Swimming tips for new (adult) lap swimmer

[Anonymous]

I took swimming lessons several decades ago as a child. I've decided to try swimming for exercise this summer, but am realizing that not only am I incredibly slow, my breast stroke probably resembles the doggy paddle more than anything at this point, and I prefer swimming on my back for some reason. I'm not really interested in taking lessons (I work full time), but just want to figure out how to make the most of about 20-30 minutes of laps.

I'm a little overweight and usually do 30-40 minutes of fast walking outside or on the treadmill daily, but swimming is much more taxing I'm finding, especially the crawl.

Any advice about the best approach to improving my swimming is appreciated.

[Anonymous]

I hear you! I did take a swimming class, which helped my form a lot. I also found a bunch of swimming drills online. Google "swimming drills for beginners" and you'll find lots of ideas for working on your form.

One thing I have seen since I've been swimming laps is that swimmers are all doing their own thing and nobody cares. It's such a great workout and feels amazing. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I would check out some youtube videos. they are great for stuff like this and can show you the proper arm movements and tips.

[Anonymous]

A couple of things that worked for me are to use swim fins and to work on my freestyle technique. Regarding improving my technique, I was trying to swim too fast and I had to figure out a minimum speed that would keep me from sinking. Also, don't feel that you only have to do only freestyle - start doing freestyle and roll over swim on your back when you are tired, and go back to free style when you get your breath back.

[Anonymous]

Buy an excellent pair of goggles. I found that once I had those, I could actually breathe properly while doing my strokes. I was also overweight and started out by using a flutter board and just using my legs (while practicing proper breathing technique). Gradually I added arms doing the freestyle -- all while maintaining the breathing. Breathing is the key. If you can't relax and breathe properly -- you won't be able to swim long enough to get the exercise you need. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

It's also fine to use a snorkel if you don't want to have to worry about the breathing. It's usually a good idea to pick one thing that you're going to focus on & get supports for the others. You might want to work on getting your kick down initially, in which case you might want to use a kick board or fins. Think about what you're doing in the water, how your body is positioned, how your arms are rotating, are you pulling equally with both, etc. Speed is unimportant. As you improve your technique your speed will improve, and once you have your technique you can work in specifically increasing your speed. When you first start swimming, just building up the endurance is a big part of it.

[Anonymous]

Not the OP, but any recommendations on basically a beginner class for adults? I can swim in the sense of not drowning, but would love to actually know different strokes and be able to do laps.

[Anonymous]

This website gives an example of how to break down swimming workouts similar to how the 'couch to 5k' plans approach running:
http://ruthkazez.com/swimming/ZeroTo1mile.html

I tend to agree with her that assuming you're in the 'know how to not drown' category, you're best off just trying to swim for a while. A LOT of the technique issues improve on their own and instruction will be a lot more beneficial with better swim/fitness base.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the useful tips and encouragement. The link above is very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Do not be afraid to rest. I am a decent swimmer, but the first time I swim every summer, I have to rest a lot between laps. I also alternate between swimming and just kicking (my legs are stronger).