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Anyone have tips for a new lap swimmer
Posted on 2/23/19 at 7:10 am
Posted on 2/23/19 at 7:10 am
To start I am a 39 year old male who is 5’9” and around 167 lbs. I run 5 days a week and have dropped a significant amount of weight doing so. I have progressed to the point to where I can run a HM in under 2 hours so I am in fairly good cardiovascular shape. I just started lap swimming at the fitness center I joined and I learned just how out of “swimming” shape I am though. I can swim the length of the pool (25 M) but I have to stop to rest before coming back. I know swimming is mostly about the correct technique but also endurance. Anyone have any tips on how to increase swimming endurance?
9
Posted on 2/23/19 at 1:33 pm to cassopher
quote:
tips on how to increase swimming endurance?
It grows fast. I never swam competitively. And I'm still far from competitive or "good". I started in late 2015 when I decided to do a triathlon. Just like you, I could barely make the length of a pool. I still remember after about 3 weeks I swam like 400 yds straight and was over the moon because the triathlon was 500 yds and I was almost there
. I watched a lot of youtube videos and it kind of clicked with me. Learn how to breath with body rotation (breathe out under water, roll and get breath, out under water again), learn hip position, and learn high elbow "catch" of the water out front and you are half way there. YouTube is really the only place to see those things though without a coach and it does take a lot of weeding through random crappy videos or videos wayyyy above a beginner's level.
Swimming fitness is a lot kinder than other cardio things to me. Once you learn the technique, you can increase the distance very quickly (I was swimming a mile without stopping in ~2 months). I can also take 6 months off and get back to pretty good shape in like 4 weeks. Not the same with running and other things.
Posted on 2/23/19 at 2:56 pm to KG6
quote:
It grows fast.
This.Give yourself a month to get used to the new activity and then like the above poster said, watch videos on technique. And if there is a Masters Swim Group near you it is well worth the money to swim with a coached group. There are all level swimmers in a masters group so you can start in a slow lane and move up as you get faster.
Posted on 2/23/19 at 8:02 pm to cassopher
There's a great surfer's pool workout for those who are landlocked.
It's roughly four laps of a stroke, then a full on lap sprint freestyle. Rest 40seconds, and repeat with another stroke (then the freestyle sprint again). The workout is 12 sets (+12 sprints).
Then cool down via lazy breast stroke.
I used to do this at lunch.
Good stuff.
It's roughly four laps of a stroke, then a full on lap sprint freestyle. Rest 40seconds, and repeat with another stroke (then the freestyle sprint again). The workout is 12 sets (+12 sprints).
Then cool down via lazy breast stroke.
I used to do this at lunch.
Good stuff.
This post was edited on 2/23/19 at 8:05 pm
Posted on 2/24/19 at 12:25 am to cassopher
I have no idea and I got 9th in the nation when I was 16 in the nation championship open water 5k in the Atlantic Ocean. Join a master’s team and keep practicing is the only thing I got. Swimming is the hardest endurance sport.
Posted on 2/24/19 at 9:53 am to DaBeerz
quote:
Swimming is the hardest endurance sport.
Completely and totally disagree. I will admit that for some people it just doesn't click. But if you can take direction well and really get a feel for what you are supposed to be doing, it's the easiest to build endurance in. Might be one of the harder ones to get fast in, but to just build the endurance has always been easier than running and cycling for me.
Posted on 2/24/19 at 3:28 pm to cassopher
Repetition and time in the pool, I’m talking hundreds of hours, is really how you get better, but here’s a few tips:
1. Join a masters team if you can, the coach there will guide you as you grow.
2. Use fins a good bit at first so you can focus on one thing at a time and not get overwhelmed.
3. Don’t try so hard to kick, there’s no way, even or a good swimmer, to sustain a powerful kick for more than a couple hundred meters.
4. The synchronization between turning your hip over, extending the arm that’s about to stroke, and pulling with your lats on the side that is currently stroking that you want to achieve.
5. Commit to the sport and swim at least 3 times per week if you expect to improve.
6. TAKE IT EASY AND RELAX, way easier said than done at first, but it is the key to going from 25m to 4000m in a year or so. Fins really help this, that’s why they’re so good at first.
I’ve done 3 pretty fast half ironmans, got my first full IM coming up in May, swam a 10K on NYE, and still warm up with fins. And on days when I don’t feel like being there and killing sometimes I’ll still do half my workout with fins.
