Starting swimming, any advice?

Gosh.. well... Having been so impressed with the outdoor pool right near my work and thoroughly enjoying myself in my swimming adventures so far.. I've discovered the downside. Being that when the sun comes out it's like a package holiday in Majorca! :(

There were about 20 people/kids splashing around in the slow lane, moochers barely moving in the medium lane.. and although I got along ok in the fast lane I wasn't quite up to speed so I had to keep stopping to let the train of people past me. Grim!

Should have gone inside to be honest..

I've been thinking, if I'm generally swimming twice a week (Mon and Wed), are there any free weights routines that will help me out? Something to do at the weekend if I can't be bothered to come all the way into town to swim? :)
 
So I have a couple more questions.. Does anyone have any good resources for looking at what strokes work out what muscles etc.? I can see a difference in my chest already, but not much else :p

Also, does anyone have a lap-counter wrist band? Any recommendations? Something like the Poolmate things I guess? I think I need something to make sure I keep pushing myself..
 
Hi Scam,
I was bought a Garmin Swim (http://sites.garmin.com/en-GB/swim/) for my last birthday - it isn't the cheapest but is effective for counting/timing lengths and drills. It uploads the data via your PC to the Garmin site which provides various views of the data. You can also choose to give access to friends which might be an incentive for some.

The only negative I've got (apart from having to remember to put it on) is that the lap count can get a bit confused if you pause or change stroke mid-lap but it does a better job than I do. I've read that it doesn't reliably detect stroke type for some people, which is probably down to technique.

I'm not sure that using it really makes me push myself any harder but it's nice to see my speed slowly improving. I've found it vaguely useful when trying changes to my technique and seeing the effect on stroke rate and speed.

Hope that helps :)
 
Scam said:
Yeah breathing is definitely the hardest bit. I'm going to give it a few weeks and try to breathe every 3 strokes rather than every 2. .
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You could try pyamiding your breathing.

I used to swim for my county a lot of years ago in the pool and then a few years ago I started doing triathlons and after years of breathing to the left on every right arm extension I had to relearn as open water triathlon swimming is a bit like being inside a washing machine filled with feet.

On my pool sessions I do one length breathing each stroke, then each two, then three and then four, and then back down the other side of the pyramid.
 
Ha, yeah. I laughed :D

I don't think open water swimming is for me considering it totally mucks me up when someone splashy swims past me in the neighbouring lane :p
 
Bit of an update. I've been doing 2-3 times a week fairly consistently (mostly just twice) and feel like I'm improving. I'm certainly seeing the results mainly in my chest (i.e. I actually have bit of one now). But one thing that doesn't seem great is my stamina. I'm quite surprised actually, but I still struggle to do more than one or two lengths without wanting to stop. Maybe it's because I have not technique for turns, but it's all too easy just to stop, catch my breath and then go again. Meanwhile there's all these machines that drop in, swim solidly for 35mins and leave :p

I tend to start really well, hardly needing to breathe for the first few lengths, then go terrible for the next 6-7 lengths (always out of breath), then by the time I do my last 10 or so lengths I feel like I'm finally getting a rhythm going..

I guess I need to push myself a bit more...
 
Scam said:
I tend to start really well, hardly needing to breathe for the first few lengths, then go terrible for the next 6-7 lengths (always out of breath), then by the time I do my last 10 or so lengths I feel like I'm finally getting a rhythm going..
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Well done for sticking with it :)

Are you familiar with aerobic and anaerobic exercise? It sounds like you could be starting off too fast, and 'pushing yourself a bit more' may be counterproductive if you just end up shorter of oxygen and unable to concentrate on your stroke. Maybe try starting off slower so that you get into a comfortable rhythm much earlier.
 
Yeah I think there's probably an element of that going on.. Trouble is I'm going at lunchtime so it's always rush in/rush out type thing. Will make a mental note to start sloooow and see if that helps. I do find my swimming is better when I go a bit slower anyway.
 
I did my first ever pool 5km last week in 1:18 which I was pretty chuffed at! Need to get some serious training in now as on the 13th of June I'm doing an 8 mile swim (tide assisted) in the river Tay sans wetsuit. Pretty nervous right now as I've been training in the harbour for the past month and the water doesn't seem to be getting warmer. reckon it's around 12 degrees at the moment and really it needs to be hitting 13.5 or higher.
 
yer_averagejoe said:
I did my first ever pool 5km last week in 1:18 which I was pretty chuffed at! Need to get some serious training in now as on the 13th of June I'm doing an 8 mile swim (tide assisted) in the river Tay sans wetsuit. Pretty nervous right now as I've been training in the harbour for the past month and the water doesn't seem to be getting warmer. reckon it's around 12 degrees at the moment and really it needs to be hitting 13.5 or higher.
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Chuffed indeed! I'd have been about 15 minutes behind you :(. My ego is hoping that you're young, fit as a proverbial butcher's dog and a born swimmer!
 
I envy people that can swim and even more people that can swim underwater, I seem to have an irrational fear of water... well more specifically drowning. I used to be fine and there has been no reason behind it but as soon as i get chest deep i start to have panic attacks.
I would go for it if you can, start easy and build it up. There is no harm in getting a few pointers and i'm sure there will be people there happy to help you out !:)
 
I wish I was a better swimmer, I do OK but I really don't feel comfortable pushing myself aerobically in the water and prefer an easy pace breathing through the nose.
 
Well after completely loving my Arena Cobra goggles, they've started to lose suction! I'm not sure what's going on but it's as if they don't fit anymore. They keep popping off on my right eye, bottom right as I look out. It's completely screwing me up at the moment, so annoying :(

I might try another nose bridge to see if that helps.. the only thing I have changed is that I started to use the anti-fog spray.. wonder if that's related? :confused:
 
Scam said:
Well after completely loving my Arena Cobra goggles, they've started to lose suction! I'm not sure what's going on but it's as if they don't fit anymore. They keep popping off on my right eye, bottom right as I look out. It's completely screwing me up at the moment, so annoying :(

I might try another nose bridge to see if that helps.. the only thing I have changed is that I started to use the anti-fog spray.. wonder if that's related? :confused:
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Why are you using anti-fog spray. Spit. You need Spit.

I'm not even joking. Do your warm up, when it fogs, take goggles out, spit in them, rub your finger around a bit to fully layer the goggles. Quickly dunk them under water to wash spit off, put on head straight over eyes. No idea why it works, but it does.

Also, try tightening them. If they were new you may just be losing suction as the rubber stretches

kd
 
I only bought the spray because it was £5 for that to give me free shipping on my goggles, or £3 shipping for the goggles on their own. So I thought I may as well try it for £2. I know spit works well enough though :)

I don't think it's a strap tightness thing.. I was pulling them pretty tight but it's almost as if they've completely lost the shape they had. Darn. Will try a couple of different nose bridges in front of the mirror to see what's going on :p
 
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