Swimming! Im doing it wrong!!

Well I spent the next 10 minutes trying that which resulted in me swallowing some water and almost choking!!

Does anyone have any hints and tips on how I become a better swimmer. I would eventually like to do a triathalon and swimming is a big part of that! Im more than happy to put the time in, i just need the technique - help!

Same advice as you'd give a new runner, slow down and concentrate on form More haste, less speed. with so much water resistance you can expend an awful lot of energy splashing water up and down, but not actually moving forward.

You have three main movements in crawl, arms, legs and trunk. Trunk is key to breathing, by rolling your face out of the water to breathe in. I use a bilateral breath, meaning that I breathe on both sides, once every three stokes.

Search for bilateral breathing, or swim coaching and take some time. Also worth if there is a triathlon club going to some coaching sessions.

bump
and good luck

I learned to swim as a grown-up and it was the best thing I ever did. I highly recommend finding a learn to swim class as you'll get the most benefit from having someone watching you and being there to help and advise where necessary.

I also wouldn't worry about how fast you're going. I personally think you get more benefit out of swimming for 30 minutes than by doing x no. of laps in a certain amount of time.

As with most exercise, technique is all important. Get your technique right, learn to breathe properly and the gains in speed and endurance will follow.

I also wouldn't worry about how fast you're going. I personally think you get more benefit out of swimming for 30 minutes than by doing x no. of laps in a certain amount of time.

As with any exercise different modes of training bring different benefits. The long slow swim equates to the long slow run and helps consolidate the in water endurance, interval sessions help build explosive capacity and performance at anaerobic levels, tempo sessions help optimise conversion at higher intensities.

I always breathe on the 3rd arm stoke if that's any help

My local pool does adult swimming lessons so I have been thinking about plucking up the courage to try them out...! Feels silly, taking swimming lessons at the age of 31 but then again it's not that I *can't* swim, I just need to learn how to swim properly!

Nah wait until you're 41 when you're with the 8yr olds. Bigger contrast.
GO FOR IT!! The longer you take procrastinating, the longer you'll be swimming wrong

3rd arm stroke is most common, some people (like myself) prefer the fourth. Blow out slowly while your face is in, inhale sharply once your mouth is clear of the water.

If you feel like you need it, you can probably arrange a couple of lessons with an instructor.

I always go swimming after having dinner and I have never had problems with my digesting system. (It takes me about 45 minutes between when I'm done with dinner and when I am finally in the water).

I alway set a goal before I go swimming, e.g. "Today I want to swim 1.5 km." and that motivates me during the swimming.

I try to keep breathing the same during the entire swim. I find this particulary hard in the beginning, since I still have a lot of energy then, but I know that I will need the energy and my breath later on.
The moment that I realise when I am swimming to fast, so when I am breathing to heavily, I try do slow down until I have my breathing under control again.

Look forward, not down at bottom of pool, water should be about at the hairline.

Don't drop your hips.

Extend arm to Put hand in water to start stroke directly above shoulder, not above head (cross over) or outside shoulder.

Pull stroke all the way through in sort of an s pattern underwater, experiment what feels best.

Finish stroke, hand should come out near your hip.

When you return the arm up to start stroke again, drag thumb against torso and drag fingertips on surface. That's an exaggerated way to feel what you should be doing. When you do an actual stroke, you don't do that, but it's close, and doing this a few times will get you used to the form needed.

Don't really turn your head to breathe. It's more body rotation. Your body should not be completely flat and plowing through the water.

I approached a private instructor because as I put it I can 'not drown' as opposed to 'swim'. I thought about adult lessons but the group format means you may not get the tips you need and they are sometimes geared more towards beginners/the uncomfortable in the water, whereas you need closer attention. For the price they are probably worth it.

I took one lesson which completely changed how I did freestyle (more roll, head in water as opposed to thrashing) and then went off to practice. I also recommend the swim smooth website and videos. One thing my instructor taught me was 'catch-up'. So when I do a stroke, I leave the arm in front and touch it with the next arm stroke before pulling down. What this does is SLOW the stroke, and allow me to concentrate on form.

I had a second lesson (several months after) at the weekend and we looked at breathing - like you I breathed very little, but by introducing a rhythm to my breathing I got less tired - the difference was that I could do 3 and a half lengths before spluttering to a stop (yes, there were mouthfuls of water) as opposed to my previous 1 in a 25m pool.

There is something called the SWOLF score which you might like to look at - basically the idea is to try and reduce the number of strokes whilst maintaining speed (sort of), therefore introducing maximum efficiency. Forget about speed for the time being, get your form right and speed will follow.