1. Join a masters team if you can, the coach there will guide you as you grow.
2. Use fins a good bit at first so you can focus on one thing at a time and not get overwhelmed.
3. Don’t try so hard to kick, there’s no way, even or a good swimmer, to sustain a powerful kick for more than a couple hundred meters.
4. The synchronization between turning your hip over, extending the arm that’s about to stroke, and pulling with your lats on the side that is currently stroking that you want to achieve.
5. Commit to the sport and swim at least 3 times per week if you expect to improve.
6. TAKE IT EASY AND RELAX, way easier said than done at first, but it is the key to going from 25m to 4000m in a year or so. Fins really help this, that’s why they’re so good at first.
I’ve done 3 pretty fast half ironmans, got my first full IM coming up in May, swam a 10K on NYE, and still warm up with fins. And on days when I don’t feel like being there and killing sometimes I’ll still do half my workout with fins.
Posted on 2/24/19 at 8:20 pm to cassopher
quote:
tips for a new lap swimmer
Start with intervals. Hell, I’d recommend only doing intervals. Streamline work to feel how your body behaves in water is very helpful. Start every lap by sinking down and pushing off hard in a tight streamline. Try some underwater breast or underwater kicks to work on streamline.
Breathe less than you think you need to. In freestyle don’t breathe any more frequently than every 3 pulls. Then stretch it to 5. Then shoot for 3-4 breaths per 25. Breathing if not done right wastes a crapload of energy and most beginners just don’t do it properly.
Also, try 3x25 kick, pull, swim. Really focus on form. Do like 6 sets. 3x25 easy, medium, fast is another good one. But most importantly, I’d say do pure kicking sets with either a board or fins. Cannot stress how important your legs are to proper form and how important proper form is to endurance.
Build to sets of 50s. You never really have to do a continual swim longer than that to get in shape. Maybe a set of 100s occasionally or a 200 for warmup or cool down.
Posted on 2/26/19 at 9:51 am to cassopher
I was on year round swim team growing up, so it comes naturally to me, but if you haven't ever properly learned to swim you are probably wasting a ton of energy. Try to take long smooth strokes, make sure your legs kick all the way from your hip joint and you're getting full hip rotation.
Sounds silly, but maybe ask one of the swim team coaches to give you a lesson.
Sounds silly, but maybe ask one of the swim team coaches to give you a lesson.
Posted on 2/26/19 at 10:23 am to cassopher
I'm constantly repeating "smooth is fast, fast is smooth" in sync with each stroke.
Yes, sprints and intervals are great at building speed and strength, but as a new swimmer if you try to go fast, you'll lose form and just beat the water and yourself to death.
As a new swimmer you should focus on efficiency and smoothness of each stroke. Speed will necessarily follow. Get a nice smooth stroke down, then you can start pushing your turnover rate in a sprint or interval workout.
Yes, sprints and intervals are great at building speed and strength, but as a new swimmer if you try to go fast, you'll lose form and just beat the water and yourself to death.
As a new swimmer you should focus on efficiency and smoothness of each stroke. Speed will necessarily follow. Get a nice smooth stroke down, then you can start pushing your turnover rate in a sprint or interval workout.
Posted on 2/28/19 at 7:40 am to TheCurmudgeon
Sort through The Race Club videos on YouTubes. Gary Hall breaks down the strokes really well in some of those videos.
Don’t be in a rush. Work on distance per stroke. Swimming well is about body position. Learn to breathe comfortably. Learn to kick and be patient and glide a little on each stroke out front and finish your stroke at the thigh.
Watching videos and trying to emulate them really helps. Get someone to film you as well and watch your stroke and make changes.
Don’t be in a rush. Work on distance per stroke. Swimming well is about body position. Learn to breathe comfortably. Learn to kick and be patient and glide a little on each stroke out front and finish your stroke at the thigh.
Watching videos and trying to emulate them really helps. Get someone to film you as well and watch your stroke and make changes.
Posted on 2/28/19 at 11:58 am to cassopher
get you an underwater MP3 player and have fun. I'm 66, just started swimming. Went from 25 minutes the first time to 55 minutes after a month. now I don't care as much how long, average 45 minutes. I don't care about speed, I'm looking for a whole body workout w/ cardio and weight loss benefits and I feel better than when I was running 30 miles/week back in the day. I have neck problems and use a training snorkel and I love my workout. youtube videos for technique but basically just for the fun of improvement.
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