Trying to be a swimmer

Hi Natasha,

Great work starting with the swimming - I've just recently got into it in a big way & LOVE it

I found this resource which I've found really useful. Loads of info on improving strokes, swimming for fitness, swimming to lose weight etc - I've become a bit adicted to it!

http://www.swimming.org/swimfit/

Hope it's of use

Em

P.S. TOTALLY with you on the front crawl. Keep meaning to force myself to integtrate it more than I do, but always end up telling myself I'll do more next time!

funny - I can totally do the front crawl/free style but NOT the breast stroke- simply because I cannot do a breast stroke kick (my butt always pops out of the water then my head goes into the water and then I breathe in the water!!!! gurgle)

now I am not saying that I am good at the crawl, just that I can survive it....

Hello Ladies! I used to swim competitively and I taught/coached swimming for about a decade. I am happy to hear you are inspired to swim. At the level you are swimming right now you will probably be working mostly on toning not as much weight loss. But please don’t let that discourage you!

Here are some suggestions to help you beef up your skills so that you can get more of a cardio workout:

First of all get a kick board. In case you don’t know, they look like little boogie boards. Pools will usually have kick boards that you can borrow. Getting your kick straightened out will help with your stroke and your side breathing. Use the board with two hands on the bottom end of the board so that your face is in the water. Kick several laps this way keeping you feet right near the surface of the water. Most people will bend their knees too much when they are learning to swim. You want to create a ripple of white water behind you not slap the water with you feet and legs. When you need to breath just lift your head up looking straight ahead. This can definitely get your heart rate up.

After you have practiced just your kick for a while start incorporating your arms. Keep holding the kick board as I mentioned before but this time take a stroke with one arm all the way across the pool. Then do the other arm on the way back. This allows you to keep your body in position by keeping your kick strong. You do not need to move your arms too fast. You want your kick to push you through right now.

When you move your arm through the water you want your palm to face behind you and you almost want to run your thumb down your middle. It’s an action/reaction thing. If you push the water towards your feet or behind you, you will move forward to the end of the lane. As your hand reaches your waist you want to push it out of the water towards your thigh. When your arm is out of the water you want your elbow to be up and your hand to be near the water. Beginning swimmers often reach their hand toward the sky and that is what causes the role over onto your back. A drill swimmers do is called “finger tip drag.” As your hand is moving towards the top of your stroke you drag your fingers on the water right next to your body. It may feel awkward at first but the more you practice the better your overall swim will become.

Once you get your kick, body position, and stroke in line then you can practice side breathing. Keeping your hands on the board as before move one arm at a time alternating sides now. When you need to breathe turn you head to the side keeping your other ear in the water. Your breath actually takes place closer to your armpit when you’re in the proper position. There is a nice little air pocket there. It’s a good thing we breathe in through our mouths. Most often beginners will follow their hand with their breath and they end up front breathing and the body gets out of proper position. It is good to practice on both sides but if you prefer one side to the other that works. I usually try to get into a pattern of breathing. I will breathe every five strokes for a medium paced swim. For beginners I recommend two or three strokes per breath. It is also important to remember to breathe out as your face is in the water. Keeping a slow continuous breath out through you nose or mouth helps expel all the excess carbon dioxide so that when you breathe in you get good healthy oxygen. This will help in your cardio activity too.

After you have practiced all of this with the kick board for a while try it without the board. Even though the videos make it all seem so easy, it is good to watch them for technique. I once had a four year old swimmer who couldn’t do breaststroke worth a darn. One week she came back to practice with the best breaststroke ever. When I asked her what she did to improve her stroke, she told me she watched the Olympics very matter of factly. Four year olds are amazing that way! By the way, breaststroke and butterfly are more about timing than anything. It sounds like your timing is off but it does also help to have a strong kick.

I hope I didn’t give you too much information at once. If you have any questions or want more drills and techniques feel free to message me. I hope all of you keep up the great work and learn the joy of swimming. Have fun getting wet! tami

Hey Natasha! This is another long one...

