Any regular swimmers?

[aristocat]

Hello,I swim 3 or 4 times a week doing usually 30 lengths each day and wondered if there are any fellow swimmers out there?

[pebbles77]

Well first swim in and I just loved it. I managed to swim 2km (40 lengths of 50m pool) - and I think i'm going to die :) I'm chuffed to bits but not looking forward to feeling it tomorrow!!!

I agree with the body moisturiser, if I don't my skin literally peels off :(

[TalkinPeace2]

Phew, there ARE other people who always smell of Chlorine too.
Working lots at the moment so only 3 miles a week
normally 5 - in an outdoor pool so rather excellent tan :-)

[aristocat]

at outdoor pool .... you cant be in the UK? Talkin

[pebbles77]

Kids have been ill all week so haven't been able to go for another swim but hoping to go this weekend - fingers crossed

[TalkinPeace2]

aristocat
Lots of year round outdoor pools in the UK. Private club. Heated to 28 degrees, 5 lanes, 20m long. Bliss. did 3/4 mile before work today.

[aristocat]

Sounds brilliant Talkin I have been swimming as usual, but today DCs came with me (school closed for elections) and we had a super time together.
We also went to PizzaHut

[Ivytheterrible]

Another swimmer here!

I'm a club masters swimmer and train around 4 nights a week doing around 3k each night and also compete. I Don't count the lengths!

Any other competitive mums out there? Am also a qualified asa teacher and coach if anyone wants tips I might be able to help

[Sleepwhenidie]

Hi Ivy...just out of curiosity, I don't have time in the evenings/weekends to commit to a club and therefore compete, but how fast is average for the swimmers you compete with not that I am at all competitive, honest

[dotty2]

(Nervous as not really a proper swimmer.) I try and swim once a week and usually do 30 - 40 x25m. I'm pretty slow - can overtake the heads-on chatting types in the slow lane, but often feel I'm holding people up in the medium lanes. I love it when it's quiet, find it a bit stressful when it's busy. But it's good for my slightly dodgy knee (I also run 2 - 3 times a week and am a stone or two overweight).

I would really like to improve my strokes. Do a decent breaststroke, and think back is OK but am too nervous to do it unless pool is really quiet as I sometimes go slightly askew. But I cannot crawl for toffee. Have looked at videos etc on internet, and have watched DDs having their lessons intently, but can't work out what I'm doing wrong. Am very envious of a friend living in Australia where they do stroke correction classes for people like me. Has anyone tried having coaching? There's someone locally who does adult swimming lessons, but it's all about helping nervous swimmers, and I'm not nervous, just inept. And much too scared to join a club as nowhere near fast or fit enough.

[dotty2]

(Just back from the pool) A random thought - does anyone else find that when a man wearing too much lynx or similar swims past you can kind of 'taste' it on the water? yuk.

[TalkinPeace2]

I swim head up breaststroke. A mile is 40 minutes. I can do backstroke but cannot do crawl at all (knee damage)
One of my fellow swimmers is a coach - she's always willing to tweak us a bit.

Ah yes, the smelly men.
Wait till summer and the whole surface of the pool has a sheen of sun lotion. Blech.

[dotty2]

Hi Talkin - you are much faster than me. I can do 1k in 35 minutes on a good day. Would love to speed up a bit and a bit of tweaking of my technique might be a start. Think might pluck up courage to phone a swimming teacher I know of who does nervous children and see if she might do a few lessons for me.

Sun lotion - yuk.

[aristocat]

Lovely to see we are still swimming, I do 1km in 30 mins. The pool was stupidly busy today

[TalkinPeace2]

I'll swim this afternoon and work on my tan ....

[frownyface]

I swim twice a week but I dont do anything resembling a stroke, and reading about all you lot with your alternate strokes is making me rather jealous!
I kind of do what my husband descibes as a posh doggy paddle but I stretch my arms out quite a bit, im an amputee and I find I cant time breaststroke properly at all. I cant breathe properly for front crawl and Im not confident doing anything apart from my doggy paddle really. I am going to buy a pool bouy to see if that helps and its my birthday in July so I might ask for some cash for lessons with our hunky personal trainer :) I feel so good after a swim it makes me feel joyfull :)

[frownyface]

*pull buoy even!

[TalkinPeace2]

frownyface
one of our regular swimming ladies has had a stroke so does a splendid one sided backstroke with diagonal kick
another has some spectacular scars from a car crash
the main thing is to do a stroke that works for you and to make sure that for at least ten minutes you are too out of breath to talk while swimming
THEN you will be building up the cardio strength

My swim was wonderful this afternoon - shared a lane with one other person, did my mile in 42 minutes and got my strap marks altered for summer....

[millymae]

Sticking my toe in the water here - I swim early in the morning 3 or 4 times a week. The pool opens at 7.00am so I go before OH leaves for work. There's no way I could do 40 or 50 lengths in one go - 20 of a 25m metre pool is the most I can manage. My breast stroke is fine and I'm told my front crawl looks OK but anymore than 5 lengths of that and my lungs feel fit to burst. I couldn't swim without my goggles and in the pool I go to I'm definitely in the minority as I wear a hat.

[TalkinPeace2]

Milly
Welcome
When I started my limit was 30 in total and 10 without stopping and I was SLOW
but I've built up over the years.
Time yourself for 10 lengths - and work on THAT time.
TRY to get a teeny bit out of breath and when you feel utterly puffed do two more.
The stamina builds up surpisingly fast :-)

[Sleepwhenidie]

dotty you swim 30-40 lengths-of course you are a proper swimmer!

What is your difficulty with crawl? I'm not a swimming teacher but if I can offer any ideas to help I will try...or I'm sure more knowledgeable posters will also chip in. For what it's worth I think that people who struggle with crawl usually haven't mastered the breathing - I think it is common to hold breath, which leads to getting out of puff, but you should be breathing continuously, if your face is in the water breathe a steady stream of bubbles the whole time - try practising holding the edge of the pool. Take a breath, head in and calmly blow bubbles out for a count of 3 beats (strokes) then turn (not a big lift) your head to the side, out of the water and take a good, but not huge, breath in, repeat. Concentrate on getting this steady and calm whilst swimming, rather than going flat out pace.

[dotty2]

SleepwhenIdie - thank you for that!

Umm, well my first problem with crawl is that I move my arms and legs but just don't seem to get any momentum. I'm slower when I do arms and legs than when I just do legs only with a float, so I must be doing something wrong. It also makes me feel anxious and panicky which might be that I haven't sorted the breathing properly. I try to breathe with every right arm stroke, but I know some people recommend breathing on 3. I have no problem breathing out in the water when I do breast stroke, so I think it's about confidence. I'm also a bit confused about how to move your arm through the water. Little finger up or down? Elbow out or close to the body? I'd love to be able to do it, so any tips would be great. Thank you.

[TalkinPeace2]

www.swimsmooth.com/

[dotty2]

Talkinpeace - thanks. I like it. In fact am finding it very calming and could sit and watch Mr Smooth for the rest of the morning (bit busy/stressed out just now). He's got his hands flat! What's all this 'pinky up' nonsense, then? (A tip I found on LiveStrong.)

[BsshBossh]

Hello, dipping my toe in this thread as I have a stone to lose and want to take up swimming again after a 20+ year absence. Have any of you actually lost weight swimming. I found with running that, with a healthy diet, I lost loads of weight but with the wet weather I want to shift the final stone via swimming as I used to love it.