I know there is a discussion below about joining a Masters, but my background is different therefor there may be different responses.
To recap...I'm Tory. I'm a big loser. I've lost 100 pounds and have gone from a couch potato to fitness nut. I truly have redefined who I am and how I live my life and I love it!
Anyhow...I am a terrible swimmer. Okay, I'm not REALLY so terrible. I do not drown. That's a good thing. However my swimming lesson experience involves Forest Park Lake and 5th grade. In other words, not a big background. I tried an adult stroke class, but it was taught by a well meaning ADD teenager who mainlined sugar every night before class and spent much more time bouncing around on the pool deck and flirting with the girls, than actually teaching us anything. I spent the entire course just swimming laps.
I just found (as in last week) that there is an adult masters program in a city nearby. I was thrilled! I'm taking a triathlon training course and we've been doing the swim portion. I had my stroke evaluated and yeah, I'm a mess. However, I am working on it. I do know how to swim (or rather "not drown"), I can freestyle and *** but that's the extent. I stroke wide, kick wide, and over-rotate so those are my focii right now. It may not sound like much, but I can swim inefficiently like this for an hour (which is all the time I have), but I feel like I should be able to swim more in an hour than I do.
So...what do you think?
Join a Masters program and join the slow swimmers?
Find a GOOD adult stroke class and improve my stroke, then join a Masters program?
My goal for this year is to concentrate on my swimming. I must improve my stroke because I don't feel confident in the open water during triathlons and I refuse to submit to that fear. I also happen to really enjoy swimming. I love how relaxed I feel an hour after a good long swim and that that feeling lasts the entire day. I like the peace of swimming and being in my mind and letting go my concerns, or having time to chew them over. I actually, of the three sports, like running the best (because I am a glutton for punishment) and then swimming and both for a similar reason; they are great workouts that let me get out alone and just 'be' for awhile.
But I'd like to 'be' faster and more efficient!
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Former Member
Hi Tory! You've offered me some great advice on my weight issues, now I'll try to offer you some swimming advice... :)
Is there any way that you can do BOTH a "stroke and turn" clinic as well as the masters practices? I would look into both programs and see how often they run and if there are any certain requirements. Maybe you could do the stroke clinic one night a week and practice with the team 2 nights a week, or whatever you see fit. That way, you could let yourself review what you learned in the practices.
My opinion is that you concentrate on your stroke, especially if you feel it is that sloppy. Reason being is, once you develop your stroke, it can be hard to break certain patterns. I've been a long time competitive swimmer and I found that its difficult to break bad stroke habits the longer you let yourself continue to swim that way. Up until I was 12, I was swimming butterfly with only a single kick. It took me almost a year to incorporate a double kick, and when I did, my times improved significantly.
It seems like your concern is swimming more efficiently and faster in the water. Correcting your stroke will definitely help you with this. If your timing is off and if you are doing your kick wrong, you are most likely hindering your ability to move faster in the water. I guarantee once you work on your stroke/turn techniques, you will see big improvements!!
Hi Tory! You've offered me some great advice on my weight issues, now I'll try to offer you some swimming advice... :)
Is there any way that you can do BOTH a "stroke and turn" clinic as well as the masters practices? I would look into both programs and see how often they run and if there are any certain requirements. Maybe you could do the stroke clinic one night a week and practice with the team 2 nights a week, or whatever you see fit. That way, you could let yourself review what you learned in the practices.
My opinion is that you concentrate on your stroke, especially if you feel it is that sloppy. Reason being is, once you develop your stroke, it can be hard to break certain patterns. I've been a long time competitive swimmer and I found that its difficult to break bad stroke habits the longer you let yourself continue to swim that way. Up until I was 12, I was swimming butterfly with only a single kick. It took me almost a year to incorporate a double kick, and when I did, my times improved significantly.
It seems like your concern is swimming more efficiently and faster in the water. Correcting your stroke will definitely help you with this. If your timing is off and if you are doing your kick wrong, you are most likely hindering your ability to move faster in the water. I guarantee once you work on your stroke/turn techniques, you will see big improvements!!
