swimming for fitness

[HoppityFrogs]

I've started swimming to get fit, does anybody else swim for fit? Can we encourage each other?

Are you kidding about not doing bilateral breathing?! I was so proud I had taught myself!

I can easily not breathe for 6 or 8 strokes - the running helps with that I think.

I only realised I could breathe out under water when I was in my 40s...quite the epiphany.

I have a quiet day today so think I will swim at the end of the lane session swim (always quieter towards the end of session).

Might do my long run as well. looks out of window at sleet and questions sanity

best rotation helps enormously with the head turning not lifting

When you're breathing out, have the face down and imagine the tip of your head has a laser on top and you have to have that lined up with the end of the pool.

Relax your neck entirely so that the water holds your head.

You can practice doing a few push and glides to see how relaxed head/neck feels. It helps a lot.

On the crawl stroke Keep the hands in line with your shoulders when entering the water, extend the hand and arm and reach and open the shoulder muscle to make that reach stretch. That automatically helps you rotate.

Keep your head still, relaxed and down in the swim stroke, then when the breathe stroke comes your head is allowed to turn with your shoulder and that puts your mouth pretty much in a bow wave space to breathe in.

The other way to work on breathing is to take a float with one arm keep your ear on the arm and just turn the head to the side, eye line no higher than the lane rope. It's dull, but it commits it to muscle memory and that's what you're aiming for.

Bilateral breathing helps us not to hold our breath so much and helps us use oxygen and not allow carbon dioxide to build up.

It also balances neck muscles, I can't thing why the asa would suggest anything different tbh.

Précis: breathing is one of the hardest parts about swimming, but it does get better with determination and practice.

think asa just like messing about. they also suggest not doing keyhole for butterfly.
i had a row with them last year because they say lessons should be all year round. Our lessons were awful in school holidays because of the noise and too many children in half the pool throwing stuff into lane etc. Thankfully they changed our lessons back to term time. There is hardly anytime for kids to swim as it is because of lessons. No point teaching them to swim if they dont get to use the pool for fun.
my kids wanted to go after school sometimes and could never do it because of lessond

So much to remember! I should concentrate on improving my style rather than my speed. I'm desperately trying to achieve 1000m in 30 minutes but managed be that's the wrong approach.

My new mantra

I swim 1000m in 29mins, but this is because of the technique tweaks, couldn't have done it before

You will get there, but it's the tiniest of adjustments that make the biggest changes. You're so close to the 1000 in 30, keep going!!!

The other thing that's said often on the Facebook zero to 1650 group is "slow down to go faster"

I'll have a look for the Facebook group.

Can I join?

Have an Olympics pool near where I live and left job last week but hoping to find a job near a pool.

I love swimming and my stroke is good it's just my breathing underwater etc isn't. What can I do? Do I need lessons? I can quite easily swim 10 lengths back/back no kicking, crawl and about 2 or so breast. I'd love to do proper swimming in lanes and not have to hold my head up, can sort of turn head and put in water and breathe but not practised at it at all!

Best it's called Zeroto1mile

See you there!

*Super Welcome! Lessons would definitely be the way forward to get your face in the water and get you swimming further and more efficiently

I went to the zero to one mile site today and read up on the programme. I reckoned I was at week three and decided I would try to do the week four set.

I got into the pool, took a ten breath break at 600m and swam on and on to 1600 m! I have never ever swum so far nor so smoothly, I could have kept going but the lane swim ended and families started to get in.

So I have now swum my first mile, in crawl and I am so chuffed!

Woo hoo flamingnora! Well done!!

Thanks hissy

1K done at ladies night even though I am no lady

Get home 10.15 and DS2 (7) is still awake and reading, waiting for me to come home. Sigh...I shouldn't feel guilty for taking 1hr at 9.15pm to myself, should I!

Darn those children waiting up for post swim mothering.

Yeah I know! Then he was all grumpy cos my wet hair was getting on his kindle!
He's asleep now (to the dulcet tones of classic FM).

My tummy was off again today so couldn't go today, will go on weds and Thursday, then Saturday again. Need to catch up the metres again..

I have increased every month since July, it's going to get harder to improve on this at some point without getting up early

I went yesterday and concentrated on style rather than distance. You were right Hissy I was holding my head up so I tried to make sure I was looking at the floor and tucking my chin in and relaxing my neck. Also did 10 lengths kicking only. Hope to go today to do the same. Pool was very busy though. It's a hotel pool with lots of people who just want a splash. Tends to be worse Monday and Friday. They mostly go in the jacuzzi though. Lots of walkers too.

Just noticed I've worn out another swim suit crappy piece of Sports Direct shit

Welcome SuperFlyHigh.

Two incidents in our pool this morning! First a woman was booted out of the fast lane by one of the men! I didn't see too much of what happened as I was swimming but I saw him bump into her and say something about it being the fast lane and the next thing she was coming under the rope into my lane. Thought that was quite bold / rude. But then I had someone very slow in my lane. At one point I waited to give her a half length lead and still caught up with her (and bashed into her as I was doing backstroke). I ended up stopping and putting my feet down mid length quite a few times (she always would let others get past her at the ends of lengths and apologised, saying she was too fast for the slow lane but too slow for the medium lane). Just as I got out I saw a lifeguard finally go to the deep end and wait to talk to her. Of course I think it is great that she is swimming but she really shouldn't be in the medium lane. Maybe he recommended she try the free lane where you can just go up and down by yourself? I hope she isn't put off but I did find it very frustrating having my lengths interrupted!

Blimey if there's a free kane where you can be by yourself I'm coming over your way Singing. Still lurgy-ridden here so dragging myself off to the gym as the achey shoulder has kicked off. Yawn.

Free lane obvs.

singing I would happily speak to someone if I thought they were in the wrong lane. I'd do so politely, unless they seemed like an arrogant tosser!

I'd like to think (that as a newbie myself) that if I got the lane etiquette wrong someone would have a kind word with me.

Maybe it would be useful for pools to put up the rules actually.

I've just found this forum and would love your advice/reassurance.

Have signed up for a 'swim a mile' challenge in March. I can swim (used to be in college waterpolo team) - but i struggle with my endurance big time. I've joined up with a masters swim coaching group twice a week for an hour each, we are covering between 1500 and 1650m per session. I'm on my 3rd week in.

I struggle big time with the FC. I've strong arms, a reasonably good technique (only some small tweaks offered by the coach) - can do bilateral breathing, usually on the 3rd stroke. But I find even doing 4*100 front crawl, I'm DYING by the 3rd set and it's a real struggle. I don't even think it's my arms/legs but I just feel like I can't get enough air in. I'm breathing out as fully as I can before rotating to breath in, but by length 4 of a set, I'm breathing every 2 strokes trying to get enough O2. I'm hitting 2.10 for 100m on average but really struggle to keep up that pace after the 2nd set or 3rd set of 100 and start slowing down.

Is this normal when starting out again? I have noticed a bit of an improvement from the 1st week, but where should I be going from here? My goal is to do the mile more or less non stop but I feel that is completely un-achievable at the moment!

Thanks :)