Learn How to Swim Training Group (Page 12)

Glad the plan is working well for you! Leg cramps are most likely just due to your pool fitness and will resolve themselves as you gain more swim fitness.
The "S" stroke is controversial. Some think it's the way to go and others will say it isn't useful for triathletes in open water. I bet your friend is a former swimmer, right?
A quick google search led me to this video.

I am a member of the Malden ymca in massachusetts.I'm thinking about the swimming classes they offer.Any suggestion would be great.I am 1 terrible swimmer.

I would recommend you take either a swim class or private lessons. It's the best way to learn to swim and start building your swim endurance on a base of good form.

Did Workout #3 from Week 1 yesterday, and it went well.  I never thought I'd be up to 800 yds so soon.  Got a serious water-log going on in one ear, can't seem to clear it, but otherwise a good swim.

Question on workouts vs rest

I joined the pool at a local college (cheap.  $40/year) but I can only swim there Sundays 1-3, Mondays 7-9 and Wednesdays 7-9.  Does it hurt to NOT have a rest day between Sunday & Monday?

If I decided to join a full-fledged gym, could I swim Monday thru Fridays?  I'm nursing a bum knee that won't heal until probably after rugby season is over, and I'm thinking a ramped up swim schedule could help me stay in shape.

Swimming is great exercise and it is totally fine to do it on back-to-back days, even 5x a week. So glad you are finding this plan helpful!

Did Work #1 for Week 2.  It's getting easier.... 

So, if I go to a 5X/week swim, I'm thinking I do the prescribed workouts (kick, pull, yada yada) on Mon, Wed & Fri, then Tues and Thursday just try to "fill in" with lap work?

So, for instance, if my workouts were totaling 800 yards, broken up into kicks and pulls, etc., on Tuesdays and Thursdays maybe I should try to do 4 x 200 with appropriate rest in between?  Just wondering....

Great! I love hearing about people's successes! Glad it's going well for you.

Sure, you could do that. If you are comfortable in the water, you can go head and start working on your endurance at a nice, controlled pace.

I was a swimmer in high school.....but that was a long time ago.  Im now 40, and want to start training for my first triathlon.  I am going to start by focusing on my swimming.

I am going to use the learn how to swim videos, and in looking at 1 of 5, it shows 4 weeks of training with 3 lessons, but does not say if those lessons should be done daily or if you train a day rest a day, say a monday, wednesday, friday type training schedule.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Amy

Welcome, Amy! You should do one workout, take a rest day, then another workout, etc. MWF would be good, or whatever days work for you. You don't HAVE to take a rest day if it wokrs better for you to swim two days in a row, but it's best to rest between. You might also want to try running on cycling on one or two days you aren't swimming, just to get a sense of what the training might feel like once you move on to a triathlon training plan.

I desperately (may or may not be a stretch) need help with swimming competitively.
I'm former Navy; qualified as First Class swimmer but now can hardly finish 4x25.

I've sign up for a Tri in August, with an indoor tri this weekend. I'm going to use my results this weekend as a baseline, in manner of speaking. I've also signed up for a 13.1 the following month on 9/11/11.

I've set quite a lofty goal for myself and am going to cross every finish line. An article in Triathlete magazine had a Brit going from a couch potato to an Ironman finisher in a year. It may have been a longer time but quite inspiring nonetheless. I've set my sight on a 70.3 in 2012 and hopefully a full ironman in 2013.

As of now, the swim is the biggest hiccup/concern in my lofty goals.

Welcome! You have ambitious goals, but every goal is reached with daily practice. Get in the pool, follow this plan, and get proficient in the water. Once it's time to train for your August race, you will be able to easily follow a regular training plan.

Since leaving the Navy I've found reason after reason to skip the gym. Since setting my mind on my current goals I've not had a reason to skip the gym. I've found reason to put of the exercises til the next day but I've not skipped out on my schedule.

