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Cr@p Swimmers R Us
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Major thing holding me back at present is breathing. I can rotate fairly well to inhale and quite happy exhaling underwater. Breathing alternate sides every third stroke. However after a length or 2, I seem to ingest quite a lot of air, which is hindering progress and only relieved by burping. if I try to relax and slow down stroke, this does improve but not always feasible in lane swimming.
Not really got any great target in mind, Bionic Ironwolf, just to improve swimming generally. And yes, I'm more of an outdoor swimmer.
Hey OH!
Are you only swallowing air in the pool or in OW too?
I used to get this and after a pool session would go home doubled over. I think I was gasping for air rather than just breathing "normally". I was also holding my breath underwater then exhaling really quickly all the air in my lungs which then forced me into "whip breathing" which included breathing in very quickly and hence gulping air.
Now that I have stopped this and slowed my breathing down/relaxed I get very very few issues. OW is still more of a challenge as I find sighting difficult but it is still much improved on what it used to be. Same idea and try to stay relaxed when sighting/breathing to avoid rapid intake of breath!! Don't know if this helps but think practise practise practise is the key!!
I had a similar problem to this when I first changed over from breaststroke to FC OH it was remedied by ensuring I started my exhale a fraction of a second before putting my face back in the water.
I had a similar problem to this when I first changed over from breaststroke to FC OH it was remedied by ensuring I started my exhale a fraction of a second before putting my face back in the water.
Oops hope you got that lol
Thanks UTC and glasslegs. That's helpful.
Haven't really done any length of OW Front crawl yet so only a pool problem at present. I am sure that solution is to get a more relaxed style of breathing. Your past problems sound identical to mine UTC so maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
I used to get that as well, the fact I stopped drinking during swim sessions was the key for me, either that or my breathing improved.
Oher half - focus on your exhalation into the water. Whenever your face is in the water you should be blowing a stream of bubbles out.
This will get rid of a lot of stale air and c02, and set you up to breath only the amount of new air you need as your face emerges for eacch breath. As a result you wont feel the need to take huge breaths in.
Practice sitting back into the water, and forcibly exhaling as much air as you can - ideally to the point you sink down and get your arse on the bottom of the pool. Then come up, relax and try it again a few times
Thanks Nayan, but I think the opposite is true. I'm actually very good at exhaling into the water, so much that I need to gulp in the air when my head surfaces.
No indoor practice this week - pool closed for essential maintenance (only opened last June!)
I managed to get a swim this morning. Absolutely lovely, 2250m and the lake was 21 degrees. Two ladies seemed to be playing hare and tortoise with me. They'd dash between the buoys, then stop and chat. Before I got too near they'd be off again. The story is a load of bunk, the hares always win.
oh dear, I think we all drowned!
Maybe everyone got REALLY REALLY good ....
...Nah
No chance of that Will, at last week's sprint tri I was last but one out of the water!
Sighting advice Glasslegs?
There are 3 ways of doing it.
- On your breathing stroke: pop up your head to look ahead, then turn to the side as you crash back into the water again, snatching a little air on the way down. Ungainly. Inefficient swimming, but you get a darned good view.
-On your breathing stroke: get the air first, then have a look forwards. Because of what your arms are doing, you let a lesser view. It's still ungainly.
-On a NON-Breathing stroke: gently pop up just your eyes like a crocodile. This disrupts your stroke less. It prevents your entire body porpoising out of the water, and is therefore better. Otherwise you are only swimming 5 strokes out of 6.
Me? I do type 1 mostly. But I'm an ugly swimmer. I'm trying to do type 3. More practice required. Yes you can do practice in the pool to start with.
Need to get my swimming distance up from a couple of lengths to 1.2 miles by next May, have had a couple of lessons at the local baths to get basics of technique.
Decided to follow this schedule:
http://ruthkazez.com/swimming/ZeroTo1mile.html
but modified a bit cos it's a 30m pool. Did 4x90, 4x60, 4x30 this morning, with the 12 sec, 8 sec, 4 sec breaths in between sets. But I had a minute or so rest between each group of sets. So... was I cheating?!? It was flipping hard whatever!
Back to the pool after 6 weeks - seem to have forgotten everything i learnt!
