I started swimming a couple of weeks ago. Right now I can only swim about 100m at a time taking a break between each 100m. Is there any other cardio that I can do to help improve my swimming stamina. I can run up to 8 - 10 miles but can't swim more than 100m with out taking a break. Any suggestions?
One thing that helped me when I first started was to be told to slow down. I was trying to swim too fast for my ability at first and would just end up out of breath and discouraged after about 100. I did not think I would ever be able to swim anything of any distance.
Then the Master's coach announced that we would be doing a T-30(see how much you can continuously swim in 30 minutes). I told her there was no way I could swim that long. She said, oh yes you can, you just need to slow down so much that someone could walk next to you faster and you feel silly. Then when your body adjusts and you will be able to speed up. She also explained that the body needs a couple of 100 yards of slow swimming and then you feel better. (I feel that way about running, the first 5 minutes are hard, and then I get in a groove and can go awhile).
So I tried it and went sloooooooooow and after about a 200 I felt better(I had never swum farther than a 100 before). I completed the T-30, swimming a whopping 1000 yards, but the accomplishment was I swam the whole thing straight. This proved to me that I could do it(mental thing), and taught me how to do it.
Since then I have improved steadily. I am still slow, but did swim 1000 in a meet in march and was just under 16 minutes. So slow down so much, that it feels silly, and see if you can improve your distance. Once you get the feel of how to swim longer, and work through the mental battle that you can do it, you will extend your swims.
BTW, I did not learn to swim until I was 38.
One thing that helped me when I first started was to be told to slow down. I was trying to swim too fast for my ability at first and would just end up out of breath and discouraged after about 100. I did not think I would ever be able to swim anything of any distance.
Then the Master's coach announced that we would be doing a T-30(see how much you can continuously swim in 30 minutes). I told her there was no way I could swim that long. She said, oh yes you can, you just need to slow down so much that someone could walk next to you faster and you feel silly. Then when your body adjusts and you will be able to speed up. She also explained that the body needs a couple of 100 yards of slow swimming and then you feel better. (I feel that way about running, the first 5 minutes are hard, and then I get in a groove and can go awhile).
So I tried it and went sloooooooooow and after about a 200 I felt better(I had never swum farther than a 100 before). I completed the T-30, swimming a whopping 1000 yards, but the accomplishment was I swam the whole thing straight. This proved to me that I could do it(mental thing), and taught me how to do it.
Since then I have improved steadily. I am still slow, but did swim 1000 in a meet in march and was just under 16 minutes. So slow down so much, that it feels silly, and see if you can improve your distance. Once you get the feel of how to swim longer, and work through the mental battle that you can do it, you will extend your swims.
BTW, I did not learn to swim until I was 38.
