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
The way I keep track of laps is to actually keep track of the yards swum. I find it much easier to count 25 yards per lap than to count the laps. I also think about where I am in the set rather than for the whole workout. I typically break my workout into thousands and five hundreds; which makes it much easier to keep track of where I am.
I can't speak much for the books, as I learned most of my technique from my college coach many moons ago (after he corrected my poor form from high school). But something like The Fit Swimmer should work fine for ideas for workouts and technique.
The way I keep track of laps is to actually keep track of the yards swum. I find it much easier to count 25 yards per lap than to count the laps. I also think about where I am in the set rather than for the whole workout. I typically break my workout into thousands and five hundreds; which makes it much easier to keep track of where I am.
I can't speak much for the books, as I learned most of my technique from my college coach many moons ago (after he corrected my poor form from high school). But something like The Fit Swimmer should work fine for ideas for workouts and technique.
