Hi All,
This is a very newbie question and a hesitant one at that having read forums.usms.org/showthread.php
and being from that group of how was if phrased "trying 2 b athletes" or "mediocre at 3 sports" ouch.
Still I thought the best place to get swimming advice would be from swimmers.
I only started swimming this month. I have worked steadily at it but only know three basic strokes (crawl, *** and side). Needless to say I have been concentrating on the crawl and have progressed from being able to do 50M non stop to 1800 M non stop but painfully slow (40 minutes!). Still it beats the alternative which is drowning.
Going to a masters class is not an option the only class available to me conflicts with my wife's dragonboat practice. Which leaves open swim during regular pool hours to do laps.
1 - What would be the best DVD or book for a new swimmer to get to improve their technique. Specifically crawl.
2 - How do you keep count of laps without losing track!?! Sometimes I lose track in the mid 30's other times in the 60's either way I am either swimming more or less than intended and of course the times may look better than they actually are. Any advice would be appreciated.
3 - Last thing - I really need to learn how to do a flip turn. Can anyone point me to a FAQ or video that shows how to do it?
Parents
Former Member
Hi there! Don't worry, most of the people here are more than willing to help out a fellow swimmer - no matter their skill level. Before I get into answering your questions though, I feel a need to correct your terminology. While the term "crawl" as in front crawl is technically correct, while on these boards you'll see the various strokes referred to as freestyle (what you call crawl), backstroke, breaststroke (you've got that one already), and fly or butterfly. While I don't think anyone has any trouble understanding what you mean when you say crawl, it still might speed the answering of questions if you refer to the strokes by the names we're used to.
Aaanyway, onto your questions.
1. I've heard the total immersion books/movies/classes are good for swimmers who dont' really have a good technique. Apparently they work really well, but I can't vouch for them myself. You can find the website by googling it...I can't give it to you right now because I can't remember it.
2. The thing is, most of us don't swim a straight set of 1800 continuous meters/yards (unless we're distance swimmers training for long distance events like the 1500). The majority of us do workouts and sets like you can find in the workouts section of this forum. Things such as a set of 8 50s on a certain pace, or 3x200, or a 500...really the workouts come in all varietys. I also find they alleviate boredom while swimming - it's good to break things up. I'm not really a long distance swimmer, so I can't help you with keeping the lap count during a long distance swim, but maybe someone else can.
3. There's actually someone else who's also looking to improve/learn a flipturn...you can find his thread here: forums.usms.org/showthread.php. I believe one of the replies in that thread has a link to a flipturn movie.
Hi there! Don't worry, most of the people here are more than willing to help out a fellow swimmer - no matter their skill level. Before I get into answering your questions though, I feel a need to correct your terminology. While the term "crawl" as in front crawl is technically correct, while on these boards you'll see the various strokes referred to as freestyle (what you call crawl), backstroke, breaststroke (you've got that one already), and fly or butterfly. While I don't think anyone has any trouble understanding what you mean when you say crawl, it still might speed the answering of questions if you refer to the strokes by the names we're used to.
Aaanyway, onto your questions.
1. I've heard the total immersion books/movies/classes are good for swimmers who dont' really have a good technique. Apparently they work really well, but I can't vouch for them myself. You can find the website by googling it...I can't give it to you right now because I can't remember it.
2. The thing is, most of us don't swim a straight set of 1800 continuous meters/yards (unless we're distance swimmers training for long distance events like the 1500). The majority of us do workouts and sets like you can find in the workouts section of this forum. Things such as a set of 8 50s on a certain pace, or 3x200, or a 500...really the workouts come in all varietys. I also find they alleviate boredom while swimming - it's good to break things up. I'm not really a long distance swimmer, so I can't help you with keeping the lap count during a long distance swim, but maybe someone else can.
3. There's actually someone else who's also looking to improve/learn a flipturn...you can find his thread here: forums.usms.org/showthread.php. I believe one of the replies in that thread has a link to a flipturn movie.
