learn to swim better

Summary: 10 classes, 8 attended.
I paid £32 for 10 lessons so what’s that in dollars..mmm…say around $55. And for that I got an hour in a 33 metre pool every Thursday with only 20 other students and two tutors who split their time across the students.

I am now a better swimmer than I was before and have learnt proper swimming techniques instead of flapping about trying to reach the other end. I still have lots to work upon but this has given me an idea of where my weak points are.

I think in order, my back crawl has improved the most, followed by my breaststroke then lastly my front crawl.

So, if you’re reading this and you also have it as a goal. I strongly recommend you spend roughly the price of buying a sandwich on swimming lessons. It will be one of the best investments you ever made.

Well I missed class 7 so can only report on class 8. My back crawl is coming along much more nicely. I’m happier with my rhythm and much more comfortable doing the windmill action than I was before.

I asked for some advice about my front crawl and once again I am doing quite a bit wrong. Here are my cardinal sins.

1. I breath on every 4th stroke. I should be breathing on every 3.
2. I’m not rotating my shoulders enough.
3. I need to have my elbow bent as it comes out the water and straight as it hits the water. I am finding this the hardest bit to get right.

Basically with this stroke, I have to unlearn what I have been comfortable doing over 5 years and relearn another way of doing the same thing.

Until next time.

I decided to focus on another stroke and since lesson 4.
I am one of those backcrawlers that starts on one side of the pool and ends up in the diagonally opposite corner!

Its pathetic.
So I decided it could do with some assistance. Over the last 2 weeks I have been correcting the following errors:

1. My head position – I should NOT be staring straight up at ceiling
2. I kick too low in the water – My feet need to kick just below the surface not 1 metre down.
3. My arms – Am not doing a windmill action. Pausing too long between alternating arms.

Just focussing on my head and kick provided some really good results. I find it difficult to coordinate my arms although by lesson 6 I felt I was beginning to feel how it SHOULD be.

I’m so glad I took this course! Only 4 to go.

Still focussing on my breaststroke. I was told that by my tutor that the breastroke is 60% in the legs and 40% in the arms. Apparently I am not using my arms to their best potential. Today I went swimming away from the lesson and tried doing my usual 30 lengths and boy was I knackered. Just wasn’t concentrating and was feeling really lousy in the pool. I think my state of mind could be better too. Went out drinking on Friday night, and its taking me at least 48 hours to recover. My running is starting to suffer too. I’ve got to stop the decline in form!! – This is not good.

We have 2 tutors and about 40 students split between improvers like me and complete beginners. Its so impressive to see the excitement that the beginners are getting and the confidence. Its brilliant. I want to improve my breaststroke and I was told that it is quite good already. In these first 2 lessons I have been told that I am swinging out too wide with my arms on the initial pull. This is causing resistance and slowing me down. So I have been focussing on that. I cant notice any huge difference in speed, but it must be more efficient or something because I’m less tired after 30 lengths or 600 metres. I love swimming!

Am taking the plunge so to speak ;)
Have been swimming regularly, at least twice a week for 5 years now without taking any lessons. I do love swimming. Feel so great every time I come out of the pool. Would feel even better if I knew how to make it from one end to the other with a bit less effort, be a bit more fluid. (I’m full of puns today).

There was a book I read once called “The Art of Swimming” It focussed on something called the Alexander technique (I think it was called that) and it taught you that the best way to swim is to relax in the water and not fight it. To this day, that’s the best advice anyone has ever given me on the subject.

So I’m definitely going to get better and I’m hoping this 10 week course goes swimmingly (sorry).