As a middleaged swimmer with no technique..

[Meckrel]

How many lessons would you expect to need to get proficient?

I can swim, although I don't often. My mum taught me as a child and it was very much get from A-B without drowning rather than learning proper strokes.

I'm quite fit, so I can pootle up and down for ages. I did 800m in about 35 mins on Sunday, in a kind of approximation of breast stroke, although I know I'm not doing it right. I do put my face in thr water! I can't even attempt crawl without swallowing half the pool.

My local leisure centre offers adult improvers lessons on a midweek lunchtime, pay as you go basis. Over the summer I could go for 5 consecutive weeks (1hr) and swim by myself 3/4 times a week.

Will this be enough to show significant improvement and get even close to perfecting technique?. I can carry on swimming afterwards but won't be able to do more lessons.

I think that would be plenty of enough.

As an adult who can swim I think you mostly just need to be shown the technique and to practice it. You could probably get by with YouTube and practice, but the classes will be helpful to get direct feedback on what you’re doing if you’re struggling.

You would likely get significantly better, yes.

Approaching perfect technique, no.

Swimming is one of the most technically difficult sports to do. Unless you start being coached at a young age you won't get near "perfect". But I don't think that matters, we're not swimming in the Olympics.

As long as you're improved enough to swim further & faster for the same effort without injury, I think that's more than enough.

You’re probably not going to get any worse if you go for the lessons!

How much you improve depends on how well you can apply the coaching. Swimming is about getting your body in the right position and performing a sequence of movements and it is easier to have someone coaching you in real time to tell you when you’ve got it right than rather than on just feeling like you’re doing the right thing.

Yes I would say you’ll improve quickly once shown the correct technique.

I’ve been swimming regularly since the start of the year but it had been several years since I’d done any serious swimming before that. I had lessons as a child though and can remember what good technique looks like. After a couple of sessions where I made a meal of it, I reminded myself of all the little tweaks that would improve my stroke and make my swimming more efficient and started to apply them and I’m now significantly quicker and ‘tidier’ in the water.

I should think that five lessons will help you to make quite a difference.

Hello, I am also a middle-aged swimmer! I have also gone from “capable of not drowning” type of swimming to pretty competent in six months learning from online videos.

Yes you’d definitely improve in five lessons with a teacher but you can also learn absolutely loads watching FB videos (there are millions of videos about front crawl
technique).

Assuming you’re in a 25m pool you’re doing about 32 lengths in 35mins so about 1 length every minute. That’s not so bad.

I had an injury so I’m currently trying to get back to 70 x 25m lengths in 50 mins. I’m happy if I can do 64 lengths.That’s about the average speed of the regular middle-lane swimmers at my pool (nor the people that refuse to wear goggles - they are slow and create so much drag as they swim with their heads out of the water, it’s probably as much effort as the middle lane!)

I totally recommend drills by the way - buy a kickboard/float and don’t be ashamed of spending ten mins just kicking up and down on your front and back, and practicing your breathing. Totally sorted out my front crawl that way!

Also don’t feel ashamed about it stopping to rest. It’s good to mix up your training with long “non stop” swims, mixed with interval-style training where you put in max effort and then rest.

I likened DHs ability to a doggy paddle. He started watching DDs lessons and practiced the techniques that were shown. He then did 4 adult lessons with DDs instructor and she massively improved his technique. As he is a regular at the leisure centre he now joins in conversations with other swimmers and they share technique tips or encourage each other. I think he said he managed 2km the other night none stop he couldn't do ten lengths when he started going last September.

I think you'll make good progress, good for you. It's the practice that does it.

I used to lifeguard for adult swimming lessons and some people made great progress in a term. The ad hoc set up sounds perfect for what you need - someone to meet you where you are rather than having to start from scratch.

Definitely worth doing, I did a block of 8 1-1 lessons and went from not being able to do front crawl at all to being able to comfortably swim it with good technique. We also did a couple of sessions with focus on other strokes.

Ex leisure centre lifeguard here. I’m sure it would help. In my experience, most swimming teachers are good at teaching children. Some are excellent at teaching adults and some are not. The ones who are keen swimmers themselves are usually good.

it also depends on how many other people are in the class.

I would recommend practicing as much as possible between the classes because you will progress faster.

Even if you are not where you want to be after 5 classes, keep practicing. Swimming is a technical skill and sometimes takes a lot of practice. I spent months trying to breathe on both sides when doing front crawl. I just couldn’t do it. Then one day it clicked and I could do it as if I had been doing it for months.

To add I don't think perfect technique is a sensible goal. Olympic champions are probably still working on that.

Thank you everyone. I'm going to go for it.

These are the options on offer. I'm thinking advanced is the one I need? Although referring to me as an advanced swimmer is 🤣 I can comfortably swim a lot more than 25m, albeit with poor technique. That said I can't really do 25m crawl....

I'd go for the advance lessons if you technique is poor and you're not confident doing crawl. The fitness lessons will be more drills and stamina type training, assuming you have decent technique already.

I'm not entirely sure those paragraphs make sense but I would guess at advanced too. Intermediate might have the side, and advanced a middle lane.