I’m trying to learn front crawl, which has been very difficult for me to do previously. This was mainly due to panic and holding my breath and therefore getting nowhere. With the help of a lesson and some practice I can now happily do a length and breathe either side comfortably. The panic/fear element has gone which is all I’ve really been concentrating on so far as I wasn’t going to make much progress without doing that. I can do the breathing in out of the side of my mouth and until I get tired am pretty ok at only looking as far as the poolside and not the ceiling.

Two things I am finding now are these…

1) Just one length leaves me quite breathless. I alternate 1 length front crawl and 1 breaststroke to get my breath back. Thing is, I can swim for an hour or more without stopping if I do breaststroke, and that’s proper breaststroke not head out of the water granny breaststroke.

I guess this is down to inefficient technique more than anything and may improve with time?

I try to swim smoothly but do find that going too slow makes it harder work – is that normal?

2) Upper body rotation. I’m quite good at keeping my head still and straight, but that seems to lead to the drunk in a bar brawl style swinging shoulders and not enough shoulder turning. To try and get a bit more rotation I try to remember to brush my hipwith my hand as it comes out, this seems to help a little, although then keeping my head straight seems a bit harder.

Any tips for these two things gratefully received. I won’t be racing, but I would like to swim smoothly, at a reasonable speed and for a good distance.

When I was learning front crawl, I had to slow it right down so I didn’t get out of breath. Once you do that, you can work on technique to get the speed back.

BREATHE OUT

Perhaps the biggest reason why FC makes people tired is that people don’t breath out properly. Breath in, yes, breath out, no.

The great guys at http://www.swimsmooth.com have a lot to say on this.

The have a great exercise which I use whenever I get in the pool as a warm up. It’s about consciously breathing out.

Breath in and then as you put your face back in the water breath out consciously saying bubble, bubble before taking your next breath. Assuming bilateral breathing here.

Then repeat

Breathe, bubble, bubble, breathe
Breathe, bubble, bubble, breather
ETC

Helps to get CO2 out of the body in a conscious manner

… is dull as hell, yes.

Just one length leaves me quite breathless

Get out of the pool and do 8x200m sprints on foot, with a 30s rest. Do this twice a week and you’ll be much better in the pool.

do find that going too slow makes it harder work – is that normal?

No. Swimming is all about efficiency. Try doing lengths with as few strokes as possible, regardless of speed. It’ll help you learn to glide, your breathing will be much more under control and you can focus on sliding through the water. You should be mostly under water, afaik.

Go & practice with the water polo team, that’ll sort you out!

🙂

I’ve looked at the swimsmooth site a bit, it was there I saw the emphasis on breathing out. Sometimes when I go slower I forget about breathing for five or six strokes and them think ‘oh crap, better breathe’!

Sprints round the pool Molly, that’ll get me whistled at by the lifeguards surely.

Get out of the pool, get dressed, go home, change into running gear, and find somewhere flat….

EDIT dry yourself off between steps one and two

There’s a start, you are aware that your are holding your breath. DON’T its verya tiring!!!

Consciously focus on doing 4 lengths swimming slowly/steady and focusing consciously on breathing out.

IME it works. Try it. Good luck, it does come

Join a class – swimming is one sport where coaching makes a huge difference.

But if that’s not an option, some ideas (including some already pointed out):

* Swim slower. Take it easy and concentrate on doing it right.

* Make sure you reach forward before pulling back

* You can always breathe in a 3-2 pattern – breathe, 3 strokes (change sides) and breathe, 2 strokes and breathe (same side), then 3 again. Etc. It adds another breath in to your cycle and makes it a bit easier.ç

* Breathe out completely before breathing in again. Personally I like to hold my breath for the first stroke then breathe out continuously for the next two, but as long as it’s all gone when it’s time to breathe again you’re good.

* Warm up properly. You’ll probably need at least 200m to warm up properly, do at least 8-10 lengths of mixed crawl / breaststroke / backstroke before you start trying to stick to just crawl.

* It’s pretty unlikely, but you could have a reaction to the chlorine. But it’s much more likely to be a lack of technique.

But mainly: take some (more) classes.

Do nose clips help?

I could never swim front-crawl for the same reasons and was really fustrated as my other strokes apart from back-stroke were really slow.
I started using a mid-line snorkel, it took the breathing completely out of the equation which allows you to focus on other aspects of the stroke first which was helpful for me as once I got the roll of the shoulders thing going the breathing (without the snorkel) evolved naturally.

