Been swimming for about 3 months (always 'swam' but never any real extended period for fitness until now). Started bilateral breathing about 2 months ago, basically natural to me now. Also began lessons about 1.5 months ago (instructor is WSI and nationally ranked member of local college team).
At beginning, 25m of crawl was killing me. Took close to 2 months to get comfortable with 50m. Can now almost do 75m comfortably (in all cases, a break of about 15-20 seconds is all I need to continue).
Based upon instructor's comments:
- definitely exhaling in water
- stroke is OK, but head position is too high out of water (not tucked down enough)
- kick is lousy-- too fast and shallow, also tend to shift to a scissor kick as I get tired
This morning during a lesson, he asked me to freestyle 6 laps and after 4 I was blown-- took a 10 second breather before starting 5th lap and all semblance of technique was gone-- same for 6th lap.
While I am making some progress, it seems that each additional (continuous) lap is taking a month-- is this normal? I am probably spending a bit too much time recovering at the wall during my workouts, but not all THAT long.
What seems to happen is I begin to have trouble breathing-- at beginning I'm nice and relaxed, nice shallow relaxed breath, slow exhale in water (was exhaling through mouth, instructor told me to switch to nose, and am doing so now). At about 50m, breathing becomes deeper and less relaxed; by 67m, am sucking in air and beginning to gasp; when I put my head back into the water, I feel like I'm holding my breath and have no air (must be what drowning feels like). At that point it's just a matter of time before I'm done-- can barely get to 100m.
Your responses will probably be to post video, and I probably will, but in the meantime, here's what's REALLY puzzling me: I've been searching the forum for similar tales of woe, and I'll often find something along the lines of: "I was unable to swim more than 50/100/?? meters; then I found out I wasn't exhaling. Once I began to exhale in the water, my continuous distance went from 100m to 1800m in one day."
Is this kind of scenario realistic? I walk 3 miles a day, and upon occasion will simply continue and do 7 or 8 miles-- there's little extra effort in going further. Is is the same here?-- should you in theory be able to just continue? I was speaking to a relative who says he swims 32 lengths per day, and could go further except for the boredom factor-- that's the way it is with walking/hiking for me, but I don't see that happening with swimming my crawl.
Thanks,
Gerald
Parents
Former Member
I recommend concentrating on your head position. The human head is pretty darned heavy. When I have taught beginners they tend to swim with their heads up high, usually panicking. They can barely make it 10 feet from the shear exhaustion. Try drilling with a jellyfish (dead man's or survival float). Preferably in water in which you can stand, float on your stomach, relax completely and let your limbs dangle towards the ground, concentrate on looking directly at the ground. If you find you are bottom heavy and can't maintain proper alignment use a pull buoy between your legs. Relax your neck completely. When you need air exhale completely into the water, turn your head to the side, keeping your opposite ear facing the ground, take a breath, and repeat. My suspicion is that the more you are concerned with getting a breath, the higher up your head is going. When you are comfortable with this take it out very slowly, using a pull buoy between your legs for added support. Exaggerate your stroke, try at least a slow three count with each pull, feel the glide and acceleration as you bring your arms through the water. Concentrate on not lifting your head when you breathe, exhale in the water, turn your head keeping your opposite ear pointed towards the ground, inhale and bring your head right back into position, looking at the ground. Don't worry about running into the wall. If you follow the lines on the ground you will see the T mark that tells you the wall is near and it's time to turn. The slower you practice your stroke the less splashing you will have and the more confident you will become with your breathing. When you are accustomed to all of this, you can add your kick in. Maybe use some fins when you add your kick, but do some separate kicking drills to work on that as well. There is also a chance that you may be hyperventilating a bit, which can make you exhausted. This is why it is so important to exhale well before you take in more air. I hope this has helped you somewhat. Don't give up, you can do this! :applaud:
I recommend concentrating on your head position. The human head is pretty darned heavy. When I have taught beginners they tend to swim with their heads up high, usually panicking. They can barely make it 10 feet from the shear exhaustion. Try drilling with a jellyfish (dead man's or survival float). Preferably in water in which you can stand, float on your stomach, relax completely and let your limbs dangle towards the ground, concentrate on looking directly at the ground. If you find you are bottom heavy and can't maintain proper alignment use a pull buoy between your legs. Relax your neck completely. When you need air exhale completely into the water, turn your head to the side, keeping your opposite ear facing the ground, take a breath, and repeat. My suspicion is that the more you are concerned with getting a breath, the higher up your head is going. When you are comfortable with this take it out very slowly, using a pull buoy between your legs for added support. Exaggerate your stroke, try at least a slow three count with each pull, feel the glide and acceleration as you bring your arms through the water. Concentrate on not lifting your head when you breathe, exhale in the water, turn your head keeping your opposite ear pointed towards the ground, inhale and bring your head right back into position, looking at the ground. Don't worry about running into the wall. If you follow the lines on the ground you will see the T mark that tells you the wall is near and it's time to turn. The slower you practice your stroke the less splashing you will have and the more confident you will become with your breathing. When you are accustomed to all of this, you can add your kick in. Maybe use some fins when you add your kick, but do some separate kicking drills to work on that as well. There is also a chance that you may be hyperventilating a bit, which can make you exhausted. This is why it is so important to exhale well before you take in more air. I hope this has helped you somewhat. Don't give up, you can do this! :applaud:
