I've been teaching myself to swim and I'm trying to develop good technique right from the get go.
I've been reading about body rotation in free stroke and bilateral breathing.
I'd be considered an adult learner and I've never been in the water before. I started teaching myself 5 days ago and I spent 1 hour a day in the water.
When i get in the water, I kick off, begin exhaling through my nose strongly, kick with my legs but be careful to not bend my knees, look straight down at the pool, keep my fingers together and point my elbow angled towards the sky when my arm breaks the water's surface and then I angle it in and bring it down in front of my face and pull it towards my waist.
I'm finally at the point where I can swim half a lap on one breath but I can't get breathing down unilaterally or bilaterally.
When I turn my head to get a breath, I don't ever experience the "bow wave" and water just rushes into my mouth from all sides and from the top of my head and goggles.
Also, as of yesterday I've been experiencing dull aching shoulder pain when trying to swim *** stroke.
I get the pain if i'm standing up and raising my right shoulder to neck height.
What can i do about this, I don't want to give up swimming as well because I can't run due to flat feet and previous meniscus complications.
Parents
Former Member
A few things from a relative newb... I'm also in my 30s, just started swimming in earnest recently in life and have been plagued with some shoulder issues the first time I tried a couple years ago and starting to creep up now, but fighting past them with help:
1.) +1 on the coach suggestions. Look to see if there is a masters group in your area. That is a good place to find out about some coaches and, depending on the size, "seriousness", and activity level of the group, you may be able to get into some workouts at your pace with some active coaching/help.
2.) Look up more about technique on the web from some of the sources listed here. I know there are different schools but I found some help from the Total Immersion folk's free content as well as Swim Smooth's free content.
3.) Your comment about the wave not enough to breathe just had me wondering if your head was actually too low. I've not been fast enough at the beginning but still managed to breathe. I had to get the head up a bit higher than an elite swimmer to either side to catch the breaths at first but I found that when I was focused on looking down too much, my head was too low and I would grab water when I reached for a breath (again look for a coach...)
4.) Shoulder Pain - Consider going to a good physical therapist who understands the shoulder really well. If you are like me, you have poor posture, you work on a computer or drive a lot and your chest is too tight while the muscles behind your shoulder are too loose and too weak. I've had shoulder pain like you describe and I found out through the PT that I am really strong on the "front muscles" but incredibly weak on the "behind muscles" of the shoulders. This leads to instability and working the shoulders incorrectly. Through some exercises, massage and stretching it is getting better. Look up "upper crossed" or "upper cross" syndrome. Not sure how official that is but the condition fits me to a T.
5.) It gets better! When I first started, I'd be lucky to do 25 yards without taking a few minute break. I've been back for about 2.5-3 months now and haven't been working out as often as I should (kids, church, work, life) but I just had myself timed officially for a mile Tuesday night (entering an OW 2.4 mile race for July! First ever competitive... well anything at least physically... in my life.) and, while many here would blow past me, the time was 32 minutes (a 1750 mile) with the fastest 100 at 1:25 and slowest around 2:00 and many in the 1:50ish ballpark someplace... Some of those laps were on my back to catch my breath here or there and I did all open turns... I fully intend to see that pool mile be in the 26-28 minute ballpark or better by the time I'm "ready" for that 2.4 miler. That isn't to brag its to say that I've done that after having almost posted your exact post a couple times here. You. Can. Do. It! Just find that coach/masters class and a good PT/Ortho/Chiro to chat with.
A few things from a relative newb... I'm also in my 30s, just started swimming in earnest recently in life and have been plagued with some shoulder issues the first time I tried a couple years ago and starting to creep up now, but fighting past them with help:
1.) +1 on the coach suggestions. Look to see if there is a masters group in your area. That is a good place to find out about some coaches and, depending on the size, "seriousness", and activity level of the group, you may be able to get into some workouts at your pace with some active coaching/help.
2.) Look up more about technique on the web from some of the sources listed here. I know there are different schools but I found some help from the Total Immersion folk's free content as well as Swim Smooth's free content.
3.) Your comment about the wave not enough to breathe just had me wondering if your head was actually too low. I've not been fast enough at the beginning but still managed to breathe. I had to get the head up a bit higher than an elite swimmer to either side to catch the breaths at first but I found that when I was focused on looking down too much, my head was too low and I would grab water when I reached for a breath (again look for a coach...)
4.) Shoulder Pain - Consider going to a good physical therapist who understands the shoulder really well. If you are like me, you have poor posture, you work on a computer or drive a lot and your chest is too tight while the muscles behind your shoulder are too loose and too weak. I've had shoulder pain like you describe and I found out through the PT that I am really strong on the "front muscles" but incredibly weak on the "behind muscles" of the shoulders. This leads to instability and working the shoulders incorrectly. Through some exercises, massage and stretching it is getting better. Look up "upper crossed" or "upper cross" syndrome. Not sure how official that is but the condition fits me to a T.
5.) It gets better! When I first started, I'd be lucky to do 25 yards without taking a few minute break. I've been back for about 2.5-3 months now and haven't been working out as often as I should (kids, church, work, life) but I just had myself timed officially for a mile Tuesday night (entering an OW 2.4 mile race for July! First ever competitive... well anything at least physically... in my life.) and, while many here would blow past me, the time was 32 minutes (a 1750 mile) with the fastest 100 at 1:25 and slowest around 2:00 and many in the 1:50ish ballpark someplace... Some of those laps were on my back to catch my breath here or there and I did all open turns... I fully intend to see that pool mile be in the 26-28 minute ballpark or better by the time I'm "ready" for that 2.4 miler. That isn't to brag its to say that I've done that after having almost posted your exact post a couple times here. You. Can. Do. It! Just find that coach/masters class and a good PT/Ortho/Chiro to chat with.
