I posted here when I was just beginning to swim at the ripe age of 23.
Since a lot of people helped me both publicly and through private messages, I think you deserve an update.
I'm a lot more comfortable in the water these days. I'm still trying to perfect my breathing, but it's much less of a struggle.
I realized that THINKING and SWIMMING don't go well together. Once I stopped over-analyzing everything and started just focusing on swimming, more things fell into place.
As a beginner adult swimmer, here are the things that really helped me:
-- Swim, don't think (see above)
-- The kicking you see in TI videos is not the way most people kick... and if it is, it's not a good thing to think about when you're trying to kick better
-- Looking DOWN is bad. Look forward slightly.
-- Backstroke in busy pools with poor turbulence absorption (lane ropes, gutters) is a BAD idea.
-- You are too full of hot air to sink to the bottom of the deep end... if you want to kill yourself by going down there, you'll have to try pretty damned hard.
-- Anything that is supposed to help you float is in fact the best way to drown yourself
-- Drinking lots of chlorinated water will make you sick to your stomach and you'll think you have an ulcer for a month until you take a break from swimming and feel fine
-- Jammers are tight
-- Diving is fun
-- Diving improperly hurts
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Former Member
Hello, Alphathree. I probably started to learn swimming the same time with you. I've seen some of you posts which benefited me as well. Glad to see your updates.
May I add one more thing to your list: just keep going even you feel frustrated and it will pay off. I almost gave it up when I was learning how to breathe in freestyle. I practised a lot and seemed never got it right. Even my coach once said he had tried everything he knew to help and would let it go if I could not get it for one more time. I was alos thinking of that. But anyway I continued to practise alone. And all of a sudden it just happened, very naturally!
Thanks for your thread.
Hello, Alphathree. I probably started to learn swimming the same time with you. I've seen some of you posts which benefited me as well. Glad to see your updates.
May I add one more thing to your list: just keep going even you feel frustrated and it will pay off. I almost gave it up when I was learning how to breathe in freestyle. I practised a lot and seemed never got it right. Even my coach once said he had tried everything he knew to help and would let it go if I could not get it for one more time. I was alos thinking of that. But anyway I continued to practise alone. And all of a sudden it just happened, very naturally!
Thanks for your thread.
