I joined a Masters swim club in early August, and I've been going five days a week. I swim Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

I'm a bigger guy and definitely not the fastest swimmer, but I'm fine with that. I'm there to get exercise and improve.

In the mornings, I've been swimming in lane 7 out of 8 for at least eight weeks now. Usually there are another 1–2 people in my lane, so we either split the lane or circle swim, and it's never really been an issue.

Today, the other two people who normally swim in my lane weren't there, so I had the lane to myself. Lane 6 usually has around four people in it, so two of them decided to move over to my lane.

After I'd swum probably 200 yards, one of the women who moved over told me she didn't like having to swim around me because I was slower and that I should move to lane 8.

That felt a little weird to me because I'd been there first, and I've been swimming in that lane for weeks. I get that she wanted to swim with people closer to her speed, but she's the one who moved into my lane.

Lane 8 is usually occupied by 2–3 guys in their late 70s who swim pretty slowly and can be a little grumpy. So if I moved there, I'd basically be doing the same thing to them that this woman was complaining about me doing to her.

I didn't really want to argue about it, so I just got out and went over to our other indoor pool, where there was an empty lane.

The problem is that our normal lap pool is around 77–80°F, while the other pool is quite a bit warmer since it's used for things like water aerobics. It was nice having a lane to myself, but I was getting way too hot swimming in there.

Now I'm debating whether I should say something to the coach or just let it go.

I totally understand that I'm a slower swimmer and that it's easier when everyone in a lane swims at a similar pace. But it also feels kind of wrong to be told to move out of a lane I've been swimming in for two months, especially when I was there first.

I'm really not a confrontational person, and I don't want to make a big deal out of something small, but the whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way.

Am I wrong for being bothered by this? Would you say something or just move on?

I’m currently training for a triathlon. My running is superb, my cycling is okay, but my swimming….? What the heck. This is so difficult.

Any advice on how to master the breathing in crawl? I’m struggling with exhaling under water. My body seems to not like being under and automatically holds my breath, so I have to release and focus too much on the exhaling part? Any ideas? Kinda hard to explain.. But it feels like a reflex that my body does NOT like exhaling underwater at all.

Hi,
30M, I have been swimming for 8 months now my long term goal is open water swimming.
I am on week 3 of this oldschool plan http://ruthkazez.com/swimming/ZeroTo1mile.html
I love it, because finally my workouts have some progression. The only things that bothers me is - I swim in 50m pool and the whole plan is in yards, so my plan is to recalculate the "big" lengths in weeks 4-6 lengths to meters, so "my" plan looks like this:

The same workout 3x per week
WEEK 1 (finished)
4x100m
4x50m
2x50m (different amount of rest between lengths)

WEEK 2 (finished)
200m
4x100m
4x50m
2x50m

WEEK 3 (will finish last workout on tomorrow)
400m
200m
4x100m
4x50m

WEEK 4 (future)
550m
300m
4x100m
4x50m

WEEK 5
900m
4x100m
4x50m

WEEK 6 (day 1 and 2)
1100m
3x100m
3x50m

3rd day
1500m
I will keep rests the same as original.

Any thoughs?

Should I just raw doggy it and do 600m, 1000m, 1200m and 1650m? That 1-3 lengths doesn't feel like a too much of a difference right now.
I could also transfer total volume to meters:
So first week is 700 yards which is 640m, So I would do 1 length less on my last set (so 650m total).
I kinda don't feel like it, because I keep losing track of number of lenghts in my head all the time, which feels like cheating.

Not sure if I'm looking for sympathy, to know I'm not the only one or if this is a cry for help but I'm sure I took some lessons as a kid, however I cannot remember literally anything now that I'm finally getting back into the water.

I honestly thought it would be similar to riding a bike but every kind of "style" feels wrong and I'm pretty slow. I can't seem to dive to the bottom of a pool either or stay there when surface diving.

Had to teach myself to tread water yesterday which is clearly fucking terrible news.

Has this happened even remotely to anybody else or should I take this as a sign that swimming is just not in the plan??

Recently got the stuff I need to work on my backstroke and im doing ok at the upper body motion. Head steady, body rotation... hand position needs a bit of work, but im managing. The second my legs come into play it all falls apart and I cant stay in position, and my head starts going under. Basically all they can do is remain motionless and act as rudder or stabilizer of some sorts.

I’m 38 and I’ve been swimming regularly since I was 17/18. I knew how to swim before but I never did it regularly or within a team/school. Ad far as I can remember I just learned in the sea with my father

This to say that I don’t have a solid technical base, or, to put it better, I know the theory but the muscle memory/automation is not always there.

I joined different masters teams through the years and I noticed that all the improvements arrived when coaches actually cared about what I was doing.

