I am, at best, a novice swimmer. But, as I know it is good exercise and will work my upper body a bit when compared to cycling and running that work the bottom half, i’d like to do some more of it.

I intend to get some lessons but before I do, want to reacquaint myself with the pool. So, can someone give me a few drills or workouts to try. 30 or 40 minutes I guess. Thanks.

This is a good place to start – http://www.swimsmooth.com/beginner.php

Swim up and down until you are tired/run out of time

When you think you are ready join a swim club

Get overtaken by 11 year olds

Keep going until you are not

I used these guys:

TI SWIMMING

It made a massive difference to my swimming..

I’m sure someone will be along shortly with a more comprehensive answer but the drills that I found helped me the most when getting back into swimming were “catch-ups”, so waiting until one arm has finished its cycle and reached the front before holding it there while the other arm has a go. This allows you to focus on your form on arm at a time.

Then the other one was swimming normally, but with closed fists, this one helped focus on getting a good strong catch.

Also, if they don’t have them at your gym/pool then get yourself a pull bouy, as that will allow you to blat out a load of distance nice and relaxed straight away

Swim up and down until you are tired/run out of time

When you think you are ready join a swim club

Get overtaken by 11 year old

Keep going until you are not
I suspect you may be right. My wife is/was a very, very good swimmer and said basically that. Then she insulted my stroke and told me to get a coach. I’m not sure that’s fair.

just back at my desk after today’s lunchtime 1.5k, which is about 25 mins of crawl. I use combination of swimsmooth/Shaw method/total immersion. Keeps load off my hypermobile knees. I do a couple of lunch sessions every week and often a longer one on a Saturday if not riding.

Just had a huge Greggs cake as my reward 🙂

I suspect you may be right. My wife is/was a very, very good swimmer and said basically that. Then she insulted my stroke and told me to get a coach. I’m not sure that’s fair

I was in the pool as a kid most mornings and evenings doing reps.

The only way to do it is to do it.

Put in the miles and get someone who knows what they are doing to check your stroke periodically

Ask your Mrs in a year

IMHO if you intend to have lessons then start the lessons asap rather than trying to self teach and potentially drilling in bad habits. If you dont want to pay for loads of lessons then you can space them out a bit.

have a google at ‘the Shaw method’ – I have his dvd, but the youtube stuff covers most of it. I had some formal coaching with his team 10 years or so back when I was getting back in to swimming, found it really useful

I mix swimsmooth and TI too

Top tip – breath! you are more likely to feel knackered when you start because you are not breathing out, not because you are tired

Swim up and down until you are tired/run out of time
When you think you are ready join a swim club

Get overtaken by 11 year old

Keep going until you are not

This.

I club swam as a kid and take lessons from that; I now do a warm-up of up to 20-ish lengths (often broken down into sets of 6 or 8 ) then do sets of 4 lengths in different strokes.

Sometimes mix it up doing legs only or arms only – legs only tends to be sets of 2 lengths.

Occasionally do 50m (2 length) sprints; give myself 1 min 15 or 1 min 30 to sprint and rest, before doing it again.

Concentrate most on crawl to benefit surfing – do backstroke the least, mainly because I don’t like it. Style and technique is important though – lessons, or even just an observer, are recommended.

Saying all this, I’ve not actually swum in about 6 months. 😉

just back at my desk after today’s lunchtime 1.5k, which is about 25 mins of crawl.

25 mins for 60 lengths of crawl doesn’t seem that quick, are you swimming constantly or doing drills? If its constant, it might be worth trying drills; as you should be < 30 seconds a length with front crawl if you are very average.

Personally I’m pretty slow and am doing intervals 4 crawl, 4 breaststroke and I can do between 84 and 88 lengths in 40 minutes. If I push it I can get > 90 but < 100 lengths, but I can’t speak for around 20 minutes when i get out.

25 mins for 60 lengths of crawl doesn’t seem that quick, are you swimming constantly or doing drills? If its constant, it might be worth trying drills; as you should be < 30 seconds a length with front crawl if you are very average.

Personally I’m pretty slow and am doing intervals 4 crawl, 4 breaststroke and I can do between 84 and 88 lengths in 40 minutes. If I push it I can get > 90 but < 100 lengths, but I can’t speak for around 20 minutes when i get out.

nobody cares what you can do – and you ramblings have nothing to do with the question asked

^^^cheers plumber, couldn’t have put it better myself 🙂

richc – I am 50 years old, swim for fitness and destressing and it helps my old bones. Good upper body compliment to road, mtb and track riding.

I do various drills, firedrills at work and I have some Black & Decker ones at home too 🙂

My post wasn’t supposed to be a “look how great I am”, as I’m horrifically unfit and slow due work/life getting in the way and what’s the point in making unsubstantiated boasts and swimming is one of the few things I have time to do a couple of times every week without fail.

I was more interested in hearing what other people are doing in their limited time in the pool. Hence I was echoing the posters original question of:

So, can someone give me a few drills or workouts to try. 30 or 40 minutes I guess. Thanks.

And asking if you were swimming constantly or doing drills; as if you were breaking up the lengths I was interested to know into what chunks to see if I can learn something from you.

^^^ rich, I wan’t having a pop, hence the 🙂

My boys both trialled for Glasgow Swim Club a few yrs ago and can totally whip me speed wise over a couple of lengths – I need about 20 till they start tiring (aged 13 and 10 now) 🙂

I swim a fair bit, but not really interested in getting faster, it’s more about a solid half hour or hour of working the bones and switching off. My tumble turns are crap so I tend not to do them unless forced to, so a 25 second length (25m) does me just fine

NP.

25 second length is pretty good and I would very happy with that personally; as that’s what I can sustain on a very good day at the moment.

