Hi...I feel somewhat intimidated posting here. I am late comer to swimming and a true beginner. I am a 43 year-old male who just took his first real swimming lessons at the Y (SF Bay Area) this summer. It was great. On the day I left, I swam 100y nonstop for the first time (although just barely).
Just today I had somewhat of a breakthrough at my condo lap pool (42m long). I had been swimming 8-20 laps of freestyle, one lap at a time. This evening, out of nowhere I swam 8 laps nonstop (340m). My previous best had been 2 laps. I should have pushed for 10, but I wimped out. Nevertheless, I was so excited that I joined this forum.:bliss:
Since the summer at the Y, I have been on my own without supervision. So I really am experimenting on each lap. What seemed to work was looking further back to the 7:30 position and trusting myself not to hurry with the stroke. For the first time, I did not feel as if making it across the pool was THE goal. In any event, I am sure this is like learning how to walk for you all, but I am almost to the point of being able to say "I know how to swim," something I have wanted to say and believe my entire life.
A couple of other things. I am many pounds out of shape but lost 30+ pounds this summer. And I am not very flexible at all (getting better with swimming?). My work schedule makes swimming a Wed-Monday affair, and often only Thurs-Sun.
OK..that should be enough background. My query. In lieu of finding a good teacher, what are some basic tips, online aids, links, etc. that you can recommend for an ultra beginner? I am an ex-engineer, so I like knowing what the heck I am doing (I once tried a teacher, who simply said "Don;t worry, just swim more and with less break and you'll get it--at this point I had no idea whatsoever and could only go 10m before dying). I have no one watching me, just my feel through the water and my fatigue.
Things I wish I knew more about (from my eyes) please excuse the laymen's terms..
Front Crawl
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* kicking--how much? How hard? what should I be thinking?
* arms--apparently, my arms are pretty straight. But when I try to get that bent-elbow, I feel as if I am rushing and getting far less per stroke.
* Pulling underwater, esp on the side I am not breathing. LOL! Sometimes my arms sits there like a rudder!
* body position when I am pulling on the opposite side as my breathing. Should my chest be perpendicular to the pool bottom or should by chest dip down at the left pec.
* coming down into the water and extending my arms: I have been tryign not to slap the water but knife through. But if I don;t flatten my plam after entry I feel I need to increase the speed of my stroke for fear of sinking.
Back
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I enjoyed learning backstroke at the Y, as it was easy to gauge my position and distance using the roof beams. Now I have only the open air and distant buildings. Since coming back home, I had trouble leeping water from flowing over my face and nose. I am either looking too far forward or looking to far back. In the past I would get in position to try to pull too hard, and was told to mellow that part out so as not to dip my shoulders. Any basic recommendations for how to stay focused?
In any case, I am sure the list of problems would increase by 10 fold were any of you to see me in the pool itself, but those are the six points that nag at me.
Any links, tips, etc,. would be awesome.
Sincere Thanks, LateComer
P.S. I do scan the web when I can and I will so a bunch of searches on this forum. But if there is anything that might be advice suitable to my particulars, it would be much appreciated. Cheers!:wine:
Former Member
OK, I'm confused with your descriptions. Can you clarify ?
I am accustomed to seeing sets described similar to
8 x 100y free @ 1:45
repetitions x distance(y or m to denote yards or meters) stroke @ sendoff interval minutes:seconds
Or
8 x 100y kick RI :15
repetitions x distance(y or m to denote yards or meters) stroke Rest Interval time resting between swims.
Good advice above as usual. But I have a question: I have never seen nor heard of a 42 meter pool. That is very large pool for a condo. How do you know it is 42 meters?
Ande's column(s) are very very good but I'm not sure his kicking advice is so useful for a beginner. One suggestion I have is to avoid and deep knee bends while kicking. I have seen several novice swimmers (such as triathletes) that kick fine with a kickboard. But when they swim, especially when they breathe - their legs do crazy things. One leg will bend 90 degrees....or the legs get far apart. I suggest a moderate kicking pace - not so fast to make you tired but 2-4 beats per complete stroke so the legs don't sink.
Just an update.
Tonight I swam one mile nonstop (1837m or 1.044 miles). :bliss:40, 42m lengths. My time was a glacial 59 minutes 53.73 seconds.
I am still a bit chilled and most definitely wiped out.
LC
OUTSTANDING!!!! Way to go. You are doing fantastic.
Paul
Just an update.
Tonight I swam one mile nonstop (1837m or 1.044 miles). :bliss:40, 42m lengths. My time was a glacial 59 minutes 53.73 seconds.
I am still a bit chilled and most definitely wiped out.
It got pretty ugly out there...foot cramps started in lap 29 and were pretty bad in the 40th and final lap. I am not sure how of this was "swimming" and how much survival! I feel as I felt after finishing my first 10km...so sleepy...:bed:
It was only this past June that I decided to end this terrible obstacle to my health and sense of athletic self. In June I could barely swim one 25 yard length. Do for any beginners out there: trust me...if I can do it, a guy who has feared the water all his life and who never learned how to swim until this past June, ANYONE can...ANYONE...
Big thanks goes to the SF Peninsula Y who got me going and to the words of encouragement received on this board and others.
