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1st Swim Last Night - How to progress?
eddiescooper
Posts: 15
in General Chat
Hi guys,
I know you get a lot of swim questions and I've had a good look through the threads, so I do apologise but....
Done my first swim last night, felt I got some technique right but didnt have much stamina so this fell off a bit towards the end of my allotted half hour. Managed 16 lengths (25m) but couldnt string two together, was stopping at each end for about 10 breaths. Think I need to concertrate on breathing and think my legs are too deep creating drag.
Anyway my question is where does this rate as a first proper swim session and how would you progress from here? I have an open water spint tri at the end of May. I plan on taking some coached sessions when I have the cash with the local tri club.
Thanks guys
I know you get a lot of swim questions and I've had a good look through the threads, so I do apologise but....
Done my first swim last night, felt I got some technique right but didnt have much stamina so this fell off a bit towards the end of my allotted half hour. Managed 16 lengths (25m) but couldnt string two together, was stopping at each end for about 10 breaths. Think I need to concertrate on breathing and think my legs are too deep creating drag.
Anyway my question is where does this rate as a first proper swim session and how would you progress from here? I have an open water spint tri at the end of May. I plan on taking some coached sessions when I have the cash with the local tri club.
Thanks guys
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I'd say that's a great start, just keep building up the number on consecutive lengths and get some coaching or go to a group session!
After years of debating getting a swim coach, I went went for it last night with some caution on what I would gain from it!
We had one to one swim coach for an hour went halfers with a training bud. £21 each including a lane all to our self's!!! We were the envy of other swimmers in the zoo lanes!!
in one session the coach has got me from avg 18 strokes per length down to 14!!!
I'm not swimming any faster yet but, this is how I want to be swimming for sure!!
Anyone thinking about a coach for some gains in the pool should def go for it!
cheers
Seriously, it's all about the breathing. Get onto YouTube abd search for swim drills. It's worth spending 10-15 minutes eash session just working n the drills. Try swimming with your body rotated at about 45 degrees, just kicking, and head in the water. Look down, not forward, this will help raise your hips. Then rotate the ehad to take a breath, and carry on. Repeat but on the other side. Once you;ve got the hang of it, then throw in a couple of strokes. It'll take a while, but you'll get there.
Quicker option though is some coaching, even if it's only one hour, you'll learn mor in that house than you'll probably ever teach yourself.
My OW swim is 750m, I've already planned for OW swims in the weeks leading up (when its warmer!). I have planned my training to be doing 800m continuous swimming before the race, is this achievable/normal practice?
Thanks again
I know some try swimming with a pull bouy between there legs, this lifts there legs up, which gives similar effect to the wetsuit.
If you can swim 800m inthe poolcontinuous, then 750m OW swim is easily do'able. However, you'll need to think about sighting. This is navigating in OW. In a pool it's easy, you have the line on the bottom to follow. In OW, there's nothing, just some bouy in the distance. You can practice sightning inthe pool, between breathing have a quick heads up and focus on somehting at the end of the pool, then head back into the water and resume normal stroke. Again, google and it'll be better explained.
I've also got my first sprint in March (pool based!) and train by doing sets of 400m. If it's any comfort, I started and couldn't string 2 together but by, believe it or not, slowing everything down and allowing a 'glide' before 'pulling' the water I've began to string 2 together and am now getting onto 3!!! I alternate now and do 4 front crawl, 2 breast stroke then repeat 3 times. When I feel my front crawl is improving then I simply add a front crawl and remove a breast stroke.
I picked this link up which I've found useful in learning what I SHOULD be doing!
http://www.swimsmooth.com/
Download the program and you can watch the front crawl at whatever angle/speed you choose in order to better study it.
Good Luck!! (Good to hear someone else at the same point as me)
I did four things
1) I bought the book Total Immersion by Laughlin. It is brilliant (the first half anyway) and showed me exactly what I was doing wrong.
2) I went to the pool three times a week (once or twice did not seem enough).
3) I did as much crawl as I could, and when I couldnt do any more I did breast stroke until I got my breath back, and then I crawled again.
4) When I got tired and the technique was going wrong I stopped (dont teach yourself bad habits)
2 and 3 are along the same lines as teaching yourself to run. "You cant run until you can run" is a conundrum that only hard work will get you over.
Currently I'm at 40 seconds for 50m, regularly do 2km, and just today I beat my best breaststroke time - 29 mins for 1.5km. Its only now that I'm beginning to think a lesson might help...
Ade
(my breast stroke is as quick as my front crawl yet much easier to do!!)
I'm old (40) and these days my knees are hurting when I do a lot of it (inside tendons).
Plus In a wetsuit, my one anyway, it just plain doesnt work as well because your legs slip through the water and the neck gapes between the shoulder blades which doesnt make for bouyancy.
Also (and now I'm a crawler I'm qualified to say breaststroke is really antisocial in the fast lane...
I started swimming crawl only about 6 months ago. Struggled at first to get the distance in but stuck at it and it soon came together.
You should maybe think about doing pyramid sets (1 length, 2 lengths, 4 lengths, 6 lengths,4 lengths, 2 lengths, 1 length or so with 30 sec intervals). Once you get used to these you can push the distance up and the rest time down.
I would really encourage getting some coaching though.
It's amazing how having someone watch, who knows what they're doing, and can point bits out can improve your technique!
My kicks were too long and therefore creating a LOT of drag. Merely by kicking shallower and fast it's increased my speed significantly (well, it felt like - I'm gonna time it properly next time I go). I'm a convert - coaching is money invested!!
They do different strokes each week but the teacher said she's happy for me to do just front crawl every time I go.
To be honest, I feel a little...anxious about starting with a Tri club, especially the swimming, because I have the idea they'll all be super fit athletes and I'll rock up fat belly, poor technique and sh*t kit!! but as soon as I pick up the courage I'll head down one day
Does anyone else find that when your first learning FC that one length technique will just click and then the next you feel (and look?) like your drowning?! I feel Im lacking consistnacy but at times the technique feels really good and I move faster and smoother at no extra effort? Might still be down to consistantly getting the breathing right?
I Find it's down to me just being knackered, or my breathing getting out of 'sync'
I guess we just need to develop 'swim fitness'