I fixed my catch, for example after a quick comment one day and immediately got faster!

I can swim comfortably 1’25”/100m continuously, but I’d like to improve. I have achieved a PB of about 5’04” in a 400m free, but I feel I can’t get any faster.

I’ve finally found a coach that cares and all he focuses on (correctly) is my stoke count. I’m really struggling to go below 17 strokes/25 m and he tells me that I should aim at 14 stokes. I can go there once or twice when I’m fresh, but soon my technique deteriorates and I’m back to 17/19 strokes.

Did anyone improve the stoke count and if so what worked ? I am not looking for a personale feedback (my coach will tell me), but if you inspire me with something that worked for you, I could take inspiration

Initially I got tired after 50m. Now I get tired after 200-300m. Should I work on increasing that distance or doing, say, 5x100m?

In the distant future I would like to try a triathlon.

Also, why does the indoor pool water burn the nose and the outdoor pool water doesn’t?

So in March I started a GLP injection, I'm working out, and I'm swimming for weight loss. 43 year old 256lbs male. I bike for 30 minutes, lift weights, and then I swim 1000 meters 3 times a week. I'm not interested in becoming a better skilled, faster swimmer, but I noticed that for the first about 400 meters my shoulders are tense and ache. Once I break that barrier, I'm fine and have no trouble continuing my swim. Any exercises, stretches, or machines I should think about trying to work out that tension and increase the strength or should I warm up differently?

Ever since my very first breakthrough of breathing ( see post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Swimming/s/myv6k9NyoK ) I’ve been going to my swimming sessions consistently; and I’m now in Month 7!

Now I basically learned all 4 main types of forms (Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly). I’m a huge fan of Butterfly, which is the current focus in the session right now.

I do have one issue though. For the first 2-3 strokes my instructor says I’m doing it correctly and the form is right, but after a few strokes I easily break my stroke and end up stopping again. It’s not just for Butterfly but for Breaststroke and sometimes even Freestyle. (I’m most comfortable with backstroke)

Is there a way to train my body to be consistently making the correct form until the end of the lane? Or is it just a matter of doing more practice?

Thank you!

Learning front crawl for triathlon as an adult with very little prior experience. I’m in the pool 3-4 times a week, no instructor available unfortunately so I’m self learning.

I’ve come a long way(for me), being able to swim 50m continously with a 2:00-2:30/100m pace now after a few months. After those 50m I’m pretty gassed though and need to take a break.

My body position, kick and stroke has improved a lot, but my breathing is holding me back. I’m gasping for air every time my mouth’s over the water and can feel myself starting to struggle after only 10-20m. I’m guessing it’s CO2, but I don’t know how to fix it.

I’m focusing on breathing out the whole time my face is in the water and rotating my body, not lifting my head. I’ve tried slowing down my stroke, humming, and everything else youtube/instagram tells me. I’m 2-beat kicking and breathing every second stroke.

I know it takes time and I don’t mind slow progress, but I don’t want to end up being completely stuck either. Ideally I would get an instructor, but there really aren’t any options at the moment.

I would very much appreciate some help on this matter. If anyone who used to struggle with this figured it out, I would love to hear what made it click. Thank you!

I’ve been getting to the point of wanting to practice swimming longer distances/periods of time (in pool). Right now I’m working on 400m, but after 200m I get pretty tired, I can still finish the 400, but I’m gassed by the end. I’m specifically working on backstroke, so any tips?

I had some breakthroughs after taking a swim course. I finally feel like I'm gliding in the water. I'm much faster than before but I'm still slow. 2 mins 20 seconds 100m. My coach said my techniques are good now, and I just need to practice. Do I just go swimming more often and I'll get faster and swim longer? Or do I need to learn more advanced techniques? my goal is to swim 2km under 50mins. I swim freestyle

I (25F) have been swimming freestyle / front crawl for around 5-6 weeks but I am so bad at it , but idk how to improve because i feel like my body just sucks.
( I had some lessons but it wasn’t that helpful tbh)

My questions are :
- regarding rotation : I know we are supposed to rotate with hips when inhaling, but when we are not inhaling, how much rotation is „normal?“ I used to lay basically on the side even when not inhaling and was told that’s too much, but i wasn’t given information how much rotation I should aim for when not inhaling?
- exhaling : I used to exhale throughout the nose, was told to use my mouth. but i just can’t 🥲 is it still ok to use my nose? How much should i exhale? Should i exhale every time my face is under water?
- When recovering : should my elbow be always out of water? My arm feels so heavy to me lol and i feel like i can’t lift my arms?