Classes/lessons is not really possible, the times I can go is pretty hit and miss due to work.

Maybe it’s just time? 3 months ago I couldn’t do it at all.

Presume you have seen this

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

I try to watch other swimmers and it looks like they get to about a 45° angle with their shoulders looking head on. Is that about right?

Didn’t you learn to swim as a kid?

Yes, seen that THM. I don’t hold my breath anymore, that was the main stumbling block before though. I think I generally breathe out slowly with a big blast just before the next breath though, so maybe I’m subconsciously trying to hang on to a bit of it?

Not really, did it at school but as long as you weren’t drowning and could get across the width of the pool that was about it unless you were good enough to merit more attention/coaching. Never learnt front crawl.

Almost identical story here. Took me ages, alternating between strokes as you do, but eventually it all clicked. I watched a few youtube videos about technique, adjusted as per instruction, then – as confidence grows, and you are more slipstreamed and sure – your breathing will become more regulated and deeper. I found it to be a cumulative effect. I take air usually on every third stroke, ie alternate sides. ymmv

Now I can’t be bothered with breast stroke and have to remember to mix it up a bit! The stronger and smoother you become, the more enjoyable it is. IME.

Can’t help you with the inevitable boredom though ;). Oh yeah – swim outdoors!

Can’t help you with the inevitable boredom though

Oh, I can : Get in the sea! (literally) 🙂

Sneaky edit malvernrider!

It’s not boring for me yet so I’ll worry about that later!

My wife swims in the loch a couple of times a week, so outdoor swimming is on the cards once I’m a bit more comfortable with it in the pool.

A breath every third stroke feels good, every second one seems to make me a bit squint in the water. Four is ok too until I start tiring, which is quite quickly.

Sneaky edit malvernrider!

. Not sneaky, just synched! It made me laugh just seeing yr comment as I was thinking ‘get in the sea’ prior to taking a different tack. We are all One. Argh.

I try to watch other swimmers and it looks like they get to about a 45° angle with their shoulders looking head on. Is that about right?

Theres no right way for everyone, some people will be head straight down, others sighting forward. 45. deg is a good place to start though, and will make breathing easier (than having your head straight down). If you can start to rotate your head backwards (looking at your shoulder) that will also help – you’ll start to breathe in the lea of your head and will have longer to draw breath.

Its worth persevering with, once you get the breathing nailed you can start to think about everything else.
Im a big advocate of swim smooth (and the bubble bubble breathe technique – say it to yourself while swimming) While you’re head is under water you should be exhaling, above water, inhaling.

I did a 61 minute IM swim using just the swim smooth book – it can be done on your own!

To be honest, getting in the sea is probably not a good idea for the op just yet… them ol’ waves make it even more knackering.

Sorry, I meant looking at their shoulders from head on the rotation seems to be about 45° from horizontal. I know what you mean about looking back slightly, I’ve noticed that that makes a difference.

It’s a way off dez, there isn’t a n off the shelf wetsuit big enough – saving up for a custom one 😀

As well as swim smooth you also have Total Immersion. Certainly worth a look, works for me.

I try to swim smoothly but do find that going too slow makes it harder work – is that normal?

If by swimming slowly you are referring to that stalled feeling as your legs drop and you are no longer gliding along on the surface then yes it will get harder. It takes pretty good technique to be able to swim very slowly and still maintain an efficient position along the top of the water.

Upper body rotation. I’m quite good at keeping my head still and straight

If find that a slightly worrying phrase – it should really be body rotation, not upper and don’t thinking of the head separately. I was coached to think of everything coming from the hips and good core strength getting your shoulders to follow your hips. Think about rotating your hips and your shoulders should follow.

Breathing – A test for you. Go for a jog (or ride a bike) at the same physical intensity as you are exerting yourself swimming. Then do it and erratically breath (try holding it in for a few seconds the breathing out in a burst then quickly gulping in). Tell me you are not out of breath! The secret to swimming for long distances without getting out of breath is to engineer your swimming so your are breathing as naturally as possible. Bilateral breathing is all well and good and the ability to breath both sides is important but its not the be all and end all. Did you watch any of the european champs last week? I defy you to find a race where at least 3 or more are not breathing unilaterally or at least mixing it up. Watch a youtube clip of aussie 1500m legend Grant Hackett – almost completely unilateral breathing (switching sides from time to time). Try breathing 2 on one side, swimming 3 strokes then twice on the other and see if it helps. As you get more efficient and relaxed you might be able to go true bilateral but don’t sweat it.

