathing technique before I feel confident enough to do laps.
My question is, what is a good swimming plan for a beginner who wants to accomplish enough to make swimming a part of their workout routine.
Also i am struggling with the timing of breaststroke, and find myself not going anywhere fast as a result, any tips here would be appreciated!
Thank you!
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Replies
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Hi, Maxxi! It's always nice to see a new swimmer around!
First things first - before you can work in a swimming plan for a good workout, you MUST first get comfortable with the breathing so I would make that my priority. In the meantime though, there are lots of things you can do that will not only give you a good workout but will also help you get stronger in the water while you're learning to breathe. Grab a kick board and practice kicking a few lengths of the pool. Kick both, freestyle and on your back. If you don't feel the burn in your legs after one or two lengths of the pool, kick faster. Also, you can get a good workout while developing your breathing skills at the same time by holding the kick board with only one arm extended on top of the kick board while your kicking, your free arm down by your side, your face in the water, and then turn your head to the side of your free arm to breathe and then return your head back into the water. Do this for a length and then for the next length, switch arms and breathe on the other side. Do it as many times as you like. Focus on how your turn your head to breathe. You don't want to be lifting your head out of the water. You want to turn it to the side (and slightly back towards your shoulder) just enough to catch a breath and quickly return your head back into the water.
You can also use swim fins to increase the resistance if you'd like.
You also have the option of using a swim snorkel. I don't normally recommend swim snorkels for beginners because they may become dependent on them and never learn to breathe correctly. However, they're fine to use when you want a good workout without having to be concerned about breathing as long as you use it as a supplement and not a replacement for learning how to breathe. A swim snorkel is not like a normal snorkel. It fits in front of your face instead of to the side like scuba snorkels. You can get them at swim shops or from Amazon. But if you happen to have a scuba snorkel, it would work too.
Pull buoys can help workout your arms. They fit between your legs and allow you to work the arms without your legs while keeping you from sinking. You may not be ready for a pull buoy on freestyle quite yet but you could probably use one for the backstroke.
Just try to see how far you can kick with a kick board, how far you can swim with a swim snorkel, and how far you can pull with a pull buoy before needing to stop and the next time you swim, try to go a little further. But whatever you do, don't stop the breathing exercises. You want to incorporate all of these things into a good workout and you especially want to wean yourself off of the snorkel if you decide to use one.
As far as the breast stroke goes, I would have to see it to know how to correct it but the general timing is pull, kick, and glide. If you don't have the glide, it's not a big deal, at least not right now. I don't glide on my breast stroke and I never have. I pull, then kick, and then go right into the pull. Someone else here may be more helpful on this one.0 -
I have no advice - I'm learning front crawl myself. Although I can do breaststroke till the cows come home (or I get bored lol).
Ms_J1's given some great advice (and I may just nick the exercise to learn how to breathe whilst doing front crawl).
But welcome
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The only way to learn something is to keep doing it....
I have swam since I was little (gonna be 48 in a couple weeks), and as long as I keep my stroke form, I can zone out and not think about it....
But I help Scouts swim and find my self saying:
--> "breast stroke is the EASIEST stroke, to swim wrong (timing)".
--> "Swimming fast is about efficiency, not the big splash or arm speed"
That one's kinda like "if you can dodge a wrench......"
Breast stroke is timing (Kick, Glide, Pull, breathe, repeat - and not all at the same time). Make sure your arm strokes goes straight out away from your head and sweep/push behind you.... not out to the side. The basic shape is the "Ace of Spades" (tucking your elbows in at the start. The angle of your hands will help you pop your head out to breath when you need to (I breath every other stroke). Think long strokes, but start recovering when you are at about the should line... that's when your "frog kick will come in".
Also, side-stroke is easy to learn so you can start swimming laps.. It keeps your mouth out of the water so you can breath.0 -
Alady good advice given. Just want to welcome you and keep going. It's worth it. Kudos to you for putting your fear at least sideways if not back there yet.
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Don't know what happened......already0
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The thing that helped me the most was the training snorkel. But Ms_J1 is correct you need to be pretty comfortable breathing before you start to use it. I like it because it allowed me to build endurance and muscle memory without getting too short of breath. Also don't overwhelm yourself getting into the minutae of the "perfect" stroke. I found if I worked on one aspect of the stroke at a time it led to less frustration. Just take your time. Build up your endurance and gradually try to improve your stroke. Next thing you know you'll be kicking *kitten* and taking names. As for the breast stroke? Your on your own kid.0
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First all welcome to the fabulous world of swimming!
I can't really add much to the advice above (Mrs J1 says it all) except that keep going for lessons while you have the budget for it, and make sure you practice in between. Search youtube for videos - there are loads out there that will give you starter tips and instruction.
Any questions just come on here and ask and enjoy the water.0 -
Biggest mistake I see with breakstroke is people kicking with feet and pulling with hands at same time.
I think this really messes with fluidity in the water, increasing drag, and so less distance covered at slow pace with double the effort!
What everyone else said above is the way to go!!"0 -
Hi thanks for all the replys guys!
Especially your very comprehensive one Ms_J1, I'll have to re-read and digest that one.
I thought I would be notified by email of replies so just seeing them now!
I'll keep working at it, think I need to break it down into baby steps and master one aspect before I move on, it's tough to coordinate everything at once but hopefully practice will get me there!
Maxxi0 -
Ms_J1 gave you great advice, go with what she said. As you get more comfortable swimming, ask more specific questions - there are plenty of knowledgeable people here who are more than willing to help......
Welcome to the pool, great job getting started swimming in spite of your fear, the more time you spend in the water the more that fear will lessen.....0
