Yes,
I'm in my 50's and have been struggling to learn to swim. I have had two private coaches and I spend a lot of time training.
It appears I can not relax causing breathing problems and tense muscles.
How is this fixed?? My wife says I'm afraid of the water even though I can train for an hour.
Any suggestions??
Hey there! Question, in your lessons are you doing mostly front crawl (freestyle)? If breathing is the issue, you might have some luck giving breaststroke a try...kind of an unconventional approach (it’s usually taught as a more advanced stroke because it’s tough to get the timing right), but after starting with that as an adult beginner myself 10 years ago, and having taught a couple other adult beginners since who have issues with breathing, it might be worth a shot! (And I’ve actually had success working backstroke progressions first with another adult beginner who had breathing issues to built up water comfort/stamina!).
If freestyle is where you want to be, though, I’d try and pay attention to how much you’re breathing out...make sure you’re pushing all that CO2 out each cycle (which is what bobs are designed to help you practice) - usually if you’re feeling the panicked/‘I can’t breathe’ feeling it’s because you’re storing up too much CO2, not lacking oxygen...
Good luck!
Ashley
Hey there! Question, in your lessons are you doing mostly front crawl (freestyle)? If breathing is the issue, you might have some luck giving breaststroke a try...kind of an unconventional approach (it’s usually taught as a more advanced stroke because it’s tough to get the timing right), but after starting with that as an adult beginner myself 10 years ago, and having taught a couple other adult beginners since who have issues with breathing, it might be worth a shot! (And I’ve actually had success working backstroke progressions first with another adult beginner who had breathing issues to built up water comfort/stamina!).
If freestyle is where you want to be, though, I’d try and pay attention to how much you’re breathing out...make sure you’re pushing all that CO2 out each cycle (which is what bobs are designed to help you practice) - usually if you’re feeling the panicked/‘I can’t breathe’ feeling it’s because you’re storing up too much CO2, not lacking oxygen...
Good luck!
Ashley
