Distance Runner trying to get into the Swimming Groove
Former Member
Hey there,
I'm a distance runner and want to start swimming - the way it's meant to be done.
Right now, I am ridiculously slow at the freestyle and backstroke. When I feel like I'm moving at a reasonable speed I look to the lane next to me and see a guy moving effortlessly, just gliding through the water, 3x as fast as me.
I don't know why I move so slowly. I've watched videos and it just seems like I get none of that fluid propulsion forward.
I also get out of breath extremely quickly, it seems. I run a 5K in 16:18 and it's a struggle completing 100 yards in the pool.
Lastly - I can not make sense of this - it seems that my breathing is just fine until I make that first turn - and then, counterintuitively, after I take that breath and flip around I feel like I'm out of breath, and the rest of the way is a struggle.
I don't know how to breaststroke or butterfly at all. I suppose I'll leave that for later...
Suggestions?? Thoughts??
I don't know why I move so slowly.
THE key physical fact about swimming: Water is 800 times denser than air. That matters a lot. In swimming, applying propulsive force to the water is but half the sport. Avoiding water resistance is the other half. The guy in the next lane who is three times faster than you, is not three times stronger than you, he's three times better than you at avoiding water resistance (*).
I often get pinged for little five minute lessons, by people who see me swim and want some tips. I tell them about water resistance, then we do a little comparison. I push off the wall and glide through the water. No kicking, no stroking. Just glide. This is a simple measure of my "fishiness". Then I ask them to do the same, and we compare how far I went vs. how far they go. I win every time, doing no swimming at all.
I invite you to do the same. Push off the wall and glide as far as you can. No kicking, no stroking. How far did you go? Now do it 100 times, and try different things. Change the angle of your head, arms, hands, feet, waist. What works better? What feels smoother? What goes farther? You will develop a feel for how to move efficiently through the water. YMMV.
(*) Taking many mathematical liberties here!
I don't know why I move so slowly.
THE key physical fact about swimming: Water is 800 times denser than air. That matters a lot. In swimming, applying propulsive force to the water is but half the sport. Avoiding water resistance is the other half. The guy in the next lane who is three times faster than you, is not three times stronger than you, he's three times better than you at avoiding water resistance (*).
I often get pinged for little five minute lessons, by people who see me swim and want some tips. I tell them about water resistance, then we do a little comparison. I push off the wall and glide through the water. No kicking, no stroking. Just glide. This is a simple measure of my "fishiness". Then I ask them to do the same, and we compare how far I went vs. how far they go. I win every time, doing no swimming at all.
I invite you to do the same. Push off the wall and glide as far as you can. No kicking, no stroking. How far did you go? Now do it 100 times, and try different things. Change the angle of your head, arms, hands, feet, waist. What works better? What feels smoother? What goes farther? You will develop a feel for how to move efficiently through the water. YMMV.
(*) Taking many mathematical liberties here!
