Newbie question

Former Member
Former Member
Please let me know if this forum isn't for this kind of question. I am trying to learn to swim properly. I have been very comfortable with water all my life, no problems at all. However, the only stroke I have ever swum is the *** stroke and probably not so well. Still, I have crossed small lakes swimming and feel completely at ease in any body of water. Now I am trying to learn proper freestyle. No coach at this point. Lots of videos on the 'net and I also ordered the TI videos. One problem I am having is that my body doesn't seem to stay near the surface of the water. Because of this, when I rotate to breathe the air isn't there...so I have to either over rotate or wait for the bobbing cycle to bring me back to the surface. I am not sure why this is happening and I am hoping that this is a simple newbie mistake and someone can point out how to correct it. I am swimming with my head down, even pushing it down chin-to-chest. I am also doing skating drills on both sides and breathing without any problems during those. It's when I transition to crawl that I seem to descend just a few inches. I imagine if I was watching from the outside I'd see me kind of bobbing up and down as I move through the pool. Any ideas or pointers in the right direction would be appreciated. Thanks, -Martin
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Sounds like you got a great deal. This BBS can be very helpful at times, both observing and asking questions. Hope you stick around. :) Have Fun! :) Yup. Perfect advise here. I really appreciate it. I signed up for twelve months at the club. You can be sure I'll be and active and also passive participant on this forum.
  • OK, I said that I would post an update in about a week. Here we are. Two weeks ago I couldn't swim freestyle to save my life (literally). I could, maybe, fake it for about ten yards. After that I'd have to switch to this funky imitation of a ***-stroke that I've been doing all my life. I decided I had to learn to swim properly. I started on my own by looking at various videos on the web as well as the Total Immersion stuff. I did that for about a week. Lots of questions surfaced. I then asked here and someone recommended that I find out if there was a Masters program near me. There was. I attended the very next day. Today I officially joined the program after a one week trial run. What a difference! This morning I swam 750 yards in about an hour (with about 1 minute breaks every 50y). I am absolutely thrilled. From complete freestyle incompetence to this in two weeks? Wow! I love the detail work and drills that coach is having me do. Lots of little details to work out. You really can't beat expert coaching. Also, the pool where the club meets is far, far better than the pool at the health club (50m x 25y x 7ft deep). My swimming workouts are now five days a week and 1.5hours per session. I am going to use the remaining two days in the week to go to the gym and do some weight training. Again, thanks for giving me a shove in the right direction. Now I know that I will become a better swimmer and I am looking forward to doing the lake crossing again next year and being near the front of the pack as opposed to 15 minutes behind the last guy. Congratulations...looks like you're heading in the right direction. :applaud: Don't forget to take a day or two off in the week. Your body will thank you later. :)
  • As you have found out a coach/team can make a world of difference! Stick with it. Maybe stay with the team all winter season. Good luck !
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    OK, I said that I would post an update in about a week. Here we are. Two weeks ago I couldn't swim freestyle to save my life (literally). I could, maybe, fake it for about ten yards. After that I'd have to switch to this funky imitation of a ***-stroke that I've been doing all my life. I decided I had to learn to swim properly. I started on my own by looking at various videos on the web as well as the Total Immersion stuff. I did that for about a week. Lots of questions surfaced. I then asked here and someone recommended that I find out if there was a Masters program near me. There was. I attended the very next day. Today I officially joined the program after a one week trial run. What a difference! This morning I swam 750 yards in about an hour (with about 1 minute breaks every 50y). I am absolutely thrilled. From complete freestyle incompetence to this in two weeks? Wow! I love the detail work and drills that coach is having me do. Lots of little details to work out. You really can't beat expert coaching. Also, the pool where the club meets is far, far better than the pool at the health club (50m x 25y x 7ft deep). My swimming workouts are now five days a week and 1.5hours per session. I am going to use the remaining two days in the week to go to the gym and do some weight training. Again, thanks for giving me a shove in the right direction. Now I know that I will become a better swimmer. I am looking forward to doing the lake crossing again next year and being near the front of the pack as opposed to 15 minutes behind the last guy.
