I'm taking swim lessons

I know you can, I know you can.... All it takes is a little technique. They say 90% technique, 10% strength

Good on you for taking lessons. It might be a little too soon, but I'd also recommend buying total immersion, so you start thinking "right" and looking for the right feel in the water.

You are definitely not a lost cause. Keep at it and you will improve.

Me? I can't run without getting out of breath, but can swim untilk the cows come home (if they could swim). so you work on the swimming, I'll work on the running, we'll probably finish together

Chris

Edited by ChrisM 2004-11-12 7:48 PM

You're going to do fine. I know it's easy to say/write, but you need to relax. At the start of your sessions (alone and coached) try holding onto the pool edge, extending, then practice breathing out with your face in the water and turning to breathe in. When you breathe in - DON'T try to take multiple breaths - just breathe in, roll to the water, exhale and repeat.

Often times new swimmers will try and take multiple breaths when their face is exposed and they get to a point where they're almost hyperventilating.

Swim breakthrough's often come "overnight". Keep at it, and ......... relax.

scott

I agree with what's been contributed so far. Just relax, and focus on that day's push.

I will start swimming lessons in January. Will know exactly what you're talking about then.

Good luck!

Well good for you for taking lessons!  If you think you aren't getting anything out of the instructor by the end of lesson 3, then maybe look for a new one.  But, it's true that technique in swimming is everything.  You can do it!

I had my second lesson this morning. It was a different teacher - a teenage girl. And another student joined us. I felt like I got more out of this class, but I think your advice on slowing down was the key. My 7.5 yr old daughter came with me, but forgot her bathing suit, so she walked alongside the pool and counted my strokes. This was sort of "busy" task to keep her entertained. I am about 25 strokes per 25 yard pool. I kept trying to slow down and got it down to 21 a few times. I felt much better. Every once in a while, I really screw up the breathing and breath in under water and spit it out above water. Then I tense right up and my stroke reverts to 25 per pool length.

So much to think about!

Look over my comments to teh other swim lessons post. Yes, swimming is a lot to think about when you're not used to it, but it's impossible to learn to kick, breath and stroke at teh same time. I would strongly advise to you as I did to Yoshiko (sp?) to buy a total immersion video or DVD and use those drills in conjunction with your lessons. Some of your comments sound as though your are tryign to do too many skills at once.

Breathing can be very difficulty to master, even for experience swimmers. there is a tendency to lifet the chin up out of the water to get air. when you lift your head up, the restof your body sinks, then you spend the next several strokes trying to get on top of the water, then it's time to breat again. A proper breath should be an effortless extention of the body's roll to the left or right. Your head should pivot with yoru body roll, rather than your head swiveling on its own. That means that practicing breathing with a kickboard is probably limiting your skill because your body is forcedto lie flat when holding on to a kickboard. Try this next time you are at teh side of the pool. With one arm out in front holding onto the edge (preferably an edge that is at water level and not above water level), take the other arm and pull it down in front of you undert he water. As yoru hand gets down near your hips, roll your entire body as a unit all the way on to your side so that your hand finishes down by your thigh and leave it there for a moment. Your head should be turning with yrou body and your body in a straight line, not twisted. Still holding on to the wall, continue rolling all the way over until your your chin clears teh water surface and you can take a breath. You should be able to find a "sweet spot" where you can float in this position in the water, on your side or back with one hand at your hip and the other extended all the way in the front. this is an exageration and with time you can integrate the feeling into your swim stroke.

Make sense? I hope so. But at teh risk of sounding liek a broken record, buy the TI video, buy the TI video!

I couldn't swim (and I mean even dog paddle was Beyond me!) until I took adult lessons at 28 years old, and now, a few years on I can't wait to get in the water. I'll never be as natural as those who learnt as children but the important thing is to be in the game, right! I swim with friends who are nowhere as physically (aerobically) fit as I am yet they kick my ass in the pool (to my great frustration), so I can attest to the adage - "90% technique, 10% fitness". Hang in there, it DOES get better!

I took swim lessons from a few different coaches and each of them had a different approach. Before lessons, I could "swim ugly" for about 50 meters. After the lessons, I had a prettier stoke....for about 50 meters. Then I'd get breathless just like before.

I bought the TI book and practiced some, then the TI DVD. They were helpful, but it wasn't until I went to a TI professional coach that I really came to understand what I needed to do. There are little nuances that my TI coach picks up in my drills that make a HUGE difference, and I would never have caught them myself just by reading or watching. It's the immediate feedback from the TI coach that is the key. I could drill in the pool, and then go home and watch the DVD multiple times, but I wouldn't know what to fix. The weekend course is a bit expensive, but ultimately it's well worth it. A year's swim lessons would cost exponetially more, and not do as well to help you swim with the efficiency you need for triathlons. Good Luck!