I can only swim 25 yards, halfway or 3/4 of the way and rest. The pool whe I swim is A JR Olympic, 25 yards I think.
I was a masters swimmer 30 years ago, but I haven't been swimming since that time.
I would appreciate any suggestions. I am a former smoker, and I want to stengthen my lungs and improve my swimming. I know that I probably look like a fishing lure when I am swimming, but I know my technique will improve.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I agree with what Jayhawk says in building up to 500 yards. You may want to start off this way in building up to swimming 500 yards straight-
1. 4 x 25 with 30 seconds rest between each 25. After 4, rest 2 minutes and repeat the set 3 times.
2. After mastering #1, try 8 x 25 with 20 seconds rest between each 25. After 8, rest 2 minutes and then repeat.
3. After mastering # 1 and #2, try 10 x 25 with 15 seconds rest between each 25. Rest 1 minute after 10 and repeat.
4. After mastering #1-#3, try 4 x 50 with 30 seconds rest. Rest 2 minutes after 4 and repeat 2 times.
5. After mastering #1-4, do 6 x 50 with 15 seconds rest. Rest 1 minute after 6 and repeat the set.
6. After mastering #1-5, do 10 x 50 with 10 seconds rest between each 50.
7. After mastering #1-6, do 5 x 100 broken up in this way - rest 5 seconds after each 25 within the 100 and take 30 seconds rest between each 100.
8. After mastering #1-7, do 2 x 250 broken up in this way - rest 10 seconds after each 50 and take 20 seconds rest between the 250s
9. After mastering #1-8, do 5 x 100 with 5 seconds rest between each 100.
10. You are now ready to do a straight 500!
Good luck. Take it slow. Before starting each workout, you might want to do an easy 100 yards, taking as long a break between each 25 as you need to.
Karen,
Sounds like you need to work on your endurance before you focus on anything else. I usually tell new swimmers that they need to first have the endurance to swim about 500 yards (even with a poor stroke) before they start to work on stroke instruction.
Congratulations on being a former smoker! Stick with it and I'm sure you'll build up your endurance soon.
Anna Lea
You have a prior swimming background which is a huge advantage. You'll have no problem. Just keep at it at a pace that you can handle, and you should improve each time. When I started swimming again after 20 years off (I'm 37) I had difficulty swimming 100 meters.
What I did to break the too tired, can't breathe, heart racing, after short distances is to get a timer. I set it for three seconds. Every three seconds it beeped and I breathed.
I went from being unable to go more than 100yards without stopping to being able to do a mile without stopping. Now I don't need the timer.
I am 64 and have had several 10 year gaps in my swimming.
Now I'm starting to speed up.
I also had to cope with the fact that my body thinks it should do what a skinny 19 yr old did. I now have to swim with a flotation device around my middle, or lose 40 lbs.-I've been back in the water since January and it's now coming together. I can speed up.
Nora
