Hello,
first of all thanks in advance for having a peek at this...
I'm 'only' 38 and I've had very severe asthma until my mid-twenties. I only managed to swim back then in small doses, and in recent decade or so, after my asthma 'left me' finally, I managed to get my swimming up to the (maybe puny but for me never before thought) level of being able to do 1Km breaststroke in 26-28 minutes depending on whether I'm having a good or bad day... This with just a couple of short stops only, trying to keep going as much as I can.
Now due to my back, last summer I was adviced to switch to freestyle, which before I only used for maybe 50m or so as 'fun' for speed. I manage almost exactly 17 seconds on 25m, but then I'm dead :)
I found the transition extremely difficult, although I have tuned it with expert help, made it much more relaxed & optimal than before. I also cycle a lot, with some weight training, did martial arts and I'm quite toned, people think I must be at quite some performance level... but I really am not:
Please be gentle, but since August 'til now, swimming 3-4 times a week, I find it basically impossible to get past a 100-150m barrier (sometimes even worse, whether it is in 25m or 50m pool that I can use locally). Then I have to stop and really catch my breath. This even at slow speed of doing 100m in about 2 minutes, which I know is... very slow. I breathe on every 3 strokes, can change to every 2 on same side when I get really tired but I try to sustain every 3. I watch in amazement much older people who continuously manage huge distances I can't get imagine doing.
Being out of breath and heart pumping triggers, admittedly, old panics and fears, it used to continue with extremely bad things when I was a kid.
But if one assumes my current freestyle is not completely inefficient (I'm told it really isn't)... I just can't tell whether I carry some legacy from asthma days and simply I am never going to be able to increase my stamina AND I might do myself damage... or I simply have a mental block around the 'barrier'.
But that barrier, as per above, comes so early it makes me almost cry with frustration sometimes. I set out with realistic goals and I just can't seem to progress, my fear being that I just don't know beyond what point I really give myself a heart attack or something :)
But seriously, I tried to work on stamina by doing 100m-150m chunks with increasing intensity, after a proper warm-up, but by 2nd 'dose' I get so knackered I need to either stop or switch to breastroke after 50m...
Due to my past, I never managed to do any stamina-based sports, and I just don't know what a serious barrier feels like in swimming either, or one that can be just ignored and try and soldier through it.
It just can't be this bad physically... have you encountered such 'cases'? IF based on the above it is even possible to give advice, and if it's just a heck of a mental block, not sure how to get past it.
Any thoughts much appreciated, thanks in advance,
D.
I am glad to hear of your progress!
However, I thought I could add a few points:
(1) Exhalation Rate: I tell all my swimmers to think of your lung capacity as a gas tank. You want to refuel with air before you get to Empty, preferably when you are about 1/8th of a tank. You can, like with your gas pedal in a car, control the rate at which you use up your lung contents. You need to gauge your exhalation rate to reach that 1/8th of a tank right about when you plan on breathing. Thus, if you are breathing every three strokes, you should reach 1/8th tank right before you turn for air. If you are breathing every second stroke, you should reach 1/8th tank right before you turn for your breath on your second stroke. This keeps enough air in your lungs at all times to sustain your lungs, keeps you from triggering the breathing reflex feeling of urgency too soon, and allows for you to maximize your inhalation intake when you turn your head to breathe.
(2) Blood Oxygen Levels: If you have not swam for a while, you may not yet have the blood oxygen levels necessary for short-course or long-course sets, or even for every third stroke breathing. A lot of one's initial progress in a swim practice, and almost all of one's progress in a swim meet race, is due to high blood oxygen levels built up over time. As mentioned above, even experienced long-distance swimmers will revert to breathing every other stroke at times, and this is because, eventually, they are relying on aerobic production, which is not nearly as comfortable a proposition as the anaerobic benefit you get from your high blood oxygen levels at the outset of the workout. The good news is that this can be built up over time, but only so long as you continue to push your body to build up those stores.
(3) Type of Asthma: What type of asthma do you have? If it is not exercise-induced, then swimming may help with your recovery, so long as you are careful. Many asthma-sufferers that I have known have benefited greatly from swimming. Now, if it is exercise-induced asthma, that's a harder road, and you have to proceed at a slower, safer, pace, and that is to be expected. However, you will still progress with a bit of dedication.
(4) Second-Stroke Breathing: One reason why I always tend to recommend breathing every third stroke is because it encourage symmetry of the right and left sides. When you consistently breathe on only one side, you begin to subconsciously specialize and tailor each side to breathing or non-breathing, which can create unevenness in the stroke. So, while it seems that breathing every second stroke is the right course of action for now, you probably should eventually work back to an every third stroke style.
