Out of steam and breathless after 1 lap of a small pool please help!!!

Fitness is something that is developed over time with practice. When I started cycling, I didn't just come out of the gate riding every day and logging hundreds of miles...I built up to that over the course of months...and now years.

Much like every other pre-exercise; try to clear your mind of everything else that isn't related to your current workout, check and keep in check your breathing before and during the exercise: wait to start on a calm breath, usually an exhale, finally try to stay calm and concentrated in whatever amount of clarity you can get a hold of to maintain all above, good form, and execution as others have said.

Check out the copious resources on the swimsmooth website to improve your technique or.... to cut out the research just take a few adult swim lessons - you'll soon make vast improvements. I was exactly the same a few years ago and now I'm one of the fastest in our Tri club. Also try going slower to keep going longer, just as you would with running.

Try some different breathing patterns to find what works best for you - breathing every 2?3?4?5? We're all different and the usual 3 doesn't necessarily suit everyone. If it's what you're used to though remember to breath out fully underwater, 'bubble, bubble, breathe' is a helpful mantra to repeat in your head.

To improve efficiency make sure you're not lifting your head out of the water to breath, just rotate it to the side, look at the side wall of the pool, not behind you or upwards, keep one goggle in the water whilst you take your in-breath.

Swimming in particular is very technique based, as suggested above do some research on form and work on that. If your technique has issues it can be difficult to get enough air into your lungs, as well as being very inefficient.

Back off so you're not breathing through your *kitten* and try not to worry about the faster swimmers , just hold your line and it's the faster swimmers problem to navigate around you

I served in the Coast Guard, and we used to swim every Friday, and not in a pool. It was far more exhausting then running. It's going to take time to adjust to a new form of exercise. As said above, technique and breathing are everything. Just like running.

My swimming technique was horrendous, and as a result left me exhausted after one or two laps. I got some adult swim lessons, and now I can actually slow down and use proper technique to get me the same distance much faster.

Try just kicking with a flutter board and then the pull buoy exercise and when you have it all together in your head, put it together in the pool. If your technique still stinks, most community centers have adult stroke lessons. I went with private and got 10 half hour lessons for just over 200 dollars. Given that a pass to the pool was 5 bucks, it was actually a pretty good deal.

I'd come early, warm up for fifteen minutes, work on my stroke with the trainer for half an hour and then swim laps while it was still fresh for half an hour. Within five lessons I didn't even need the rest of them, and I was the worst ever.

Sometimes when an activity isn't our usual thing it's best to just get help and save the frustration. I mean, most people don't start something like yoga on their own, why do it with swimming?