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.
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!
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!
