Questions about swimming

[Hemlocked]

I have a public swimming pool about 5 mins easy cycle ride away and I'm thinking that I might start going to improve my fitness. I'm not a strong swimmer. I can only do breast stroke and my technique is terrible, I don't know what I'm doing. My legs just flap about, etc. All my prior experience of 'swimming' is just messing about treading water in hotel swimming pools.

I've never done 'lane swimming' before. Can someone describe how it works?
-Do you have your own marked lane or will I have to share a lane with someone?
-If the latter, how do I make sure I don't get in their way?
-How are the lanes marked? Will it be obvious? -If my technique is terrible, will people notice?
-Do I need to wear a swimming hat and goggles or can I just tie my hair up?
-Is there any other etiquette I need to be aware of?
-What time of the day /day of the week is generally quietest?

Thank you.

Lanes- there will likely be a slow lane, medium lane and fast lane. You share the lane with everyone in that lane which is why you swim in the lane of the right speed. Sometimes there are two fast lanes depending on the size of the pool. You swim up on side of the lane and down the other and you won’t be in their way unless you stop in the middle of the pool. They are usually clearly marked by signs in the pool side and divided by floats.

In my experience, swimming hats are for professional swimmers, just tie your hair up. Goggles may help but I don’t like the way they feel. Certainly not needed but you can get some if you think they will help you.

Does your pool offer lessons for adults to help you get your confidence up? No one will notice or care about your technique, they are usually focused on their own swimming.

Generally, you’ll need to share a lane with other people. If you’re lucky and it’s quiet you may be alone!

In many pools, lanes are marked slow, medium or fast. Before getting in, take a look at the people already in each one and see which one seems most like your speed. Then join that one. If it turns out you’re too fast for the slow lane, you can always move, or if the medium lane gets too quick, move into the slow lane, etc.

The biggest thing with swimming with others is to be aware and considerate. Swim in the direction indicated at the bottom of the lane: generally up one side, and back the other. If there are others in the lane, join with them. If someone is catching you up, then wait at the next wall and let them
pass. Similarly, if you’re catching someone, you can gently tap their feet (once only!) to let them know you’re behind them, and they should stop at the next wall to let you pass. Some pools allow overtaking, in which case you should swim in the middle of the lane until you’ve passed the person out.

Hat & goggles depends on the pool. Some require a hat, some don’t. I’d recommend goggles just because I think it makes it easier, you don’t need to worry about splashes etc.

I’ve found mid morning and mid afternoon is often quietest. There’s often a bit of a rush pre-work, at lunchtime, and then after work.

Above all, enjoy it!

Where I go the lanes are marked fast, medium and slow.

They have arrows on a board at the end which indicates which side of the lane to swim up and which side to go back.

You share the lanes with others. If someone is faster, let them pass when you get to the end of the lane.

Where I go it is quietest at the end of the day.

You don't need a hat and goggles, but once you can put your face in the water, you will want goggles.

If you can get to an adult swimming lesson, that will help.

No one will care how bad you are!

There are often half lane sessions, where only half the pool is for formal lanes. The other half is for pootling up and down and can be a bit less stressful while you're getting used to it.

I always wear a cap because it keeps my hair dry and stops the escape boots from the bobble sticking to my face. It's better for other swimmers too so the pool doesn't end up full of hair, but not many people bother so I wouldn't worry about it if you don't want to.

Goggles help because you don't need to remove makeup and it can be uncomfortable if you get water in your eyes. Decathlon do big beginner goggles that are like sunglasses. They're much more comfortable to wear than fancy training one that tend to suck your eyeballs out.

There are usually 3 double lanes roped out, with boards at the end saying "fast", "intermediate" and "slow", and arrows showing which way round to swim - eg: up
on the left , across the top, down on the right.

You take a chance on a lane and try and stay out of someone's way by waiting at the shallow end; the when they set off again, give them a few strokes head start and set off.

If you find yourself gaining on someone, try and overtake if there is room, or slow down to give them space. If this happens a few times, then bob over to a faster lane, If you find you are slowing people up, then bob into a slower lane.