So fed up. Have a partial tear of the supraspinatus and thickened bursa since end of June. Have been good (other than half ironman) and not swum, getting regular physio/chiro treatment. Felt so much better so thought I'd take a dip in the pool to test it out. 1 length, pain going down my arm, obviously not healed. I'm going to be even more cr@p than I was end of June when I finally get back to swimming. Seems to be taking forever and I'm not very patient. I did surprise myself that I got out of the pool after 1 length, and didn't try to push through the pain as I normally would do.
Takin much longer than I anticipated to come right.
I'm a newbie here but......
I used to be a local club swimmer (before I went off playing rugby) - turned to Triathlon in order to keep the bulge off after 20 years in the front row.....
I went to Masters swimming sessions at New Mills (South Manchester/Derbyshire border) 2 years ago where they started my stroke from scratch. I now swim 3-4 km at Salford on Wednesday nights without too much effort.
Get the right instruction to get your stroke right (mine was built up from 5 drills over 4 sessions) then keep it as slow as possible while you build up the core strength (driving from the hips). A good technique is only possible once you are 100% confident on your breathing.
If anyone can get to New Mills I would highly recommend doing 5-10 sessions (around £5/2 hours per session) - instruction is virtually 2:1 (when you get OK you move out of the duds lane) - all you need to be able to do prior to your first session is to manage a length without drowning.
Hey OH!! I've been trying to swim regularly both in pool and OW where/when possible. You'll get there. I still struggle at times in OW but it is coming... kind of!!
Half IM in 2 weeks
... having done an Olympic this year and felt comfortable at the end of 1500m (although still glad it was done!!)... so surely I can survive another 400m? eeshk!!! Quite happy to be last out the water
If I can do that I think I'll manage to get round as my biking and running is "ok"... hmmm why am I doing this again????
Hi BigKev32. Sounds like you are local. We have a new club - Stockport Tri (sister club to Bramhall Runners) that might be of interest. There is training in one or other discipline almost every day. An internet search should locate our website
Hi everyone, I do realise this may be a question for a sports scientist (ironic seeing as i'm studying Sport Science as a degree currently) but is it possible that the body gets lazy or wastes oxygen when it can easily access it - in such disciplines as cycling and running?
I only ask because I've been running for 2 years now, have a 10k PB of 35 minutes, 10 mile time trial time of 25 minutes yet I can't do 400mtrs of front crawl without stopping for a breather...(I'm breathing every 3 strokes, sometimes 2) and I'd say I'm pretty fit at the moment. I should mention I have never been into swimming, nor have I ever trained for it, and I very rarely swim - other than on holidays.
I can think of three problems I'm potentially having - I have the lung capacity of a baby, my body's oxygen economy is awful, or my body just isn't used to swimming. But I'm just baffled as I can't even do 400mtrs swim without stopping (I'm that out of breath)
Many thanks.
+1 to what Duda says although it would help if you give us a little background as to your swim experience and also a little of your swim style if you are aware of it
Do you swim with 'windmill arms'?
You say you breathe every 2 or 3, but are you taking in enough air?
Are you exhaling underwater?
What's your body alignment like in the water?
Do your legs sink causing drag?
Check out Swimsmooth or Total Immersion for some valuable hints and tips
I could just about manage 25 metres before having to stop to rest my HR. Now, I can manage a bit further but it's not pretty. There's a gazillion basic factors that contribute to the problem.
-weak swimming muscles
-inefficient stroke
-excess drag generated
-basically, I didn't have a clue.
Swimming is far more technical than I ever imagined, and relies upon developing muscle memory in all sorts of areas that we previously ignored.
I wonder if Scott Wilson ever came back to see if anyone had taken time out to offer advice and possible solutions to his concerns
If he didn't, I wonder why he posted in the first place
If he did, it's a shame he didn't have the courtesy to acknowledge the replies he got
I've not swam since January
But I managed to get 3 lake swims in while in the Lake District last week ... 2 in Windermere and 1 in Rydal
AND today ... I'm going to the pool
WW - thanks for that nudge, it's about time I pulled my finger out. I'll pack my bag tonight and off to the pool first thing tomorrow morning.
Well, I did it 1500m (early lunch break) an easy pace ... and enjoyed it
Just had another swim .. 1200m as 3 x 400
Failed to break 8mins
I've lost over 1min /400m since last year