I've recently been trying to teach myself swimming. I've managed to get myself up to 4 lengths of a 25 meter swimming pool before my body gives up and i start to sink to the bottom. By 4 i mean that i do a length, throw my goggles off and pant for a bit, then do another, pant for a longer period, then another length before i think about giving up for 5 minutes...then a final race against my body as i gasp for air. This final lap has more the looks of a drowning man fighting for his life, and if the pool wasn't 4 feet deep it would probably be close to the mark.
I can't do the breast stroke (tee hee hee), only managing 15 meters max when i try. Are there any swimmers out there that can give a guy a few tips?
My plan is to keep plugging away until i can do 10 lengths in a session, then going to find some one to one lessons. Is this a bad (if cheaper) idea?
Originally posted by huckleberryhoundat the same time yer learning to swim, a wonderful thing for you and yours, learn to float...
I've recently been trying to teach myself swimming. I've managed to get myself up to 4 lengths of a 25 meter swimming pool before my body gives up and i start to sink to the bottom. By 4 i mean that i do a length, throw my goggles off and pant for a bit, then do another, pant for a longer period, then another length before i think about giving up fo ...[text shortened]... ngths in a session, then going to find some one to one lessons. Is this a bad (if cheaper) idea?
lay on yer back in shallow water, let yer heels touch to pool bottom, and just breathe normally...
at first, you may need to inhale much more oxygen than usual, until you can feel yer body buoyancy normalizing...
do this for as long as you need to learn how much air you need to keep afloat, and yer swimming strokes will be more natural...
-Removed-At 8 or 9 i was taken to swimming lessons where a little fecal matter of a man thought the best way to teach me to tread water was to use a big pole with a hook on the end to stop me trying to get to the pool edge.
I've been on sun holidays for the past couple of years (Don't know why i never did it sooner. The club 18-30/ibiza image never appealed, i guess) Now i'm hooked, and a small flat in Albufeira with a communal pool seems like a nice retirement plan. Not the reason i want to learn to swim, but it sure makes for a lovely day dream while i practice 🙂
practice floating, both on your back and on your stomach. Staying above water is the goal, and you'll be surprised how just learning to float will lead to swimming. Find a way that's comfortable for you. If you can float with little to no movement, you're doing great.
One way to float (other than on your back or facing down) is straight up with your head above water. To do this, try moving your arms (outstretched about halfway) from your sides to in front of you and back again. Make sure:
1) Your palms are palms are open (this creates more surface tension)
2) That you are kicking somewhat (left leg back while right leg moves forward, and vice-versa)
3) That you're relaxed when you do it.
If you get good enough, you'll find that kicking requires minimal, if any effort. Hope that helps.
Originally posted by rookie54The pool i use is 4 feet deep from end to end. Because of this, it seems to be an exercise tool for people as they walk up and down it in some kind of Octogenarian urine spreading ritual. Is 4 feet "Shallow"?
at the same time yer learning to swim, a wonderful thing for you and yours, learn to float...
lay on yer back in shallow water, let yer heels touch to pool bottom, and just breathe normally...
at first, you may need to inhale much more oxygen than usual, until you can feel yer body buoyancy normalizing...
do this for as long as you need to learn how much air you need to keep afloat, and yer swimming strokes will be more natural...
Originally posted by huckleberryhoundthe olde folks that use my pool also find it a wonderful exercise to walk in waist/belly deep water...
The pool i use is 4 feet deep from end to end. Because of this, it seems to be an exercise tool for people as they walk up and down it in some kind of Octogenarian urine spreading ritual. Is 4 feet "Shallow"?
the resistance they get is beneficial and the buoyancy helps take the pressure off joints...
now, i open my pool especially for the seniors, and hour early, two times a week, so they can exercise without the obnoxious lil kids splashing water everywhere...
as for spreading urine, that gets done automatically by the pool equipment...
no muss, no fuss...