If you find you are really slow, you could swim in the unroped part of the pool.,

I wear a hat to keep my hair out of my eyes, and goggles to keep the chlorine out.

The pools I know are busy before work - about 6.30am-8.30 am and quieter during the middle of the day, but check when your pool has public length swimming sessions. They are likely to to have sessions reserved for lessons, schools, Aquafit etc.

Good luck !

These are the type of boards you're likely to see, with "fast", "intermediate" and "slow".

Many pools have posters up with their etiquette or rules on.

My local pool has only 2 lanes, slow and fast. You’ll likely want slow. There will be ropes to indicate the lanes and arrows to show direction of swimming (and if there are two lanes usually one is clockwise and the other anticlockwise). Let people pass if they are catching you up. Don’t start just in front of someone. Generally you only overtake at the end of a lane when someone will pause for you to do so.

Be considerate, but remember you all paid to be there so don’t let anyone intimidate you or make you feel bad if you are slower.

Enjoy!

Hi op have a look at swimming YouTube videos. They can help with technique.

Agree with above;pools are laned off and just being considerate of others is good.

I wear a swim cap to minimise chlorine damage. If you're going a few times a week it's worth doing as your hair gets very dry. Also I now use moisturising shampoo and conditioner afterwards.

Thanks for the responses. I'm really glad I asked about the lanes. So everyone in the lane is swimming in the same direction, and presumably when I join I just need to find a gap between two swimmers and ideally be vaguely the same pace as everyone else. I'm sort of imagining a cycle/merry go round that you hop into, and then you can hop out when you're ready?

I'm curious now whether they just do all lanes or whether there is a separate section for pootling around, in case I am more likely to join that first. Will look into lessons too, thanks for that suggestion.

Yes @Hemlocked it’s a bit like a merry go round, or an aquatic snake 😅If you need a breather, simply stop at the end of the lane and be as much out of the way as you can: tuck yourself into a corner of the lane, or sit up on the pool bank - just be mindful of your legs dangling!

If there is an unroped section you could always try there first. In my local pool that tends to be where the kids are doing their splashing and divebombing, so watch out!

I agree with whoever suggested a swimming lesson or course. It will help so much with your confidence, and give you some idea of what to do when swimming solo, rather than just ploughing up and down monotonously.

My pool has times when its adults only lanes and times listed as family swim when there is a mix of lanes and a large pootling space for people walking, stretching, bobbing about with a noodle, playing with kids. You may find a slow lane is better if you don't want to navigate all that! You can take breaks at either ends of the pool, just try to stay out of the way of others who aren't stopping by moving to the corner of the lane. The speeds generally is a bit more sedate during working hours as the swimmers tend to be older, retired folks.

In my local pool the very slow lane usually has a few people milling about at the shallow end chatting. By typically everyone is there to do their lengths!

I was also a weak swimmer, I started with breast stroke and found I needed Goggles because I swim better if I put my head in the water. Watched lots of YouTube videos. Once I got fitter I started doing half a length of front crawl mixed in with the breast stroke, building up until I could do two lengths front crawl, two lengths breast stroke . It is nice to give yourself a goal to work towards like that. It took me a year to get to this stage but I really enjoyed it

My pool has lanes and a general
swim area. When I started swimming here I used the general swimming area because I wasn’t confident of my pace in any of the lanes and didn’t want to draw any attention to myself for being a buffoon 😂
so I did that for a few weeks before moving into the lanes. When there was no one else in the pool I went for the medium lane. If there were other people in i would gauge my pace against there’s and give it a go, sometimes needing to move up or down depending on what everyone else was doing.
Now I swim outside in a lake because I get pissed off in a pool with the etiquette and certain people insisting they’re faster than everyone else but really they’re just more splashy 😂 no competition at the lake, just get in and off I go!
Good luck, I discovered a love for swimming at the pool, hope you also find the same. So peaceful (although a tad chilly now).

How many lengths should a total newbie aim for on a first trip?