What would be an appropriate amount to time to start training for the august tri? I thought now would be as good as time as any to start training for august (4+ months away)

Here is the problem with training: burnout. There is a reason why most training plans are 4-5 months long at the most: people have trouble staying focused and dialed in for longer than that. Following a training plan takes commitment, and taking a break from structured training takes commitment, too. Since you are new to the sport, it may take you longer to experience the burnout of following a plan day in and day out, but be aware that it occurs.
So, you should start your training plan 16-20 weeks before your race (depending on which plan you use). In the meantime, you can continue to use this Learn To Swim Program as well as trying to get in 2 runs and 2 bikes a week. You could loosely follow one of the Sprint training plans for the bike and run workouts just to help you build endurance, but don't feel you have to follow it very strictly. Use it as guidance to get ready for the strict training that will start 16 weeks before the race.

Hey all! 

This is sooooo where i belong. I need some help with my swim leg something fierce. I am brand new to the triathlons but am excited about my first one on july 16th. I have been training since january on my new bike and running a couple races beforehand to make sure i can run. I am taking a swim course at school that has already made HUGE improvements from dog paddling to a terrible front crawl. 

Here is my question: I know without video or seeing me swim this might be hard. My professor says I have good glide and decent rotation but I am still consistantly drinking water. How can this be? Any ideas?

thanks in advance,

Joel 

From what I can remember "back in the day" our first swimmer instructors kept pounding on us to keep good rotation when taking a breath; rotate the body and rotate the head to the point that our heads would be [almost] facing up. To put a finer point on it; about 75-80*; almost like sidestroking. Then again, they were teaching us for rescue swimming rather than speed.

My first thought is that you may be lifting your head when you turn to breath instead of just turning your head to the side. Pay attention to that and see what happens. Also, try swimming with a pull buoy to see if the problem is related to sinking hips. The pull buoy keeps your hips high like they should be.

I must say, your program is AMAZING.  Four weeks ago I could barely do 4X25 (and I stood up at the end of each 25, gasping like a geezer).   Today I did Week 4, Workout #2, the 900 yard freestyle sets without kickboards or buoys.   At the end of 800 yards I still felt good, so instead of a 100 yard cool-down, I swam another 1000 YARDS.... non-stop.   That's 1800 yds total, almost a mile I think.

I know my form's still not good, and I probably have alot of other things to work on, but at least I know I won't be drowning in Lake Michigan on August 28th.  My wife was worried.  

I'm no expert (in fact a beginner) but I think the key is to find your breathing pattern.  You're not really "out of breath" but you're not getting the breath you need, when you need it.  I struggled when I tried to inhale every 3rd  stroke, but when I cut back and took a breath every other stroke, I felt fine.

Now, I feel swimming like I used to when running long distances.  I never really get "winded", but my muscles get tired.

Also, for me, the first 400 yards is awful.  But once I warm up, I feel like I can swim forever.  But the first 10-15 lengths sucks.

Welcome! You are not alone. Swimming troubles are very common for first time triathletes. I would recommend you do everything you can to get in the pool 3x a week for the next 6 weeks. If you follow this plan, you WILL get better very quickly. Are you currently following the Lear to Swim Plan? If not, start today. If you were doing a 500 as fast as you could, no wonder you had trouble! The biggest problem for most new swimmers is trying to go too fast because you haven't learned to slow down, relax, and not let your hips sink.

So, it gets better and better.

Last week I swam six times for a total of 7100 yards (about 4 miles I think).  I had to travel for work this week and missed Sunday thru Wednesday, but I went back to the pool this morning at 4:00am, and I still remembered how to swim.    Did 1800 yards (the Week 5, #1 workout, with an additional 900 yards at the end).   I'll swim tomorrow again, then I have to referee some rugby on Saturday, and Sunday I hope to test out my bad knee by running outside for 3-4 miles....

Don't know if I'm training for a Tri yet or if I just like the variety of the tri training.  Regardless, I gotta learn to swim.  Just finished Week #1.  Tough week but I think I'm more comfortable today than I was a week ago.  I'm finding the kickboard and especially the pull buoy awkward.  My breathing is still horrible but I did finish the week bilateral (every third stroke) and that was something I've never been able to conquer.

Here's to small victories!  I'm gonna give the full 6 weeks a fair shot.

-Bryan