Beginning my swimming again....

[JGrez]

I am looking forward to swimming competitively this winter for my school swim team and am happy in the water. I am a pool lifeguard at my local health club ,but I have not swam much in maybe one year. The past week i have started my training in hope to make the team. What I noticed during swimming was the following:

1. During my forward crawl It is hard for me to get in the appropriate amount of air. Basically I rotate for a breath and in a couple seconds I need one again. Is that normal at the early stages of training?

2. My stamina in the pool is poor while swimming laps and the more laps I swim without a break the harder it is to take in enough air.(not asthma)
(I run and am happy with my endurance on land , but in the water it is alot harder)

Basically my problem is with freestyle and endurance. I am guessing this is just part of getting fit in the pool again. If anyone has any tips they are greatly appreciated.

-John

[Q.]

Originally Posted by JGrez

1. During my forward crawl It is hard for me to get in the appropriate amount of air. Basically I rotate for a breath and in a couple seconds I need one again. Is that normal at the early stages of training?

HA! That's normal for all land animals! It's also common for swimmers like myself who've been doing it for years. Recently, I started swimming with a snorkel hanging out one side of my mouth so I can push my pace and endurance without having to worry about breathing. I think it has really helped but, obviously, I will have to adjust to swimming without it so I do a lap w/o about every four.

Originally Posted by JGrez

2. My stamina in the pool is poor while swimming laps and the more laps I swim without a break the harder it is to take in enough air.(not asthma)
(I run and am happy with my endurance on land , but in the water it is alot harder)

Yes, it is a lot harder in the water! That "need to breath" thing gets in the way a LOT! That's just the way it is! No way around it except through practice.

I really like the Total Immersion forum and have bought some of their stuff, like the TI book. If you look around here a bit more, you'll find that many others do, too.

[ODB]

If you're having a hard time catching a breath you are probably spending more time not drowning than swimming. Take it easy, nice easy strokes at first. Get your technique right first and then worry about moving faster. I've witnessed many people just start thrashing around, beating at the water. I have a hint, water always wins.

Long slow strokes works. As you master that you can then start moving faster.

[Q.]

WELCOME BACK ODB!!! Where ya been??? Still in the parks biz?

[ODB]

I've been around. I'm in the cycling thread some. Yeah, I still get paid to play in the parks. They keep me pretty busy so I've slowed down on the posting in here and totally stay away from the OT. Just started swimming again so I thought I'd watch this board some more.

[Q.]

Welcome back! Yeah, I stay away from the dangerous areas myself but sometimes it finds you anyway. SWIMMING is still pretty safe!

[Catherine]

Hey JGrez

I've actually taught swimming and coached a high school team for a few years. If you are a lifeguard then you must have some decent skills in he water, but it sounds like your endurance is lacking. Put some time in doing some distance swims. At least 500 m to start. Remember to breath often when doing endurance (every 2nd to every 3rd stroke = bilateral). When you start to pick up speed for sprints then you can breath fewer times because you'll only be going for a short time (hopefully less than 1:00 for 50 m!!) and your body can catch up on the O2 deficit once your done.

[JGrez]

You are right it was my endurance. Instead of working on time I just swam lap after lap and now I can swim alot more very comfortably. Just goes to show the only way to train your endurance for swimming is to....swim.

[suzzan]

Ya may be it is like so but it can be ur psycological problem also,and have u ever felt like this before,i mean a year ago as u are saying when u use to swim??