Swimming endurance advice & tips

[kaylee_ann]

Ok awesome! Thanks

I had to score well on the 400 metre timed swim for the DM course. My technique had seriously waned since HS swim team. I got advice from my competitive swimmer brother, who said you get 75% of your power from arms (well yeah, no fins). And that you should "dig deep" with your arms/hands during the in-water part of the stroke (minimum height when arms out of the water). This helped a lot. Also, he advised using the rubber "stretch" things to strengthen arms, which I sill use today and think it aids me with diving at my age (lifting things, pulling myself along the rocks, etc)..

 

[PatW]

I am a strong swimmer. But there are some tricks.

1) You want to be positively buoyant. Most people are and ladies have an edge here. You might want to keep air in your lungs. Breathing is about a rather slow exhalation and a fast inhalation. If you can float effortlessly, you can just poke along almost for ever without effort.

2) Most of the power in swimming is in the arms. This is a minus for the ladies. Oh well.

3) Try to have an efficient stroke. Quite a few people flail at the water. They push themselves back as much as they do forward.

4) Learn how to breathe in a rhythm. If you do that, you can breathe without interrupting your stroke.

5) Learn how to keep a positive pressure in your nose. It is just a trick. Once mastered, you will not get water up your nose. I have been tumbled in really big waves like I was in a washing machine (body surfing and mistiming the wave). I never got any water up my nose.

6) Get comfortable with water in your face. Many people are not. It is a learned thing. Also get comfortable in the water. If you are tense, you will work against yourself. If you are comfortable in the water, can float, and breathe easily, you can poke your way along almost forever.

 

[nolatom]

Lessons obviously a good idea.

What helped my swimming more than anything else was learning to do the crawl/freestyle stroke with my head in the water, and rotate to the side to get your mouth just above water for your inhales. If you have to keep your face above water at all times, you'll be slow and more tired from the extra energy you'll need.

The icing on the cake is when you can roll body and neck to either side to inhale, "bilateral breathing". It spreads out the "load". I go stroke stroke breathe left, stroke stroke breathe right.

Sidestroke can be an enegy-saver, but it's not fast. Breast stroke is slow, but egonomically easier on your endurance.

Non-leaky goggles a must. And you'll swim more relaxed with them.



Get through this, and you just might start swimmng laps for fun, and exercise.

 

[scubadada]

...it aids me with diving at my age...

You're 3 months younger that I am, why do you keep on talking about diving at your age?

 

[formernuke]

I think one or two lessons is a good idea. As I suspect you are expending a lot of energy for not much progress. Think doggy paddle you move a lot but not much forward progress.

My preferred stroke is breast for forward progress with least amount of energy its great. It can also be done keeping your mouth above water the entire time.

 

[BlueTrin]

Don’t worry about it at all.

And when it comes to the float or tread water for 10 minutes, float. You’re a gal with dual life preservers. Use them! Me and the other gal in my OW pool sessions floated. I almost fell asleep! The guys couldn’t float. They had to work hard to tread water for the 10 min. Work smarter, not harder.

It wasn’t as easy as I thought when I did the test to tread for 10 mins … I was overconfident and didn’t skip my leg day at the gym the day before.

Since then I have learned a variation of drownproofing.

 

[Mariner11]

okay cool. I still don't think I have enough endurance to go that far regardless of speed. which is pretty embarrassing LOL but I guess everyone starts somewhere.

Maybe try backstroke , since your face will be out of the water you’ll prob be more comfortable and this more efficient

 

[dmaziuk]

it is so hard for me to float because I get really tense. but with practice I will be comfortable, just have to get used to it!

Try this. The key points are
1. relax,
2. get a steady breathing rhythm going,
3. time your stroke to your breathing and not the other way around.

 

[johndiver999]

Diving isn’t swimming, find some fins and do laps to build diving muscle.

This is the EXACT point. If possible, buy your dive fins and any boots you will wear and swim with those fins. You can use a kick board. Better yet, buy your mask and snorkel and just use all three pieces of gear and swim 1000 yards a day to start. This is much more beneficial for you, than trying to perfect your freestyle stroke. If you want, a better over all workout, then use your arms as well as kicking when swimming with mask, fins snorkel.

Try to modify your kicking to keep the fins in the water, not too much splashing and do some 25-yd sprints. You will quickly learn to use an optimal kick pattern for the fins if you are striving for faster sprints.

 

[scubadada]

This is the EXACT point. If possible, buy your dive fins and any boots you will wear and swim with those fins. You can use a kick board. Better yet, buy your mask and snorkel and just use all three pieces of gear and swim 1000 yards a day to start. This is much more beneficial for you, than trying to perfect your freestyle stroke. If you want, a better over all workout, then use your arms as well as kicking when swimming with mask, fins snorkel.

Try to modify your kicking to keep the fins in the water, not too much splashing and do some 25-yd sprints. You will quickly learn to use an optimal kick pattern for the fins if you are striving for faster sprints.

This is the swim test.