Any swimmers out there?

Yes! I used to swim both competitively and for fitness and I taught/coached age group swimming for quite a few years. Swimming is a fantastic workout. Good for you! I would add one more day a week (3X/week) if you can as you will have better results. 45 min is a good length of time. I think that you will have better results if you workout in sets. For example: warm-up (slow swimming working on warming up muscles and stretching out), main set, cool down. Warm- up is really important for swimmers so that you don't injure your shoulders. Also, to become a better / more effective swimmer don't be afraid to work out in intervals during the main set. As you can only swim 4 lengths at a time try doing 4 100s with 30-45 sec rest between each 100. Then a kicking set (give those arms a break) then 4 25s free - fast, resting for 10-15 sec between each 25 then do a kicking set with a kick board at mod speed. Rest is important! If you alternate speed and length you will become a much stronger swimmer more quickly than just swimming a steady pace for 45 min. I like to throw in some drills as well which are typically slow paced but work on form and breathing (one arm swim, catch-up, shark-fin...) If you don't know how to do any drills maybe ask the lifeguard.

Check out swimplan.com it's free and creates different workouts based on level, time and what equipment you have. Great tool - I use it all the time because everyone needs a little help. The Waterproof Coach is awesome. You can take it with you poolside and it has all kinds of tips for better swimming.

I hope that helps. If you have any questions feel free to message me!

I started swimming properly again just over 4 months ago. Back then I could just about manage 30 minutes of slow breaststroke at best. I now swim 5 times a week for about an hour at a time. Now I usually do 15 - 20 minutes of breaststroke to warm up then swap to alternate freestyle for one length and breaststroke for 1 length. I've found that the length of breaststroke gives me just enough time to catch my breath ready for the freestyle length. I usually do 40 minutes of this and then a nice slow swim at the end for a few minutes to cool down. The plan is to move to 2 lengths freestyle followed by 1 length breaststroke in a little while and see how that goes. After that I will try for 3 and 1 etc etc.