I use goggles, because if I don't, my eyes will be too sore to see well after an hour's swim, and I drive to the pool.

Whether you have lane markers will depend in the pool, but more have them than not these days, I think. Follow the markers, particularly for direction. If there are no markers, follow the same direction as everyone else in the lane.

If someone behind you is faster, stop at the lane end to let them past. This can happen more in busier sessions, when changing lanes might not work.

I swam at the public pool in Melbourne, and it told you how fast you should be able to swim a lane for each speed. I've never seen this in British pools, and it can vary through the day. Pre-and post-work and lunchtime sessions, fast can be quite fast, with triathletes and madters swimmers. At other times, it's calmer, and I can keep up. If not, I go for medium. I quite often start and finish in the slow lane to warm-up/down. On really good days, I can have a lane to myself. (This tends not to happen in January, but New Year Resolution types will start dropping off now.)

I echo the thought of booking one or two lessons to help your technique and confidence. (When I was a teacher, I much preferred teaching adults to children, as they were usually more motivated and paid attention.)

@EBearhug The lane markers at my pool guide swimmers, below 30 secs - fast, 30-60 secs- moderate, above 60 seconds slow in a 25 metre pool. But most people judge for themselves. On the flip side, December is usually nice and quiet. A lane to myself all session is a rare occurrence.

Get lessons.

hats are definitely not for “professional” swimmers! What makes one a professional swimmer anyway? The vast majority of swimmers aren’t paid for it!

hats are very practical. They’ll keep your hair out the way, especially as your bobble or hair tie will come loose so if you have anything other than very short hair it will be everywhere, especially when you breathe.

hats also stop your hair getting tangled in your goggle elastic. .

i’d invest in a float/pullboy so you can change things up and practice kicking etc.

but definitely if your technique is that weak, invest in lessons.

Thanks everyone for the brilliant replies. I'm really looking forward to giving it a go!

I booked a one-to-one swimming improvement lesson and it was an absolute game-changer! Definitely worth it if there’s similar in your area.

If you've not been for a while I wouldn't focus on swimming lengths on your first visit. I would get into the open area and do some floating and holding on to the side kicking your legs etc. If you are comfortable with that swim a length and see how you get on. Then maybe another. Just play and enjoy. You might find you are fine and go onto to swim lengths but I was taken by surprise on my first visit and found it harder than I'd thought.

I remember starting a thread about starting swimming a couple of years ago and recall so clearly that I was aiming for 16 lengths - 400m.
i paused for a breather after 10 and then did the remaining 6 and kept that up for a few weeks before increasing my distance and removing the breathers. It was really satisfying to see my speed increase using my watch as a tracker. I’m still not ‘fast’ as in under 30 seconds per length but as a head above water breast stroker I was really happy to leave my indoor swimming lengths on about 42 seconds.
So I do recommend having some kind of target in mind and sticking with it!

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea. I just need to go and find out what the set up is at my local pool. I'd prefer to swim in the open area assuming there is one, until I build my confidence.

This won't matter as you start out, but once you've built up to swimming lengths, check the pool length, too. Most public pools are 25m, but the one I swim in most often is 20m, and I've also swum in 50m pools. I've done widths in a 50m pool, which was something random like 23m. Anyway, if you're used to swimming a particular length, it can feel surprisingly hard work to do longer ones. 50m shouldn't feel much harder than 2x25m, but it really does...

A friend who is a fairly new learner does about 14 lengths.

Top tips from me:

If you want to protect your hair wet it before you put your hat on. Use a swim shampoo afterwards.

Wear flip flops in and around the pool.

Relax. Try and enjoy it. Don't put too much pressure on the first time.

Deffo get goggles. Makes huge difference.

I would recommend some coaching. Breaststroke can be uncomfortable if you're not careful. Front crawl is a much easier stroke and fitness wise, will probably benefit you more as you can sustain it longer. A bit of coaching will have you doing it on no time and give you some swimmy confidence.

Most pools have women only sessions, so check to see if your pool does. Generally, they tend to be more civilised. Most of all have fun and enjoy it.