All
Im new to this forum; I read a few articles and Im quite impressed with the amount of information that is being shared. Hats off to you folks.
Im gettting back to swimming after good 7 years and I'm in late 30s. My goal is to shed off atleast 20-30 lbs and to have a good swimming form.
I learnt to swim when I was 26 and at that time I could do crawl and backstroke. I used to be long distant runner and used to play soccer at a competitive level; my lower part of the body is muscular and relatively stiff. The coach who taught me suggested to use fins after seeing my trunk and legs drag and to correct my kicking form; ever since then, i'm hooked to those blue zoomer fins.
I got back to swimming after a good 7 years; those 7 years made me fairly a 'round and heavy' personality :). After 8 weeks of getting back now I do 72 lengths on a 25 yard pool with 3-4 seconds gap between each length; this takes about an hour for me. I break them into 6 sets of 12 lengths; I start with fins and the first set is typically swimming at a comfortable pace. The next set of 12 will be with pull buoy. The third and fourth set will be with paddles(with buoy) or kickboards(with zoomers). The fifth set will be with pull buoy at a faster pace. The last 12 lengths is where I try to get away from my fins; 4 lengths with the kicking board, another 4 or 6 lengths of actual SWIMMING without any assist :(. The last 2-4 lengths will be leisure kicking with the fin.
My problem is that the moment I get out of my zoomers, I struggle to even complete a length; my balance, body position, head position, body rotation all simply vanishes; my single most aim is to get across to the other side. It could be partly pscyhological and partly physiological. Once I get away from the fins, I get a feeling that my body is slightly more immersed in water and my torso and legs is accelerating towards the bottom of the pool. Also the rhythm of kick(which exists with the fins on) vanishes completely; it ends up literally being desparate fluttering of my feet. And the only stroke that I'm able to do is crawl; i tried back stroke, but ended up struggling - so I simply gave up.
Im looking for pointers from experienced swimmers that would help me to work my way towards a good form and swim without any aids.
Thanks a Bunch
IM
I would like to comment on two points:
1. If your main goal is weight reduction, then swimming is probably not the most effective venue. Of course, it doesn't matter if this is the activity you enjoy and will pursue regularly.
2. Your lack of kicking ability is very common among new swimmers, particularly runners. I have found the major problem to be lack of ankle flexibility. Fins help but as was pointed out, don't become too dependent on them. I would suggest dry land ankle stretching. My favorite is sitting in front of the TV with my feet in the flex position under the buttocks. Put a towel on the floor if it hurts. Work into it gradually. Over time you will feel a stronger kick in the water.
Good luck.
I would like to comment on two points:
1. If your main goal is weight reduction, then swimming is probably not the most effective venue. Of course, it doesn't matter if this is the activity you enjoy and will pursue regularly.
2. Your lack of kicking ability is very common among new swimmers, particularly runners. I have found the major problem to be lack of ankle flexibility. Fins help but as was pointed out, don't become too dependent on them. I would suggest dry land ankle stretching. My favorite is sitting in front of the TV with my feet in the flex position under the buttocks. Put a towel on the floor if it hurts. Work into it gradually. Over time you will feel a stronger kick in the water.
Good luck.