(5) Streamlining: Related to that note is the importance of streamline position in all competitive strokes. You may be wasting too much energy with an inefficient stroke. Sprinters tend to have a different stroke style than distance swimmers, and that is due to the balance between efficiency and power. Longer strokes emphasizing a half-streamline position with every extension before the catch tend to be more energy-efficient, whereas shorter strokes are less efficient but provide a higher power output. Again, think of a car. Driving at 55mph is highly efficient for fuel usage, but not super fast. Driving at 110mph is very fast, but burns gas. Both have their uses. For the time being, until your blood oxygen levels and lung tolerance builds, though, you should probably drive 55, meaning practice longer, gliding strokes. As a drill, you should count the number of strokes you use to cross the pool and then drop it by 1 stroke for each of three remaining length in a 100yd set. It will get you a feel for longer strokes capitalizing on inertial movement.
I hope that helps.
--Sean
I am confused about what you mean by blood oxygen level.I am not familiar with research of O2 saturation while swimming,but that would be really interesting.I would think that O2 sat. might decrease slightly during sprints.The body's urge to breath is not related to O2 sat but to CO2 sat.
While breathing every third stroke helps symmetry it must not be very efficient as there are very few elite male distance swimmers who use it.
I am glad to hear of your progress!
However, I thought I could add a few points:
(1) Exhalation Rate: I tell all my swimmers to think of your lung capacity as a gas tank. You want to refuel with air before you get to Empty, preferably when you are about 1/8th of a tank. You can, like with your gas pedal in a car, control the rate at which you use up your lung contents. You need to gauge your exhalation rate to reach that 1/8th of a tank right about when you plan on breathing. Thus, if you are breathing every three strokes, you should reach 1/8th tank right before you turn for air. If you are breathing every second stroke, you should reach 1/8th tank right before you turn for your breath on your second stroke. This keeps enough air in your lungs at all times to sustain your lungs, keeps you from triggering the breathing reflex feeling of urgency too soon, and allows for you to maximize your inhalation intake when you turn your head to breathe.
(2) Blood Oxygen Levels: If you have not swam for a while, you may not yet have the blood oxygen levels necessary for short-course or long-course sets, or even for every third stroke breathing. A lot of one's initial progress in a swim practice, and almost all of one's progress in a swim meet race, is due to high blood oxygen levels built up over time. As mentioned above, even experienced long-distance swimmers will revert to breathing every other stroke at times, and this is because, eventually, they are relying on aerobic production, which is not nearly as comfortable a proposition as the anaerobic benefit you get from your high blood oxygen levels at the outset of the workout. The good news is that this can be built up over time, but only so long as you continue to push your body to build up those stores.
(3) Type of Asthma: What type of asthma do you have? If it is not exercise-induced, then swimming may help with your recovery, so long as you are careful. Many asthma-sufferers that I have known have benefited greatly from swimming. Now, if it is exercise-induced asthma, that's a harder road, and you have to proceed at a slower, safer, pace, and that is to be expected. However, you will still progress with a bit of dedication.
(4) Second-Stroke Breathing: One reason why I always tend to recommend breathing every third stroke is because it encourage symmetry of the right and left sides. When you consistently breathe on only one side, you begin to subconsciously specialize and tailor each side to breathing or non-breathing, which can create unevenness in the stroke. So, while it seems that breathing every second stroke is the right course of action for now, you probably should eventually work back to an every third stroke style.
(5) Streamlining: Related to that note is the importance of streamline position in all competitive strokes. You may be wasting too much energy with an inefficient stroke. Sprinters tend to have a different stroke style than distance swimmers, and that is due to the balance between efficiency and power. Longer strokes emphasizing a half-streamline position with every extension before the catch tend to be more energy-efficient, whereas shorter strokes are less efficient but provide a higher power output. Again, think of a car. Driving at 55mph is highly efficient for fuel usage, but not super fast. Driving at 110mph is very fast, but burns gas. Both have their uses. For the time being, until your blood oxygen levels and lung tolerance builds, though, you should probably drive 55, meaning practice longer, gliding strokes. As a drill, you should count the number of strokes you use to cross the pool and then drop it by 1 stroke for each of three remaining length in a 100yd set. It will get you a feel for longer strokes capitalizing on inertial movement.
I hope that helps.
--Sean
I am confused about what you mean by blood oxygen level.I am not familiar with research of O2 saturation while swimming,but that would be really interesting.I would think that O2 sat. might decrease slightly during sprints.The body's urge to breath is not related to O2 sat but to CO2 sat.
While breathing every third stroke helps symmetry it must not be very efficient as there are very few elite male distance swimmers who use it.
