Length after Length - Swimming Forums: The Online Community for Swimmers and Swim Forums

zamy · 03-01-2009, 01:34 AM

Hello, I can swim freestyle but I have a problem swimming lengths. I learnt to swim at a young age and recall swimming lengths in a pool non stop when i was 14. I am now 35 but whenever I go to the swimming pool I can only swim one length then I stop for a minute to a few minutes then I swim another length. I dont think it is down to my fitness as I am fit enough to swim lengths non stop. Whenever I go to my local full sized pool I see people of all ages and sizes, some extremely overweight swimming lengths freestyle non stop. I want to know how I can do this myself. I have tried to build up slowly and i can at times do two lenghts but i am out of breath by the time i have done that and take a longer recovery time. I seriously feel this is down to my breathing skills rather than fitness. I swim fast but have tried to slow my strokes level down and still no joy. I usually do two strokes then breath to my right, I cannot breath to my left. I just dont know how to get my lengths up, and it is very frustrating as i love swiming am am technically good i terms of my head movement and strokes, I see others doing lengths and in a way I am now not swimming as often as I would like to.
Any tips on how I can get my lengths uop would be much appreciated.
Ray

Typhoons Coach · 03-02-2009, 12:04 AM

Hi Ray, are you exhaling while you are pulling or are you holding your breath as you are pulling?

zamy · 03-13-2009, 08:26 PM

Hi, what do you mean pulling? I think yor right though as I am sure my breathing is not right and I am doing that wrong as I am out of breath quickly. I dont know what pulling means though.

Typhoons Coach · 03-19-2009, 02:56 PM

Pulling the water....four phases of a stroke; pull, recovery, entry, catch

tilmar · 10-11-2009, 06:00 PM

Hi Ray same problem as you got the total immersion dvd and slowed down wow the benefits of swimming more than 25m effortlessly. Also stretch your lead hand and roll our head up to the side. Good swimming
Martin

Uber Dude · 01-31-2010, 11:13 AM

Yeah, sounds like a common problem, but getting a basic swim technique displayed like Total immersion will help. I only breathe on one side too, you need to find a rhythm with the breathing, rolling to one side after breathing out under water and pulling with the opposite side. Just practice!

texasaggies · 02-02-2010, 06:21 PM

While total immersion is no longer viewed favorably in the competitive swimming community, it's certainly a great way to get your feet wet, so to speak.

There are many, many, many very fit athletes who get in a pool and all of a sudden find themselves not so fit. My father ran marathons, and couldn't finish a lap swimming, even with proper breathing technique. It's an entirely different set of muscles, and entirely different method of efficiency, and the lack of efficiency in the stroke, or being used to using those specific muscles, that eats up your oxygen.

A few tips on your breathing:
1) Don't breathe to the side and forward, breathe to the side and backwards. You should act like you're putting your chin on your shoulder.
2) Breathing is much easier when you get solid rotation in your shoulders and hips. Rotation is the concept of rolling from side to side with your stroke, and never swimming flat on your stomach.
3) Relax, and don't over-think it. Pick someone at the pool who looks to be a good breather, see what they're doing, and just relax and emulate it. Your technique might not be perfect right away, but in the absence of a coach, it's a good way to get started, and then as you become more comfortable, you can watch videos on youtube to get a better idea for precise technique.

Typhoons Coach · 02-02-2010, 10:45 PM

I like Tex's second and third point (mostly the third point), but make sure you don't over-rotate to get that breath down! That is a huge mistake among beginning swimmers!

BeachBum25 · 02-20-2010, 07:35 PM

Typhoons Coach... doesn't the rotation create float? I'm somewhat new also and I want to know how much is "too much" rotation? Hips not beyond perpendicular to pool bottom? (or step rotating before that even?)

texasaggies · 02-22-2010, 06:28 PM

Well, there's an easy way to show you ideal rotation, watch good swimmers on youtube! Hips should NEVER get to perpendicular to the bottom, although for beginning swimmers, this sometimes helps them get more comfortable in their breathing motion. To make things really simple, your rotation should be roughly halfway between parallel and perpindicular, if that makes sense.

And remember, we teach shoulder rotation for stroke length, body position, etc, but the HIP rotation is what really generates a lot of power in your stroke.