  • Yes, congratulations on finding and joining a masters group. I think you'll be amazed at how quickly you progress, in terms of both technique and stamina. If there's anything at all that I regret about my swimming "career," it's that I didn't join a masters group about 10 years sooner.
  • Please post the name of the club you have joined, they deserve recognition (is it Santa Clarita?). And you are to be commended for having developed the commitment to improve your swimming when you really did not need to, since you were water safe anyway. In my experience, not many people seek to improve their strokes the way you have. I hope to meet you at a meet in the near future! BTW, your long term floating technique is actually taught and has a name. I just wish I could remember it (haven't been a swimming teacher since 1971).
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Please post the name of the club you have joined, they deserve recognition (is it Santa Clarita?). And you are to be commended for having developed the commitment to improve your swimming when you really did not need to, since you were water safe anyway. In my experience, not many people seek to improve their strokes the way you have. I hope to meet you at a meet in the near future! BTW, your long term floating technique is actually taught and has a name. I just wish I could remember it (haven't been a swimming teacher since 1971). santaclaritamastersswimming.com/ I did about 2,000y today (with breaks). Blows me away. Still lots of details to work on. There are 25 things happening at the same time! With regards to the floating technique. I am not surprised that it is taught. I actually came up with it on my own years ago as I contemplated going swimming on my sailing (ocean) trips. I just wanted to be sure that I could hang there and catch my breath/rest while expending minimal energy. Being that I was not a good swimmer at all (horribly inefficient imitation of *** stroke) I knew that if I swam away from the boat I'd get tired. The technique I call "bobbing" is what came out of trying various ideas in the pool. Funny enough, the technique came in handy when my kid went into the local Junior Lifeguard program. He was truly freaked out about swimming in the lake. I mean, you can barely see your fingertips in some areas. Having grown-up swimming in nice clean pools the lake was a jarring experience. He was supposed to do 150y in 2:30 in order to be admitted into the program. Even I could see that his technique was not very good at all...but the murky water didn't help. The way I dealt with it was to teach him my "bobbing" technique and get him to use it as a way to relax in the middle of the lake. Once you know that you are reasonably safe it is far easier to relax. In last year's lake crossing I got cramps in both legs around the middle of the lake. Painful as it was, I knew that I could just hang there and wait for the cramps to pass. Anyhow, once my kid learned to relax the swimming part was far less problematic. Now I am hoping to learn proper swimming technique myself so that I can teach my kids. We go kayaking at the lake all the time. I want them to know how to swim well enough to handle almost any situation. I did 2,000y this morning (with short breaks every 200/300 or so). Everything still hurts, but it feels great. I'm swallowing less water...I must be doing something right.
  • TI is good for certain aspects of swimming, but has a lot of emphasis on very slow, methodical drills that some people have difficulty slowing down to. On your sinking legs and breathing problem, the simple solution is to kick a little more. Many people forget to kick at all when they concentrate on swimming crawl without a competition background. The stroke demands plenty of concentration to effect a forward motion while cycling you arms, so your legs are a secondary thought process. Exhale completely while your face is in the water, nose pointing down or forward. The breath you take will be far easier if it is a total inhale when your head is turned.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    You mention you did a lot of martial arts. I wonder if you have less weight in your upper body and carry more muscle in your legs that may affect balance My dearly beloved was a keen runner for many years. His legs are so muscled that if he tries to lie flat in the water he immediately starts to list to stern and goes down like the Titanic - its so bad his arms come out of the water He cant do TI breathing drills either :drowning:
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    You mention you did a lot of martial arts. I wonder if you have less weight in your upper body and carry more muscle in your legs that may affect balance My dearly beloved was a keen runner for many years. His legs are so muscled that if he tries to lie flat in the water he immediately starts to list to stern and goes down like the Titanic - its so bad his arms come out of the water He cant do TI breathing drills either :drowning: Never thought of that. I have to loose about 30lbs before I can honestly make that assessment.
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