i know there has been a number of posts/threads on this topic and i did search the archives, but i still wanted to post this thread. ok, so i've been trying to learn freestyle since 2005, and i still haven't got the breathing right. this has been really frustrating for me. i practice almost every day on a pool that is about 5' 5'' deep at one end. i have done a lot of research-hours of youtubing and checking out swimfast dvds have resulted in nothing! i've invested about $200 into private lessons, with no significant output! my goal is very simple-to swim freestyle laps in a 25 yard pool; is that asking for too much? i'm not interested in the other difficult strokes! i think my problem lies in the fact that i don't breathe out air completely before breathing in! are there any drills to work on that? also, some swimmers say that breath out through your nose, and some say through your mouth-i'm confused! if anyone can help me out, i'd really appreciate it! i want to learn this thing, and as you can see, i don't want to give up! TIA!
Parents
Former Member
Two possibilities come to mind:
1) you say your speed is infinitely better. Swimming infinitely fast will tend to wind you. :D
2) swimming with better technique can be like riding a bike in higher gear in that if you swim with a dropped elbow it takes very little effort to pull your arms through the water (of course you won't swim very fast) which is like spinning in a low gear in cycling. Also, some people, in an attempt at lowering their stroke count will go to a very catchup-like stroke and either lose speed between pulls, requiring a high effort stroke to regain it again, or kick hard to maintain speed, either of which will tend to wind you.
You could experiment with swimming slower, swimming with a pull buoy, and kicking to try to isolate what is winding you. If you can swim your old bad style without getting winded then probably it isn't a pool chemical problem.
It would be good to tell us your time per fifty for your old stroke and for your new stroke.
Two possibilities come to mind:
1) you say your speed is infinitely better. Swimming infinitely fast will tend to wind you. :D
2) swimming with better technique can be like riding a bike in higher gear in that if you swim with a dropped elbow it takes very little effort to pull your arms through the water (of course you won't swim very fast) which is like spinning in a low gear in cycling. Also, some people, in an attempt at lowering their stroke count will go to a very catchup-like stroke and either lose speed between pulls, requiring a high effort stroke to regain it again, or kick hard to maintain speed, either of which will tend to wind you.
You could experiment with swimming slower, swimming with a pull buoy, and kicking to try to isolate what is winding you. If you can swim your old bad style without getting winded then probably it isn't a pool chemical problem.
It would be good to tell us your time per fifty for your old stroke and for your new stroke.