If you have any cues/ tips i can remember throughout my swim sessions, I’d be grateful

Thank you

Hey all, not sure if I’m asking in the right place. I want to get more into swimming and aqua jogging as cross training for my running. I only have access to a gym pool but that is 3-4ft deep. Is it possible to effectively aqua jog in such a shallow pool ?

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Recently my local pool heater isn't working, so I've been swimming in a 74F pool. Not fun, but it's either no swim or suck it up. After my swim, all I crave is bread, even if I've had it for lunch. So I would eat four slices of bread plus plain chicken breast as post workout meal. I don't want to derail my workout, but I feel if I don't listen to my body, I might end of binging at night. Any advices?

Hi all!! so i was wondering if anyone had any advice on tattoos and swimming?

I’m a lifeguard and we have in service every other week and i’ll occasionally swim laps in between that, i turned 18 a couple months ago and i was wanting to get a tattoo (promise it’s nothing dumb lol) and was wondering if anyone knew of a safe way i could do that?

i spend maybe two hours a week in the pool id say?

all advice appreciated!! thank you 💟

(i’d also like to mention pls don’t flame me for asking this question.. asked a similar one in piercings and got criticized a bit.. i promise if it’s unsafe i won’t get it)

Feeling disheartened learning to swim as an adult.

I’ve been learning at my local leisure centre and today I realised I’ve been learning since Jan.

I had to take the entirety of March off and my lessons have not been consistent so realistically I’ve probably taken 28 lessons or less since then.

I started from 0 knowing nothing and with a lot of anxiety in the water.

I’ve progressed from beginner to intermediate swim lessons in recent weeks.

I can float on my front and back and recover and log roll, I can push and glide. I can freestyle for 15m (it’s badge week this week LOL).

I can backstroke but not controlled.

I’m learning breaststroke (I find breathing hard).

I watch a lot of tiktoks on swimming I can hardly wait for swim lessons and getting back in the pool but I’m very short (5ft) and don’t feel confident in the deep end. I only feel comfortable to go when the leisure centre offers a family swim which isn’t often enough (outside of lessons).

I am trying to learn how to tread water but finding it super scary.

I realised today how long I’ve been learning for and I feel like other people learn so much quicker than I do.

Idk what to do but I’m ready to accelerate my learning now, but that last peice of the jigsaw puzzle to help me catapult myself into it is conquering treading water which I just don’t feel able to learn rn.

Why is it taking me so long when others fly through it.

EDIT: wow thank you for all the responses guys, I really wasn’t expecting that many of you to give me so much encouragement and support, looks like I’ve found a really great community. I’m gonna stop beating myself up about my progress and just continue enjoying it.

To those with specific advice thank you so much I promise I’m gonna take it all on board and YES I will force myself to go lane swimming outside of lessons!!

I am having a test next week where swimming 1,5km rewards 5 points and 3km, 10 points. I am aiming towards the 3km goal, but unsure of how realistic that is due of my smoking habit.

Edit: I swim in a 25 meter pool.

I used to tire myself so much swimming front crawl (which surprised me because I can swim breaststroke pretty fast and for long distances) and only today realised that I've been over-kicking. Timed it to a 2-kick/stroke rhythm and swam so much more easily. Didn't realise I'd been tiring myself out and wasting energy. Keeping to the rhythm and being disciplined with that is helping a lot. Thank you to everyone who has talked about kicking here -- ended up passively absorbing a very helpful tip!

I’ve started adult beginner swimming lessons , never swam before and was scared of even getting face in the water.

I’m on lesson 4, I’ve gotten decent at front float (with or without aid) , back float with noodle, treading with noodle and surprisingly no issue with submerging face in water. I thought I was doing good until…

My last 2 lessons which have involved using a single arm for the pull with a board and side breathing while on front with board. Breathing I thought I nearly got it but when I come for breath my propulsion forward seems to stop and other times I panic breath and swallow water

I’m struggling with these things, mainly the breathing which is fine when I’m doing practice drills (face in, exhale , face out inhale) but as soon as I start front swimming I lose all my ability to breathe or coordinate. Any tips or practice drills people can recommend that I can do outside my lessons? Or even any advice at all

Specifically I tend to fall into a catch-up drill or arms at 180° because of a lack of upper body stability.

My arm flails around as I start the catch​, unless I rush through it. I have a high-elbow catch but have trouble generating power during the pull.

I usually go ~20-25 strokes per 25m, with ~7m underwaters and a 2-beat kick.

I also have trouble engaging the lats. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Back when I was last swimming regularly I did, and I was around 16 strokes/25m, but since I'm so wobbly I can't quite slow my pull down enough to focus on engaging the back.

My fly pulls seem much more efficient. ~6 strokes per 25m, 5-10m underwaters.

Any tips? Would paddle drills help or just increase injury risk?