Hi, I'd like to be able to swim. Right now I can freestyle 4 lengths of a 25 yard pool before I'm completely exhausted. I'm not fast either. Clearly I'm doing it wrong.
1. First of all, I breathe on only one side. I've tried the rotary breathing but not only does breathing on the other side feel awkward, I run out of air quickly and feel I'm drowning.
2. When I run out of air my body becomes all stiff and my legs sag. No matter how hard I try calming myself I can't get over the drowning sensation.
3. My legs do very little to propel me forward. I've used a board and a pull float and found that it takes almost twice as long for me to swim a lap with just my legs as compared to just my arms. Both are pretty slow.
4. I feel I have buoyancy issues. I cannot dead-float in a pool but I can do it in the ocean.
5. Last but not the least, I have allergy related asthma. I have a fleeting suspicion that chlorine triggers it.
Please help me swim. Thanks in advance for your help.
Give yourself time to build up your endurance, speed and overall swimming ability. It took me a month to get my swimming lungs built up. If you keep trying and be patient with yourself you will find it does get easier and you will get better.
You didn't say if you have a coach or not, if not you might want to work with one for a while so that you can work on proper body position, and learn how to make your swimming more efficient.
Just my 2 cents- I wouldn't worry about alternate breathing if you're not doing more than 100yds. You can always work that in later.
I'd concentrate on getting more efficient- maybe do some more kicking with the board since it sounds like your legs are sagging- if you get yourself a better kick (something I'm working on as well), your legs will help propel rather than weigh you down- this will make a 100% difference. Turn the liability into an advantage. Don't worry about how fast you kick, just worry about how long you are kicking for- kicking endurance sounds like the low-hanging fruit and you'll be able to do it longer than you can swim right now. Good luck!
Don't worry about how many lengths of the pool you can do. Your #1 concern should be getting the mechanics of swimming properly down. See if there are any coaches in your area; if not, check out videos on youtube of proper swimming technique and check out swimming books from your library.
Mastering the proper techniques of swimming is vital to avoid injuring yourself (pulled muscles, etc.), as well as, developing bad swimming habits (such as the pop-up breathing and double glance breathing - turning your head both ways before each cycle of strokes.
Also, take a non-drowsy antihistamine before getting into the pool. It will give you temporary relief from the allergic effects of the chlorine, but always have your rescue inhaler with you.
I'm definitely allergic to the pool, and also have asthma. I find that taking an antihistamine an hour before I swim helps a lot.
Thanks, I'll try that. I probably also need to try swimming in the ocean or in a river to see if I fare any better.
Just my 2 cents- I wouldn't worry about alternate breathing if you're not doing more than 100yds. You can always work that in later.
I'd concentrate on getting more efficient- maybe do some more kicking with the board since it sounds like your legs are sagging- if you get yourself a better kick (something I'm working on as well), your legs will help propel rather than weigh you down- this will make a 100% difference. Turn the liability into an advantage. Don't worry about how fast you kick, just worry about how long you are kicking for- kicking endurance sounds like the low-hanging fruit and you'll be able to do it longer than you can swim right now. Good luck!
Thanks I'll do that. It's just frustrating to paddle and not go anywhere. I bought a pair of zoomers of this kind. I do so well wearing those that I feel they'll become a crutch. I think I'm not bending my ankles enough.
