I've tried really hard for the past week or so, granted no one ever taught me how to swim freestyle, i tried by observing others and reading here along with books, videos, etc.
So far I've tried- really reach for the light bulb method from one of the DVD forgot the name, where you try to swim on a streamline position, rotate through my hips, elbows high, fingertips dragging along water surface.
My coach told me to try to keep my chin close to my chest and rotate that way - tried that and I drink water.
Sculling and try to pretend that i'm pushing water behind me and pulling myself forward, none of this help.
My stroke count is horrid at 25-26 per 25 meter, and I'm slow as a snail.
Is there anything else I can do? I'm already swimming with the masters class and i am not sure keep pushing myself to do the sets will get me anywhere?
Thanks for letting me rant, but maybe i'm just hopeless?!
fayewolf,
Do you have a perfromance progression that you can give us? What I mean is times from meets or time trials from when you first started?
Did you ever run? If so, what were/are your PB times and what distance?
Originally posted by geochuck
Start simple as your arm recovers make sure your shoulder touches the ear, then extend the hand and roll into the stroke.
I was just thinking about this last night and I can't understand why you would want your shoulder to touch your ear. Are you recommending this as a training exercise for new swimmers or do you think experienced swimmers should be doing this as well?
Second the comments above - I too am a late starter into swimming as an exercise outlet and replacement for my beloved running that my body just won't allow me to continue to sustain good fitness. Just started swim training last year and I too couldn't get the breathing right for more than about a lap and a half.
The first TI book, Total Immersion: A better... 1996 & 2005 editions, was good at helping me. The best for me is the Swimming Made Easy: The TI Way... it has really good step by step drills and photos. Not sure why, but for me the first book has too many words, not enough succinct step-by-step that is in the Swimming Made Easy book.
The first TI book was available from our public library, but after two fines for keeping them past due dates, went out and bought them both off amazon.com, then copied the drills section from Swimming Made Easy: The TI Way... and reduced them to fit the step-by-step drills in clear photo pages so I could have them at poolside. There are drill cards you can buy, which may save you the hassle. See TI shop laminated TI drill card set. I still refer to them frequently and there are several drills that I have combined into one routine that I do every swim session.
Now, I'm not fast, either. But I went from unable to do more than 100 repeats without a swim snorkel to completing 1650y and 1 hour swims comfortably within a year! It helped that our coach worked with me, since I was the only one with no swimming background at all. Just this past month or so finally got really comfortable with flip turns. Hadn't been doing them in the prior long pool swims, but now can do so even in practice where we did 40x75 last night.
BTW - one of our local competitive Masters teams uses swim snorkels to allow swimmers to focus on stroke refinement and not be concerned about breathing patterns! I got one on eBay for $10 + $10 s/h, and am about to put my Finis freestyle snorkel up for sale there as I've only used it 3 times. But I still carry the other style Finis snorkel all the time though haven't used it in a couple of months (used last when working on flip turns). Swim snorkel can be great help, but also can be a bit of a crutch if not used with a plan to get off it.
So you CAN do it. I think the TI message is excellent and apropos here - ANYONE (physically capable) CAN LEARN TO SWIM EFFICIENTLY!
Stick with it!
I've heard many people on our local teams didn't get much from watching DVDs. Maybe because we all have coaches there live or none of us are really "visual learners" but need feedback from trained people as we attempt drills.
There are clips in many places that depict some drills and swimming "best practice". But I also found it frustrating to watch DVDs of drills, since I found that inevitably I adapted the drill a bit on the advice of our coach or other swimmers here watching ME live.
I just tried out some drills today, very minimal swimming, just drills, they are very different and kinda fun!!
First of all, if i use the side gliding (i dont' know what this is call- one arm extended out, the other rest on yoru side, and you are turned sideways, and let your head rest on your arm and do flutter kick, i actually move!!)
the weird thing is i can only do it on my right but not my left. i wasn't confident enough to push my head/buoy down and my legs sink, and then i drink water.
I also did the catching drill and it was fun.
I also found out that my left arm cannot do that S thing that my right arm does.
I'll tell the coach all that next week.
sorry, i never participated in any swim meets, in fact, i only started swimming like 2 weeks ago. I swam as a kid for pleasure, not in a team or anything....
i dont' run either, but I do martial arts. :)
Matt you are so right. I was in very good shape when I took lessons to swim. And it is lucky I am stubborn or I would have given up after two weeks. I was pitiful. Swimming is hard and it takes a long time to get proficient enough to do work-outs. I took lessons in March and April, and started Masters the following September...did what I could do, with the work-outs. It took more than 2 years to move to the fast lane. And our group was not that fast, so our fast lane would probably be others slow lane!
I agree with rtodd and alex. If you are ready to give-up after two weeks, there is something not quiet right.
You should be proud of yourself for sticking with it for two weeks.
If you stay focused on making your stroke better by doing the little things, then you will start to see an improvement over time. You can make small improvements daily. Big improvements take time, sometimes a long time to happen.
Enoy your time in the water. Your improvements will come to you.
Fayewolf,
I'm completely in your corner, and I think you did the right thing by asking for better stroke advice than what you were getting. Our two colleagues are correct to point out that giving swimming more than two weeks of a trial run would be wise. However, I disagree somewhat with their mindset about training.
Swimming ain't running. It seems so obvious, but runners need constant reminders, as the request for your performance progression and the comparison to training for 400m run so aptly illustrates. The biggest difference is that most people know reasonably well how to run, thus it would be appropriate to adopt a mindset of just grind out the distance runs and the interval work, and you'll get better. Novice swimmers are at level in the water that is more comparable to a toddler who can crawl across the room. You could train your brains out crawling faster, and be no closer to learning how to run well at the end. Runners and triathletes need to be smacked on the nose with this particular section of the paper from time to time just so they don't forget.
If we swimmers want to grow our sport, we need to remember the newbies have to be taught how to move through the water. Just telling Fayewolf to grind out the sets, and that her feeling of breathlessness is all "in her head" doesn't cut it. I would not be surprised if someone quit on swimming after two weeks if that was the only option.
On the other hand, when you get good stroke advice, please do give it more time.
Matt
