Hi Everyone, I just registered today in hopes of getting some good information from experienced swimmers.
Me: I'm 39 years old, 6' 5", 225 pounds. I'm in good shape, I've played sports and been active my whole life. I'm a good runner (again) and a good cyclist. Because of my lack of swimming, I've only done team competitions or duathlons. I'm currently training for my first real triathlon (sprint distance .25 mi swim in San Pablo Bay, wetsuits allowed).
My Swimming: ...Is horrible. I took lessons when I was 8 and nothing since then. I've never been afraid of the water and I've always enjoyed playing in the water, surfing, snorkeling, etc. I took a few lessons last summer and finally learned to swim with my face in the water and rotate to breathe. Still, I cannot swim farther than 25 meters without stopping to catch my breath even if just for 15-20 seconds. I can easily do this for 20+ plus lengths. Unfortunately, there are no walls in triathlon and the water depth is usually greater than 3 feet! I've always envied good swimmers and though I've always been a good athlete, it is the one thing that has eluded me. I started taking lessons again with a different coach (this past Saturday).
Needless to say, I have a lot of questions and I'm hoping that you guys can help me out here. The more I try to study the skill of swimming, the more confused I get. Maybe I'm reading and thinking about it TOO much? I appreciate any feedback or advice.
Head Position: TI teaches head low in the water, eyes looking at the bottom of pool. My coach last summer taught the same thing. My new coach says head is way too low and making my breathing a lot harder than it should be. New coach says look at the opposite end of the pool. Which one is right? Some people say look at the floor 6 feet ahead. Is there a right and a wrong?
Kick: How do I develop a strong kick and do I need one? TI says no kickboard and to develop a non-overt kick. Both of my coaches said my kick stinks and put me on kickboards. When kicking, should the feet stay close together (i.e., pigeon toed)?
Breathing: Here's a good one.:wiggle: TI doesn't focus on breathing a lot in any of the materials that I've read or seen. My new coach says breathe out through nose and in through mouth. She also says breathe all air out before taking a breath. If I don't do this (except during extreme physical exertion on land) why would I do it while swimming the first event in a 3 event race? She also recommends NOT breathing every 2nd stroke but every 3rd (bilateral) or even 4th. As it stands now, I need to catch my breath after every 25 meters so I'm not doing something right. Am I breathing too much or not enough? Am I hyperventilating?
I'm starting to get frustrated and have doubts but I'm trying to keep a positive attitude but that little voice in my head keeps telling me "Other people are swimmers but YOU are NOT". I'm not ready to give up yet though. I dreamed of doing triathlons in the mid 80s and never did. I would like to accomplish this before my 40th birthday!
Sorry the length of the post, any help is greatly appreciated!!!!!!!
Parents
Former Member
Head Position: TI teaches head low in the water, eyes looking at the bottom of pool. My coach last summer taught the same thing. My new coach says head is way too low and making my breathing a lot harder than it should be. New coach says look at the opposite end of the pool. Which one is right? Some people say look at the floor 6 feet ahead. Is there a right and a wrong?
Lots of philosopies on this one. My personal one is that it depends on what distance you're swimming. If you're spriting, the water should be hitting you at about your hair line (or where your hairline was in college. :laugh2:). When spriting, your body should be curved, like a banana or a smile, which means your head is higher, looking slightly forward. When swimming distance like you will in a triathlon, you probably want to have your head in line with your spine (maybe a smidge higher) so that it doesn't get too tired or cause drag.
As an aside, one of the things that people overlook when they become too focused on head placement is the whole "swimming on your bubble" thing. The air in your chest is your "bubble" and if you kind of float in the water and mess around with pushing your chest down slowly against the water and trying to get a feel for the way the water pushes back on your chest and the way your chest placement affects your hip placement affects your leg placement/depth (sort of like a teeter-totter), it can be kind of a good exercise, just kind of educational.
If you've got your head low, but your chest is not really creating that balance for your hips/legs, you're going to be just kind of curved over in the water. Since the idea is to be "long" in the water, you need to be thinking about more than just head placement. Really, head placement is kind of an afterthought. Figure out how to balance yourself in the water using your chest and then just line your head up with your spine. It's a lot easier than trying to get the perfect position for your head and then line your chest, hips, and legs up with that.
Kick: How do I develop a strong kick and do I need one? TI says no kickboard and to develop a non-overt kick. Both of my coaches said my kick stinks and put me on kickboards. When kicking, should the feet stay close together (i.e., pigeon toed)?