Oh and think about pointing your toes towards the other end of the pool rather than the bottom. So many ‘beginners’ do this – like a massive water brake dragging your legs down. And once your legs are screwed the whole thing is shafted.

My wife does epic swims. I tried to learn a bit for a triathlon. Basic tips that worked for me were.

Look at the floor directly below you not where you are going.

Slow down

Bubble bubble bubble breathe. Apart from I just count in my head as I’m a big boy.

Looking at the floor made the biggest difference. I went from 4 lengths and knackered to 400m and still going happily (bored as hell) in about 4 20min lunchtime sessions.

Found it really helped on the bike due to the upper body and core workout

Stop alternate breathing. Just breathe on one side or breathe two or three times on one side then two or three times the other side.

You need a glide phase just like breast stroke. Start the recovery of the other arm while still gliding and during the catch which will give you plenty of time to breathe in. The rest of the time breathe out slowly but fully.

If by swimming slowly you are referring to that stalled feeling as your legs drop and you are no longer gliding along on the surface then yes it will get harder.

Exactly that. Points noted re the breathing too.

Look at the floor directly below you not where you are going

That’s interesting because the main thing the instructor got me to do in my one lesson was look ahead a bit, to help me get my head turned to breathe. Maybe it was the height of my head in the water that was the problem and it was too low, and the advice to look forward a bit was to remedy that rather than an objective in itself?

Bubble bubble bubble breathe. Apart from I just count in my head as I’m a big boy.

Except counting in your head doesn’t get the air out of your lungs for a beginner. I’m at the stage of shouting at the bottom of the pool at the moment just to get the air out before the next breath. Years or cycling and running means I automatically take very deep breaths and getting it all out when swimming is tough. Getting there though.

Stop alternate breathing.

Why’s that?

You need a glide phase just like breast stroke. Start the recovery of the other arm while still gliding and during the catch which will give you plenty of time to breathe in.

By this do you mean get one arm back to the start before pulling with the other arm, i.e. have a moment of two arms outstretched between each stroke, or at least don’t start the next stroke as soon as the other arm comes out, leave it forward for a bit.

Actually yes, alternate breathing means breathing every third stroke. At first all I could do was breathe every other stroke. To even up the strain on my neck I’d always look at the same side of the pool, in other words alternating each length.

What THM says is very true – once I started breathing out underwater I could just swim easily, I was doing 1500 within three weeks whereas previously I struggled to put three lengths together. I am no superstar, cant breathe asymmetcally, just one side every cycle – never gone to the next stage of increasing pace.

I’m not a good front crawler but I tend to breathe one one side only every other stroke, going for big breaths and slow releases. Used to love swimming (non competitively), found it very therapeutic as is all about efficiency. Particularly used to like doing underwater Brest stroke, long glides and slow action and could do well over a length of 50m pool

I certainly wouldn’t advocate head down looking at the floor tiles. You’ll have to rotate your head further to bring your mouth out the water. try different things and see what works for you.

And I’d counter van Halen’s point about gliding – it’s wasted time, SS advocates higher cadence to remove the dead spot in your stroke.

Obviously everyone’s technique will vary sight, and there’s more than one philosophy. As you’re not having lessons I’d choose a swim style You like the look of and stick with that.

Look at the floor directly below you not where you are going.

This is a ‘core’ mantra to the total immersion concept. The Paul Newsome swimsmooth camp think very differently (see also the gliding philosophy). It’s not great to mix the two. TI is now pretty out of favour in the triathlon world as it doesn’t transfer to open water swimming particularly well.

The recovering arm will come past your head as you finish the glide/catch and start to pull with the leading arm. Don’t be like two blades of a propeller opposite each other. A good exercise is to start a length touching your hands out in front before doing a complete pull and recovery with each arm alternately – then progressively return to normal swimming. At some point you’ll find your recovering arm coming past your head as you catch and pull with the other.

Stop alternate breathing (no explanation, just do it).

Ok I get the arm thing – no windmilling!

So when do I breathe? Just whenever I want, rather than sticking to a set pattern?

When you’re learning just breathe on one side during the start and middle of the arm recovery, if you’re right handed on the right every time your arm comes back. Then when you can swim lots of lengths on one side learn to swim on the other side. When you are happy breathing all on the left and all on the right then start to swap from time to time. In a triathlon the only time I breathe on the left is when waves are coming from the right or there is an aggressive swimmer who risks knocking my goggles off.