Today's Pull Bouy Swim Workout

Former Member
Former Member
Wow....just wow! I badly sprained my ankle this past weekend and as a result missed my middle of the week (Wed) workout. I typically swim 3x's/week (Sun/Wed/Fri) and shoot for 1 mile continuous swim alternating laps primarily between *** and free. Anyway, as a result of my bum ankle I decided to see how many laps of freestyle I could do today with a pull buoy.....I have a lap counter so can easily click to record each 50 yards (down and back lap). I was easily able to tick off lap after lap and before I knew it I had recorded 30 laps (1500 yards) in about 30 mins. I'm 53 years old and in decent shape but never a competitive swimmer. I started pool workouts back in December for cardio vice jogging and as of now can only do about 250 yards of free before getting winded and having to switch to free. My comment/question is this....I was shocked to swim 30 laps of freestyle today with the pull buoy and not being winded (if anything, I was a bit fatigued in the shoulders...although I should note that I had a heavy upper body weight lifting workout yesterday). My shock/revelation is that up to this point my max continuous freestyle distance has been around 250 yards and given today's pull buoy (continuous freestyle) swim it REALLY REALLY shed a light on just how much of an impact that the use of legs has on (my) wind/endurance. Up to this point, I don't feel I over exert use of my legs..... I'd love to get to the point of being able to swim freestyle lap after lap (using my legs) and feel like I did today as I seemed to breath so easily (every stroke to my right side). Any thoughts/suggestions?:banana:
  • You might be a leg dragger without that pull-buoy (like I am). Meaning your legs sink and cause resistance when you swim normally (without the pull-buoy.) Proper body position with a good kick might not leave you as tired. Of course I'm guessing on this since I have not seen you swim.
  • Former Member
    Former Member over 9 years ago
    Come to think of it...I did todays swim in about 40 mins....not 30.
  • I'm not surprised that you found you had much more endurance with a pull buoy. For many swimmers below the "expert" level, considerable lower body energy goes into keeping the legs from sinking. While leg conditioning might be helpful, the easier route to better endurance is probably body position. My guess is you need to get your center of balance back some by keeping your head lower. When your balance is right, all your legs have to do is a two beat "flick" kick to counterbalance the rotational forces of your arms. Google "total immersion freestyle" for some tips on more efficient body positioning.
  • You might be a leg dragger without that pull-buoy (like I am). Meaning your legs sink and cause resistance when you swim normally (without the pull-buoy.) Proper body position with a good kick might not leave you as tired. Of course I'm guessing on this since I have not seen you swim. I agree with this and think this is the most likely reason as opposed to overworking the legs. Was your swimming pace faster than normal, too? If so it indicates your body position needs work and your kick is not effective. Body position is absolutely the number one thing novice swimmers need to work on.
  • The legs are some of the largest muscles in the body. When in use they require oxygen that is why you are "winded" You might want to work your legs more to build up tone so that you will not slow down when kicking. I have not been swimming much because of shoulder problems. I have been riding my bike a lot. I found with one workout I did a few months ago that kicking was not the chore that I normally found it to be. I suspect all the riding (despite the fact that the cycling and kicking motions are quite different) has helped my leg strength and endurance.
  • Former Member
    Former Member over 9 years ago
    I viewed some youtube video's today. Couple of things I will work on in the water tomorrow: - ensure head is angled straight down, - press my chest down, In order to get hips up - do some pencil drills, and - try two beat kick vice continuous kicking I'm within days of acquiring a GoPro so will soon get some video too. Thanks everyone! Did I miss anything?
  • The legs are some of the largest muscles in the body. When in use they require oxygen that is why you are "winded" You might want to work your legs more to build up tone so that you will not slow down when kicking.
  • Former Member
    Former Member over 9 years ago
    yesterday's session turned into more of a angle rehab session but here's want I learned: - did lot's of pencil drills and I found that I can perform an easy push off from a standing position and glide easily with the slightest of kick with feet at the surface. Point being, I don't appear to be one with sinking legs. - focused on head straight down and pressing chest (down)...resulting in hips rising. - pull buoy freestyle swim of 100 yards was accomplished in just under 2 mins (right at about 1:50), so about the same speed as pre-ankle sprain freestyle I really didn't want to stress my ankle too much so I didn't get to work on the 2 beat kick.....I think if I can develop that type of kick my freestyle distance will jump from a continuous 250 yard free distance to considerably more before getting winded. Make sense?