First of all let me start with saying any movement is going to burn calories which leads towards weight loss. Just remember that weight loss comes from calorie deficit between how much/what you eat and how much you exercise… calories in versus calories burned. Some people think that you don’t burn as many calories swimming because the water cools your body. I have done swimming workouts that have made me sweat a lot so I think you can still be warm enough to burn calories. Getting in a good workout is how hard of a workout you do and how much you actually get your heart rate up. That’s why I suggested working on your kicking. Doing flutter kick for freestyle can really get your heart rate at the target level. It is a little bit of speed and number of strokes… the more you do the higher you heart rate. The following site has a basic target heart rate calculator and some more information:

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/healthtool-target-heart-rate-calculator

Breaststroke is a little harder to describe without showing you but here it goes…

The kick in breaststroke is called a frog kick because it is exactly like what frogs do when they kick. Practice several laps with the kick board to get it strong enough to do with the stroke. It is easiest to do frog kick with the board when you are holding onto the top of the board with you hands and the bottom of the board is in your armpits. Your arms should be straight on the board. The thing beginners usually do wrong is called a scissor kick, which is less effective than the frog kick and is also illegal in competition. The main thing to remember in the kick is to flex your feet so that your toes are facing away from your body to the sides. Your knees should be facing almost towards the bottom of the pool. Again think about action/reaction… you want to push the water towards the wall behind you with your feet flexed. When your feet get to the end of your kick and your legs are straight, point your toes towards the wall behind you, and then squeeze your whole legs together in the straight position to create less drag. As you are practicing with the kick board make sure you glide for a second or so before you do the next kick. The further you glide the stronger your kick. Focus on making yourself glide.

The stroke is like scooping cookie dough out of a big long bowl right under you with a length ranging from your finger tips with your arms straight above your head to right under your breasts. Remember the action/reaction thing… you want your hands in a position that will push the water behind you as you bring your hands down to your breast. Your elbows should be up and your fingertips should be facing towards the bottom of the pool so your palms are facing towards your feet. When your hands reach about your armpits your hands should start scooping the “cookie dough” towards your chin and your elbows squeeze into your sides. When you’re scooping your hands almost stroke your breasts. :blushing: I wonder if that’s how it got its name. Make sure you get good, big, deep scoops and scrape the sides of that bowl. Now cookie dough is not going to help you in your weight loss goals so you are not going to put it in your mouth. You are going to thrust it away from you towards your finish line. To create less drag, when your hands get to the top of your stroke bring them together in almost a prayer position with your finger tips reaching for your finish line and your arms straight in front of you like you’re trying to squeeze your cheeks with your biceps.

Now the timing is actually the most difficult part of breaststroke. Most beginners try to do the stroke and the kick at the same time but they are actually counterparts of each other. A drill to help with the timing would be to do the stroke and then do the kick. This is not going to be easy and won’t feel right or look good. To breathe lift your head when your hands are near your armpits and you’re squeezing your elbows into your sides. Think stroke, breathe, kick, glide…

The real timing of breaststroke is a little more difficult to explain without showing you. Start with pulling your hands towards your armpits keeping your elbows up. You start bending your knees for the kick when your hands start getting to your pits. As you are squeezing your elbows into your sides you should breathe and your kick should start thrusting back. As your kick is thrusting back to the end of your kick your head starts to go underwater and you thrust your hands forward and your butt should pop up a bit but not out of the water. You want your arms and hands in that streamline straight position squeezing your cheeks as you get to the final thrust and squeeze of your legs. Then you want to glide for a second before you start your next stroke. The longer you are able to glide without stopping the stronger your stroke and kick are. You want to start your next stroke right before you slow down.

Now that you have read this information I highly recommend that you look at video of swimmers doing breaststroke so that it makes more sense. Pay close attention to their timing to see if what I told you makes sense to you. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions. Have fun practicing!!! tami

Great post.