Beginner Help

Hi Jeff, :welcome: and happy (almost) birthday! :cake: Perfect timing on your birthday; you can join USMS at the age of 18! So, that would be my first recommendation to you; join USMS and stick around on the forums and learn from a lot of great swimmers. In addition to all of the great benefits of membership, Swimmer Magazine is also included. Here are some other suggestions for you: 1. Read Ande's Swim Faster Faster thread on the forums, as well as Ande's Tips. Great stuff! Check out his index and make sure to go back and read his past tips, as they are very helpful for new swimmers. 2. Read the book, "Mastering Swimming", by Jim Montgomery. It is full of great information for new swimmers! 3. Check out the videos here: www.goswim.tv 4. After you join USMS, find a local USMS team to workout with and learn from. If I had one in my area, I would have done it, for sure! I am sure the other forumites will have plenty of great advice to add to this list. Meanwhile, good luck and have fun! :cheerleader:

Good for you for taking up a new sport. In addition to the other recommendations here, having an experienced swim buddy will really help you. It seems like you may have that taken care of. Swimming with other people really helps you stay motivated and can help you with your skills. Senior year of high school a friend of mine joined the swim team and in just a single season became phenomenally better at swimming. At the first meet he swam a 34 second 50 Free. By the end of the season he was swimming a 26 sec 50 free. Good Luck!

Find an adult swim program or take private lessons. It should be fairly easy to develop technique if you are comfortable in the water. This is something you cannot do alone. Check out the Masters programs in your area for advice. Above all Have fun!

Welcome! I grew up right near Clifton Park. If you would like some tips on getting involved in masters teams there for stroke refinement, check out the www.schenectadyswimclub.org/.

What kind of workouts could i do in my pool each day to help me out? I know I sound like a huge noob but I'm legitimately interested and hey you have to start somewhere, right? I see you originally posted in the Workouts sub-forum, so I think that's a great place to start. Betsy's 1 Hr Workouts could be up your alley. If you find the need to swim more than an hour each day, there are a variety of other active workout threads in there, not to mention a dozen or so blogs that get updated on a daily basis (though some of the blogs are oriented for very specific goals and may not suit your needs). If you are still living in Clifton Park, you probably don't have a ton of options to consider for USMS swim teams, but the Adirondack site lists some possibilities: www.adms.org/.../places.htm. Also, you could contact Officers of the LMSC to see if there are any other options. Alicia Fletcher and Ann Svenson are two board members who are friendly and might be able to point you in the right direction if you are looking for a team. Their contact information is on the adms.org site. Good luck!

Find an adult swim program or take private lessons. It should be fairly easy to develop technique if you are comfortable in the water. This is something you cannot do alone. Check out the Masters programs in your area for advice. Above all Have fun! I'm very comfortable so I think that since i'm already comfortable(and love to be) in the water it should help me! I see you originally posted in the Workouts sub-forum, so I think that's a great place to start. Betsy's 1 Hr Workouts could be up your alley. If you find the need to swim more than an hour each day, there are a variety of other active workout threads in there, not to mention a dozen or so blogs that get updated on a daily basis (though some of the blogs are oriented for very specific goals and may not suit your needs). I will certainly look into that 1hr workout, I do my research late at night and then mess around with what I find in the pool the next day.:) If you are still living in Clifton Park, you probably don't have a ton of options to consider for USMS swim teams, but the Adirondack site lists some possibilities: www.adms.org/.../places.htm. Also, you could contact Officers of the LMSC to see if there are any other options. Alicia Fletcher and Ann Svenson are two board members who are friendly and might be able to point you in the right direction if you are looking for a team. Their contact information is on the adms.org site. Good luck! Thanks for the leads, I do also agree that it is really limited when it comes to teams other than our school's team once you turn 18. Good for you for taking up a new sport. In addition to the other recommendations here, having an experienced swim buddy will really help you. It seems like you may have that taken care of. Swimming with other people really helps you stay motivated and can help you with your skills. Senior year of high school a friend of mine joined the swim team and in just a single season became phenomenally better at swimming. At the first meet he swam a 34 second 50 Free. By the end of the season he was swimming a 26 sec 50 free. Good Luck! Thank you, I would like to join my schools team since it seems like fun while still being able to improve during the winter months when my pool is covered up! Welcome! I grew up right near Clifton Park. If you would like some tips on getting involved in masters teams there for stroke refinement, check out the www.schenectadyswimclub.org/. no way, where abouts? I will check out that link!

Hi Jeff, :welcome: and happy (almost) birthday! :cake: Perfect timing on your birthday; you can join USMS at the age of 18! So, that would be my first recommendation to you; join USMS and stick around on the forums and learn from a lot of great swimmers. In addition to all of the great benefits of membership, Swimmer Magazine is also included. Here are some other suggestions for you: 1. Read Ande's Swim Faster Faster thread on the forums, as well as Ande's Tips. Great stuff! Check out his index and make sure to go back and read his past tips, as they are very helpful for new swimmers. 2. Read the book, "Mastering Swimming", by Jim Montgomery. It is full of great information for new swimmers! 3. Check out the videos here: www.goswim.tv 4. After you join USMS, find a local USMS team to workout with and learn from. If I had one in my area, I would have done it, for sure! I am sure the other forumites will have plenty of great advice to add to this list. Meanwhile, good luck and have fun! :cheerleader: Thanks a ton!!