I need to work on improving what I’m doing; and if I would get to a consistent 25s length for the whole session I would be very happy! As that’s close to 2.5k in 40 minutes, hence the fishing for tips on your thread.

rich – the Shaw Method was a great benefit for me – took me from 22 stokes/length to 18, which over 1500m or 3k is a lot of strokes. It also sorts breathing into every 3rd stroke, alternate sides and overall smooth progress, no splashing at all. It’s weird to finish a length, look round and pool is totally flat, no ripples !

I am about 52 mins for 3k, so no gold medals coming my way 🙂

A tip I was given for crawl was to spend some time working on a nice smooth stroke before looking at times/lengths. Drills I used consisted of

“Thinking” lengths – Not sure of any other way to describe this but complete a few lengths at a fairly slow pace but really think about and accentuate the movement, starting at full stretch, a nice S shaped pull going out from and coming back into the centre line of your body, a nice high elbow and putting your hand into the water at an angle rather than slapping it down flat. Breathe as much as you need to but try make it bi-lateral.

Catch up drills – Using one arm at a time, complete the full stroke with one arm and the other straight out in front of you. When your stroke hand comes in line with the still one start the other stroke.

Finger drags – As your hand comes up above you drag your fingertips through the water or across the top. It’s really weird when you first start doing it but is apparently very good for developing a good technique with your elbows and body roll.

The first two can be done will a pull bouy but I’d do the last one without, I personally found the breathing difficult with one.

With kicking, a kickboard is useful but remember to use the whole leg, don’t just kick by bending the knee. It hurts!

I found by working on my stroke led to times dropping and number of lengths increasing without me really thinking about it.

If there’s a Masters club near you and you have time try get down, I’ve recently started with one near me and being given drills/a little coaching has really helped me get back into it rather than going down to the pool myself and trying to work something out. There’s lanes for all abilities and as long as you’re trying I’m sure the coaches won’t mind you taking breaks if you need to. I pushed myself too hard on my first night and got cramp for the first time in years, don’t do that 🙂

Sorry for the long post, hope my rambling might be of some use.

a nice S shaped pull

If you value your shoulder, please dont….

http://www.swimsmooth.com/contentious.html

Paul nails it here

what’s the point in making unsubstantiated boasts

This is just what people do on STW all the time, so I guess you were just being true to form.

It’s quite easy to sit behind anonymously keyboard and say ‘you’re slow’ to other people. Everyone on STW is simply awesome at everything – aren’t they.. 😉

FWIW, 25 mins for 1.5k seems pretty reasonable. That’s a good ‘intermediate’ level swimmer pace. 3k in 50 mins, 6k in 1:40 – you wouldn’t need a ferry to make island crossings.

Just not as awesums as you, clearly.

Anyhoo.. to the OP – Swimsmooth – yes Total Immersion – these are good resources.

Essentially, you need to be bodyrolling a lot more than seems natural – and doing it efficiently – so that you become a human torpedo as you glide, before ‘catching’ the stroke. The other key part is the ‘catch’ of the stroke – in that the only thing pushing you forwards is pushing water backwards (with your arms). It’s very easy – as a novice swimmer – to fall into the trap of pushing water downwards at the start of the stroke, which will waste energy and slow you down – as it pushes your upper body upwards and your legs downward (creating drag).

None of this will make any sense, probably, until you watch a good visualisation of this on ewe toob though.

…And the single biggest improvement you can ever make is to – remember to relax and enjoy it. 😀

If you value your shoulder, please dont….

http://www.swimsmooth.com/contentious.html

Paul nails it here

Everyday’s a school day, will have to give that a shot and see if my aches are down to bad technique, rather than that post exercise feeling. If it helps trying to unlearn 20 odd years of bad habit is going to be fun!

Start off doing 10 x 50’s with 30 seconds rest in between 50’s and build from there. Nice even pace not flat out.

Started a lunch swim this year, currently doing 6x breast stroke, 4x crawl. If only so I don’t loose count. First week i was broken by it and currently getting +40 lengths I half an hour.
I’m finding breathing during the crawl lengths the hardest, plus am doing the lengths without pushing off the ends.

Another vote for Total Immersion, a good place to start as it teaches a smooth stroke first and foremost and focuses on technique over speed/power. I’ve seen far too many people at my local pool putting in an absolute beasting of themselves but be actually quite slow, technique is (almost) everything.

To that end, don’t be too worried about getting lessons early, or even joining a local tri club swim session as they will very quickly improve your stroke with various drills (over the barrel, broken arrow etc) and also do intervals to work on power/endurance too. I’ve gone from not being able to do more than a few lengths freestyle to happily swimming two or three miles now, so its worth it. Depending where you are based too, I would recommend my local tri pool sessions in the Peak, PM me if interested.

EDIT: Also (bigdean) try and get used to bilateral breathing (if not already), not only is it better and making sure you breathing is reasonably regulated (i.e. not every two strokes which can sometimes people effectively start to hyperventilate) but also it makes for a much more symmetrical stroke. Also, make sure you are trickle breathing out underwater, and not breathing out and then in again when your head is above water. And finally, relax too, as thats often a cause for people struggling with their breathing.

There are lots of other swimming threads on STW.

Metcalt has the drills you asked for apart from the S-pull which we were taught back when but is out now.

Don’t worry about the clock for a while and when reading some posts above bear in mind most of an Ironman triathlon field won’t get under 50min for 3k in a freshwater 50m pool with no aids or wet suit.

I don’t have much to add apart from avoid too much use of the pull bouy as it’s no substitute for an efficient stroke and leg kick. If your legs are sinking and creating drag then using a pull bouy isn’t the answer but Metcalt’s drills might be.

Cheers turbo!