Hello I am a water rescue technician / paramedic / friefighter in South Padre island. I nned to pass a 1000 meter in 20 min test soon to continue as water rescue. I have been swimming around 4 years and my form is terrible.
Can anyone give me advice for lessons or a place to start practicing my legs?
I have been swimming 1000 meters every day and one problem is I feel so sick from the chlorine in the pool that I swim in. My choices for places to swim are extremely limited right now. Does anyone know how I can build my endurance outside of the pool and away from the chlorine?
Can I practice running with an oxygen depervation mask to build my RBC or H&H for swimming and also avoid the chlorine?
My best 1000 is 22 min but since I feel sick with my sinuses and nose burning from chlorine I am barely dchoking through 1000 in 25 min
jsmi -- First...the issue with the chlorine for the pool. If your description is accurate...it sounds like something that needs to be taken up with the pool manager. A well-maintained pool shouldn't make swimmers ill. Unless, you have discovered that you have a hyper-sensitivity to chlorine. In some cases, an overbearing smell of chlorine can be the sign of a poorly maintained pool (water). I'd first talk to some of the other regular swimmers there and see if they can shed any light on if/why the chlorine is so intense. If it turns out that the pool water/chemicals are properly maintained, and you do have a hyper-sensitivity to chlorine...there may be some medicinal supplements that might help you.
Regarding your kick...there are some swimmer who just don't get any forward propulsion from their crawl stroke ("freestyle") flutter kick. You may be one of those. I am. there are some who will disagree and say that you need to do 'this drill' or 'that drill' to improve your kick. In some cases that may work. It hasn't for me. As a swimmer for 40 years, trying for years at a time, I have never been successful at developing a kick that propels me. It takes me minutes to kick one length of the pool while others do it in a fraction of the time. I will kick like crazy, using a kickboard, and it's so ineffective that the water return jets will push me sideways. So, I quit trying. There are plenty of others with similar situations. Besides...I'm mostly a long-distance (open water) swimmer where kicking is less important. That is to say...I do kick, but only to keep a good, efficient, level body position in the water. So, if you're only swimming to get through the 1000m test you'll have to do, and don't plan on being a regular swimming after that, maybe concentrating on developing a kick is a waste of time. Instead, you may want to spend that time actually swimming, building your endurance, and working on kicking just enough for maintaining an efficient body position in the water. Good luck.
Dan
jsmi -- First...the issue with the chlorine for the pool. If your description is accurate...it sounds like something that needs to be taken up with the pool manager. A well-maintained pool shouldn't make swimmers ill. Unless, you have discovered that you have a hyper-sensitivity to chlorine. In some cases, an overbearing smell of chlorine can be the sign of a poorly maintained pool (water). I'd first talk to some of the other regular swimmers there and see if they can shed any light on if/why the chlorine is so intense. If it turns out that the pool water/chemicals are properly maintained, and you do have a hyper-sensitivity to chlorine...there may be some medicinal supplements that might help you.
Regarding your kick...there are some swimmer who just don't get any forward propulsion from their crawl stroke ("freestyle") flutter kick. You may be one of those. I am. there are some who will disagree and say that you need to do 'this drill' or 'that drill' to improve your kick. In some cases that may work. It hasn't for me. As a swimmer for 40 years, trying for years at a time, I have never been successful at developing a kick that propels me. It takes me minutes to kick one length of the pool while others do it in a fraction of the time. I will kick like crazy, using a kickboard, and it's so ineffective that the water return jets will push me sideways. So, I quit trying. There are plenty of others with similar situations. Besides...I'm mostly a long-distance (open water) swimmer where kicking is less important. That is to say...I do kick, but only to keep a good, efficient, level body position in the water. So, if you're only swimming to get through the 1000m test you'll have to do, and don't plan on being a regular swimming after that, maybe concentrating on developing a kick is a waste of time. Instead, you may want to spend that time actually swimming, building your endurance, and working on kicking just enough for maintaining an efficient body position in the water. Good luck.
Dan
