:help:
:dunno: or :lolup: ?
Since I'm new to swimming i have a problem and need of advice. I've been swimming 5 days a week for about a month now at my local 25 yard gym pool. I've gotten to a point where my technique is somewhat good but i cannot swim more then 50 yards straight without coughing a lung (or at least feeling like it). Yesterday i got some inspiration and did about 400 with a couple of seconds breather every 25 yards. To my surprise it went well, and i actually felt i was improving my technique (endurance breeds efficient swimming?). Anyways, I find it extremely hard to focus on technique wen I'm trying to work on endurance and here lies the problem.
Do i keep working on establishing second-nature proper technique and keep doing 25/50 yards until i feel i'm ready to overcome long distance, or should i start working on endurance regardless of whatever technique faults i think i have at the moment.
I see swimmers doing laps at my pool and i can't help but think about their faulty technique. i don't want to be one of them.
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Former Member
hey alphathree, good to hear from you.
I do have to disagree with your views. First of all i mainly work on technique. There's not a single lap where i don't think about my body/hands/legs. I swim 25 yard laps because i do not have a teacher and the best way for me to work on technique is applying ideas in real time and space. whenever i work on a new element i try to focus and feel it as i swim, then compare it to the time it took to execute it (at moderate tempo). True stroke technique can stand the test of time, literally.
I don't think working on stamina/endurance and technique should contradict each other. if anything, the better technique i apply during my laps improve my swimming capabilities. I also think a "beginner" like you and I can be as competitive as everyone else. maybe it's just my mentality but in my eyes i have no limits.
My current goals are first of all enjoying, because that's the only reason i go to the pool 5 days a week. my second is to be the best swimmer i can be in the shortest time possible. in other words, perfect my movements as much as possible and develop enough stamina/endurance for a 3 mile run. those are my goals.
Here's my take on swimming TI/stamina as you call it. you can have long beautiful strokes and you can swim fast like a hurricane, but combining both is where the true "sweet spot" is. maximizing your speed and efficiency, that's what i'm trying to do.
Reply
Former Member
hey alphathree, good to hear from you.
I do have to disagree with your views. First of all i mainly work on technique. There's not a single lap where i don't think about my body/hands/legs. I swim 25 yard laps because i do not have a teacher and the best way for me to work on technique is applying ideas in real time and space. whenever i work on a new element i try to focus and feel it as i swim, then compare it to the time it took to execute it (at moderate tempo). True stroke technique can stand the test of time, literally.
I don't think working on stamina/endurance and technique should contradict each other. if anything, the better technique i apply during my laps improve my swimming capabilities. I also think a "beginner" like you and I can be as competitive as everyone else. maybe it's just my mentality but in my eyes i have no limits.
My current goals are first of all enjoying, because that's the only reason i go to the pool 5 days a week. my second is to be the best swimmer i can be in the shortest time possible. in other words, perfect my movements as much as possible and develop enough stamina/endurance for a 3 mile run. those are my goals.
Here's my take on swimming TI/stamina as you call it. you can have long beautiful strokes and you can swim fast like a hurricane, but combining both is where the true "sweet spot" is. maximizing your speed and efficiency, that's what i'm trying to do.
