Adult Swimming Lessons

OnionMomma

So, I can swim, I just don't have the best stroke in the world.

I pretty much look like I"m drowning, but I stay afloat and get some laps in. Hey, I saved a kid's life in a pool once, I can't be that bad.

But, my husband, who swims like a fish, says I would do much better if I had a more efficient stroke.

I'm pretty sure our local YMCA (we are members) give free adult swim lessons for people who want to to work on their stroke.

Has anyone taken one? Will I end up in a class full of people who can't swim at all and are afraid of the water?

SASSYnCHICago

I'm not sure where you are located, but here is Chicago the YMCA has a great class called Strike Development and I took two sessions of the class so I could become a better swimmer as I never did lap swim and needed to learn to do a recent Triathlon.
Check into it as it was a great option.

holly1283

Ask those questions at your Y. Find out who the instructor is and ask him/her. Can your husband give you the same tips since you said he was a good swimmer. ( I know the husband and wife thing) It can't hurt and you might enjoy it more without looking like you're struggling. I wish you well. I happen to be a fish and this is my major source of exercise.

Troll

Youll probably get a few water weenies, and a few like me who come THISCLOSE to drowning every time they get in the water, but if you explain ahead of time why youre choosing lessons you probably wont deal with as many

swfloridagal

I have trouble walking from a car accident. I used to LOVE to walk and walked 5 days a week about 4 miles. It was wonderful and it was in large part the way I got some sanity and spiritual connection with nature. Since I couldn't walk much anymore, I turned to my local Y and started to swim. I started out with just doing one lap and resting, then another and resting, etc until I built up my stamina to swim 45 mins non stop. I got strong doing this but noticed the folks in the other lanes were swimming faster with seemingly less effort. I asked the Y swim coach for some assistance with my stroke. He gave me a few pointers that made all the difference in the world! For one thing, when doing the crawl, I learned to "twist my torso" instead of letting my arms do all the work. that one tip proved to be the difference between plowing through the water and swimming through the water.

Ask your hubby for advice and if he is unwilling, check with the coach at the Y for sure. I also watched vids on youtube and on some swimming websites that helped to make the difference as well. The important thing I think (unless your competing) is to just move through the water the best way you can and make it FUN! thanks for the topic and have FUN swimming!

OnionMomma

Thanks everyone!!!

I think I might start with my husband because that would be easiest to work into our workout schedule since when he is off work, we are in the gym together.

If I don't make progress with him, then I'll do a class. At least now I know they seem to go well.

I have tried to be a "runner" but with all the past ankle issues I have had from being in sports in high school, well, my feet/ankles/knees revolt after a couple of months of heavy running.

It doesn't matter if I have good shoes or try to ease into it, it never goes well. And I do like to run and do HITT.


So, it looks like I need to become a swimmer. :bigsmile:

NCchar130

So, I can swim, I just don't have the best stroke in the world.

I pretty much look like I"m drowning, but I stay afloat and get some laps in. Hey, I saved a kid's life in a pool once, I can't be that bad.

But, my husband, who swims like a fish, says I would do much better if I had a more efficient stroke.

I'm pretty sure our local YMCA (we are members) give free adult swim lessons for people who want to to work on their stroke.

Has anyone taken one? Will I end up in a class full of people who can't swim at all and are afraid of the water?

I personally haven't (though I want to) but my cubicle neighbor at work did it this summer starting out from a similar skill set it sounds like you have. I questioned her about it EXTENSIVELY LOL (because I want to do it) and she said it was actually pretty awesome. Most of the people in her class were much like her, could tread water, could stay afloat, etc, but she wanted to learn how to breath, kick, stroke, etc. It sounded great, I can't wait to do it myself.

Music4Hym777

My local YMCA has to different levels of Adult Swim Lessons. So yours might have something like that. Mine has one where people do not know how to swim at all and then ones for people who know how to swim and want to continue stroke development. I think they have a Master's level too