Now the real work begins. :laugh2:
LC
It was only this past June that I decided to end this terrible obstacle to my health and sense of athletic self. In June I could barely swim one 25 yard length. Do for any beginners out there: trust me...if I can do it, a guy who has feared the water all his life and who never learned how to swim until this past June, ANYONE can...ANYONE...
When I was 42, I was about where you are now. I knew how to swim, had even taken a few classes, but I was very out of shape and had not been in water for at least 10 years.
Now I'm 46. I've done the Tiburon Mile three times, most recently a few weeks ago without a wetsuit. I plan to do my first Alcatraz swim next summer.
It took me about a year to get from where you are now to doing my first Tiburon swim. When I did it the first time, I wore a wetsuit but probably didn't need to.
The Tiburon Mile is a great swim to do for your first SF bay swim. Great charities, beautiful venue, and a lot of fun. Plus there are many Olympic swimmers who participate, so you can always fun of being able to say "I swam against ______ in 2008."
I've yet to become a fast pool swimmer, and generally reside in the slowest three lanes at my master's workout. I was 50th out of 59 in my age group when I did Tiburon.
If you want some inspiration go watch the TI2Y swim this weekend from Treasure Island to the Embarcadero YMCA. I'm sure a lot of people there are or were in the same boat you're in now.
Keep it up and before long you'll be swimming with Pedro at Aquatic Park and having to use your computer to keep track of how many times you've swam Alcatraz.
Happy New Year! Thanks for all the encouragement.
Earlier Questions: 42m is simply the largest pool the condo developer could squeeze into our off-shaped lot; I measured it myself; I swam 40 since it was a round number.
I have not surpassed the 40 length swim, but I feel I am getting better with my stroke. My length times are down 9 seconds per length, which I guess means I have gone from glacial to very, very slow--but I'll take it.
I have focused most of my pool time to swimming sets of 170-340m.
But I have no workout plan per se...I am still at the point of wanting to swim 800m-1500m each time in the pool and feel good.
If you would, I have three requests/questions:
1. Can anyone give me some advice on how to "extend to air?" When I breathe to my left, my right arm has already dropped to a 45* angle. I would like to learn how to keep it extended where I can just about rest my head on it (what to my novice eyes seems to be a classic position). I cannot seem to keep it up--my right arm, that is.
2. So far, I am only comfortable breathing to my left side. I feel totally foreign and useless breathing to my right. Out of the pool, I do not sense that my neck or side is any more relaxed. Any drills to recommend kicking the habit, in/out of pool?
3. Can anyone recommend drills to improve my lung power in the pool. I breathe every otehr stroke and to my left. When I try every fourth stroke, I can barely do one length (42m). Any drills, in/out of pool?
Thanks again,
LC
P.S. Sarge--that is pretty cool. Wow, I feel a Bay swim is a while from now!
Happy New Year! Thanks for all the encouragement.
Earlier Questions: 42m is simply the largest pool the condo developer could squeeze into our off-shaped lot; I measured it myself; I swam 40 since it was a round number.
I have not surpassed the 40 length swim, but I feel I am getting better with my stroke. My length times are down 9 seconds per length, which I guess means I have gone from glacial to very, very slow--but I'll take it.
I have focused most of my pool time to swimming sets of 170-340m.
But I have no workout plan per se...I am still at the point of wanting to swim 800m-1500m each time in the pool and feel good.
If you would, I have three requests/questions:
1. Can anyone give me some advice on how to "extend to air?" When I breathe to my left, my right arm has already dropped to a 45* angle. I would like to learn how to keep it extended where I can just about rest my head on it (what to my novice eyes seems to be a classic position). I cannot seem to keep it up--my right arm, that is.
2. So far, I am only comfortable breathing to my left side. I feel totally foreign and useless breathing to my right. Out of the pool, I do not sense that my neck or side is any more relaxed. Any drills to recommend kicking the habit, in/out of pool?
3. Can anyone recommend drills to improve my lung power in the pool. I breathe every otehr stroke and to my left. When I try every fourth stroke, I can barely do one length (42m). Any drills, in/out of pool?
Thanks again,
LC
P.S. Sarge--that is pretty cool. Wow, I feel a Bay swim is a while from now!
Hey LateComer,
I read your original story and it was very cool. I cannot imagine not knowing how to swim for 40 years. I have always enjoyed swimming and I am glad that you are learning to enjoy it too.
I don't have any good suggestions for your problems. But I will tell you that I swam competitively for years breathing every other stroke, always to the same side, without any problem other than to be yelled at by my coaches. It wasn't until I started swimming in my late 20s that I decided to breath to both sides to balance out the wear between both shoulders. In my teens and later when I started swimming masters, I was swimming much higher yardage than you are now.
So I don't think it is important for you, at this point, to worry about any of your 3 issues. You can breath to the same same, every time, and for the yardage that you are doing, you should be fine. With good technique, with any yardage you should be fine.
In your original post, you mentioned you were an engineer, and asked for suggestions that would help an engineer. The simplest technique that you can use to gauge your progress from an engineering perspective is distance per stroke. You are already occasionally doing this, and I want to encourage you to experiment with the path of your hand underwater and the amount of body rotation you are using to see how this affects your distance per stroke.
Sorry I couldn't help you with any of your current questions. The most important thing is that you continue to enjoy swimming.
