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Swimming question

ardkeenardkeen Posts: 152
Can anyone tell me how quickly does the swimming improve, I've been practising for 25 mins twice weekly for a month but it's slow going?

Comments

  • PC67PC67 Posts: 101
    It depends on how well you practise! Lessons are a help if you can get some tuition.
  • BoycieBoycie Posts: 189
    I totally agree. You can train all you like with the wrong technique and you will barely improve. I've been trying to get better for the last two years and made little progress. I don't have much time for a really concerted effort and lack the funds for some proper coaching. I make do with what I can for now and look forward to when i can really dedicate some time to it.

    I would advise you get your technique assessed and I'm sure you will improve from there.



    David.
  • pigletpiglet Posts: 86
    I agree- my swimming was OK -I thought- until I got lessons. My stroke was completely wrong! I know full on coaching is expensive but I got lessons from the swimming instructor attached to my local gym which were about $20 per 1/2 hours session- for 6 sessions in total. She gave me "homework" - drills etc to do in between lessons and I noticed a big improvement. Others at the gym have been equally pleased with results. So it could be worth checking out your local pool/gym. Cheaper than full immersion courses etc, but still of value.

    I would also suggest trying swimming 3-4 times a week if possible. I find it very easy to lose "swimming fitness" versus cycle fitness if I don't swim regularly. I really see improvement when I swim more frequently.

    Anyway that's my 2 p worth[:)]
  • handyrobhandyrob Posts: 31
    Id recommend swimming more often and for longer. 3 x 45 minutes would prob do it. Swimming fitness is lost quite easily. I remember hearing somewhere that for every week you spend out the pool you lose two weeks in training/fitness, so if you can get in the pool more frequently it would definately help
  • hound doghound dog Posts: 293
    handyrob wrote:


    Id recommend swimming more often and for longer. 3 x 45 minutes would prob do it. Swimming fitness is lost quite easily. I remember hearing somewhere that for every week you spend out the pool you lose two weeks in training/fitness, so if you can get in the pool more frequently it would definately help

    But with a good technique, If you practice hours of bad swimming you will become a bad swimmer!! I should know[8|][;)]
  • JulieMacJulieMac Posts: 30
    Are you going to a public swimming session? If you are you might want to try and find a more tri specific session instead. More often than not they will have a set session if not a coach and the lanes will be set into different abilities. Hopefully this will give you the instuction you need to improve aswell as the opportunity to develop compare and swim with other triathleets. I'm sure you'll find your technique isn't as bad as you think.

    If all else fails try to relax sort your breathing and just nock the grannies and fat women out of the way!!! Once you get "it" you'll know.
  • A cheaper start point is to trawl the internet. You can pick up a lot of technique tips that you can then practice in the pool. Search for terms like total imersion and www.swim-city.com (which has several slow motion video clips of swimmers like Thorpe and Phelps). I agree with the others that a swimming lesson is worthwhile in the longer term, even if it's just to check on your technique every so often and correct any glaring errors you're making.



    In terms of speed of improvement, I barely changed over a 2 month period when I swam 2 or 3 times a week, but when I started working on my technique I improved dramatically and very quickly (i.e. about 20% faster times over a 1 month period), so technique will win over fitness/strength every time.

  • GraemeGraeme Posts: 48
    I have to agree with the above, if you keep swimming with a crappy technique, then you'll just install that crappy technique into your system and although you'll get faster through being fitter and stronger, you'll always struggle.

    The best way to improve without going to an instructor first is to try a drill book/dvd

    Look up total immersion at www.totalimmersion.co.uk as they do a really good triathlon swimming made easy book / dvd combo.

    The most important lesson that it teaches you, which I think is even more important than the drills, is to think about balance and streamlining.

    I followed the book for a few months and took all the improvments I could from it and then followed it up with a one day session with the guys from swimfortri in London ( www.swimfortri.com ).

    This route may not work for you, but for me it reduced my 400m pool time from a knackered 8 1/2 mins down to a fairly fresh 6mins in around 6-7 months which was a much bigger gain than I would've seen had I just been plodding 3 hours a week at the public pool sessions.

    Maybe an even cheaper and easier method would be, as is suggested above, to study the strokes of Phelps and Thorpe and then try and emulate this in the pool. If you can borrow ( or maybe your pool has ) an underwater camera, this is a massive help too as your stroke will likely be nothing like you imagine it to be - I know mine wasnt...

    The main this is, and I'm sure all swimmers will agree, streamline streamline streamline streamline........



    Good luck



    Graeme
  • BarbsaramaBarbsarama Posts: 73
    [color=#cc3399]Hey! I feel your pain! [:o] A friend told me the other day that my kicking is completely ineffectual - After hearing this i tried to do a length with a kick board and seriously, someone swam past me and i started floating backwards (whilst kicking). Not a good sign. Although I have tried to make myself feel better by telling myself that you are supposed to keep kicking to a minimum for tris anyway because "they" say you should so that you dont burn out your thighs for the other two phases. [/color]

    [color=#cc3399][/color]

    [color=#cc3399]I'm surprised it took me so long to find this out but then i guess it is because i have quite a bit of upper body strength and apparently my stroke is quite good...[/color]

    [color=#cc3399][/color]

    [color=#cc3399]What is everyone else's thoughts about the theory of keeping your legs for the other phases?[/color]



    Thanks
  • handyrobhandyrob Posts: 31
    Good point, I should have mentioned that. Get some lessons if you are a beginner or even jsut read up on swimming technique and try to follow the key points.
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