Hello everyone,
I am a 40 yr old male who has been a distance runner most of my life. I have logged countless miles training for marathons all over. Unfortunately I got old :cane:. About a year ago I had minor knee surgery and decided that my running hobby was no longer something I could sustain if I wanted to have knees left when I get to 60. I took up swimming once the knee healed. I am very thin and have never been much of a swimmer. I apparently don't float which makes swimming hard but I keep plugging away. My goal is to stay in shape and maybe get some of those swimmers broad shoulders :). My question is what kind of program should I be following? I am not very good at any stroke besides freestyle and I currently swim for about 30 min a day/6 days a week and do either weights, yoga or elliptical machine for an additional 30 min a day/6 days a week. Given my age, goals, skill level and time constraints, can someone point me to a good set of workouts?
Thanks,
J
Parents
Former Member
I know exactly what it's like to have to give up on land sports, though I'm a bit younger than you. I also am one of those people who doesn't naturally float well either. We just have to work a little harder to stay afloat. Once you get a good feel with the water I assure you won't notice anymore.
It sounds like you're off to a good start. It's very easy to learn the fundamentals of backstroke and breaststroke. It's good to switch up your strokes so you don't over exert the same muscles and joints with the same movement over and over and over again. You could definately look into a Masters Team or see if your local pool has any classes. Many pools also can hook you up with a private coach if you're really wanting to learn 1 on 1. There's also a lot of great videos on YouTube that you could use to help teach yourself. If you have any friends who swim, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to teach you too.
Workouts are kind of dependent on your skill level. 30 minutes is a good workout, especially for a beginner. How many yards do you typically swim in this time?
I know exactly what it's like to have to give up on land sports, though I'm a bit younger than you. I also am one of those people who doesn't naturally float well either. We just have to work a little harder to stay afloat. Once you get a good feel with the water I assure you won't notice anymore.
It sounds like you're off to a good start. It's very easy to learn the fundamentals of backstroke and breaststroke. It's good to switch up your strokes so you don't over exert the same muscles and joints with the same movement over and over and over again. You could definately look into a Masters Team or see if your local pool has any classes. Many pools also can hook you up with a private coach if you're really wanting to learn 1 on 1. There's also a lot of great videos on YouTube that you could use to help teach yourself. If you have any friends who swim, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to teach you too.
Workouts are kind of dependent on your skill level. 30 minutes is a good workout, especially for a beginner. How many yards do you typically swim in this time?