When I taught swimming to little kids, I used to tell them to make their big toes fight while kicking. Think about smacking your big toes against each other on each kick. Obviously, you don't want to do this forever, but it's a good place to start until you get used to the feel of a strong kick and then you can move them apart a couple inches, but still keep them pretty close. Keep in mind, big splash does not equal fast kick. Flexibility in your ankles is key. Stay away from fins until you have a "feel" for your kick. I don't think it matters if you use a kickboard or not, but if you kick on your back, you get a better workout and it helps you learn to balance yourself in the water (bubble and all).
Breathing: My new coach says breathe out through nose and in through mouth. She also says breathe all air out before taking a breath. If I don't do this (except during extreme physical exertion on land) why would I do it while swimming the first event in a 3 event race? She also recommends NOT breathing every 2nd stroke but every 3rd (bilateral) or even 4th.
I disagree with breathing out through nose and in through mouth. I have my mouth open pretty much the entire time I'm swimming. And my breathing out feels more like huff and less like a stream of air. It's almost a sigh and then breathing in is more like the kind of breath you take when you're startled: quick, sharp, deep. A good way to practice this is to do it while running and to use your feet as a pacer. So breath out for four steps, breath in for two. That'll help you get used to the rythm of it. I agree with breathing every three - it's ideal. But I'm weak, so what I usually end up doing is breathing two to one side then two to the other, so I guess my breathing pattern is 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3. 4 strokes is probably too much for a beginner.
(ps: sorry if my quotes didn't work, I'm new to this format)
Head Position: TI teaches head low in the water, eyes looking at the bottom of pool. My coach last summer taught the same thing. My new coach says head is way too low and making my breathing a lot harder than it should be. New coach says look at the opposite end of the pool. Which one is right? Some people say look at the floor 6 feet ahead. Is there a right and a wrong?
Lots of philosopies on this one. My personal one is that it depends on what distance you're swimming. If you're spriting, the water should be hitting you at about your hair line (or where your hairline was in college. :laugh2:). When spriting, your body should be curved, like a banana or a smile, which means your head is higher, looking slightly forward. When swimming distance like you will in a triathlon, you probably want to have your head in line with your spine (maybe a smidge higher) so that it doesn't get too tired or cause drag.
As an aside, one of the things that people overlook when they become too focused on head placement is the whole "swimming on your bubble" thing. The air in your chest is your "bubble" and if you kind of float in the water and mess around with pushing your chest down slowly against the water and trying to get a feel for the way the water pushes back on your chest and the way your chest placement affects your hip placement affects your leg placement/depth (sort of like a teeter-totter), it can be kind of a good exercise, just kind of educational.
If you've got your head low, but your chest is not really creating that balance for your hips/legs, you're going to be just kind of curved over in the water. Since the idea is to be "long" in the water, you need to be thinking about more than just head placement. Really, head placement is kind of an afterthought. Figure out how to balance yourself in the water using your chest and then just line your head up with your spine. It's a lot easier than trying to get the perfect position for your head and then line your chest, hips, and legs up with that.
Kick: How do I develop a strong kick and do I need one? TI says no kickboard and to develop a non-overt kick. Both of my coaches said my kick stinks and put me on kickboards. When kicking, should the feet stay close together (i.e., pigeon toed)?
When I taught swimming to little kids, I used to tell them to make their big toes fight while kicking. Think about smacking your big toes against each other on each kick. Obviously, you don't want to do this forever, but it's a good place to start until you get used to the feel of a strong kick and then you can move them apart a couple inches, but still keep them pretty close. Keep in mind, big splash does not equal fast kick. Flexibility in your ankles is key. Stay away from fins until you have a "feel" for your kick. I don't think it matters if you use a kickboard or not, but if you kick on your back, you get a better workout and it helps you learn to balance yourself in the water (bubble and all).
Breathing: My new coach says breathe out through nose and in through mouth. She also says breathe all air out before taking a breath. If I don't do this (except during extreme physical exertion on land) why would I do it while swimming the first event in a 3 event race? She also recommends NOT breathing every 2nd stroke but every 3rd (bilateral) or even 4th.
I disagree with breathing out through nose and in through mouth. I have my mouth open pretty much the entire time I'm swimming. And my breathing out feels more like huff and less like a stream of air. It's almost a sigh and then breathing in is more like the kind of breath you take when you're startled: quick, sharp, deep. A good way to practice this is to do it while running and to use your feet as a pacer. So breath out for four steps, breath in for two. That'll help you get used to the rythm of it. I agree with breathing every three - it's ideal. But I'm weak, so what I usually end up doing is breathing two to one side then two to the other, so I guess my breathing pattern is 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3. 4 strokes is probably too much for a beginner.
(ps: sorry if my quotes didn't work, I'm new to this format)
