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Mile Swim
- Thread starter CLAM97to99
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Can anyone help me out here with a more efficient way to swim? I can sidestroke and breast stroke pretty well, but after a few laps of freestyle, I am worn out. There has to be a way to swim free style and not use so much energy.
I even thought about taking a freestyle fundamentals class that is 8 weeks long.
I don't report to OCS until January, but I feel now would be a great time to build up my swimming.
I even thought about taking a freestyle fundamentals class that is 8 weeks long.
I don't report to OCS until January, but I feel now would be a great time to build up my swimming.
get hand paddles. slightly bigger than your hand.
in the beginning, breathe on the same side, after one stroke. when your endurance goes up, breathe every other stroke (opposite side)
do sets of 1000 yds/meters
100 easy pull (use the leg isolators and no paddles)
50 kick (with board)
50 easy swim (no paddles)
5 x 100 with 15 second rest between (with paddles) [or 10 x 50 with 10 second rest]
300 easy cool down (no paddles)
do this 3-4 times a week including weekends. you will see a NOTICEABLE improvement in 2 weeks. pm me if you want more info.
oh, and concentrate on how far you go per arm movement, not how fast you can flail your arms. that will come with time. lower your stroke count first! efficient = fast.
in the beginning, breathe on the same side, after one stroke. when your endurance goes up, breathe every other stroke (opposite side)
do sets of 1000 yds/meters
100 easy pull (use the leg isolators and no paddles)
50 kick (with board)
50 easy swim (no paddles)
5 x 100 with 15 second rest between (with paddles) [or 10 x 50 with 10 second rest]
300 easy cool down (no paddles)
do this 3-4 times a week including weekends. you will see a NOTICEABLE improvement in 2 weeks. pm me if you want more info.
oh, and concentrate on how far you go per arm movement, not how fast you can flail your arms. that will come with time. lower your stroke count first! efficient = fast.
CLAM97to99
New Member
I just took a swim class here and my teacher had us do basically the same work out that ENSsquid suggested. Minus the hand paddles though. One thing she had us doing all the time was holding onto a kick board and kicking up and down the length of the pool for long periods of time. After we got proficient at that she gave us the buoy for our legs (so we couldn’t use them to kick and it help our legs stay floating) and just used are arms. It is really all about building up your endurance. For the final in the class we had to swim for 30 min strait. I did a half mile in that time no problem. After you have decent endurance it is really all about rotating your strokes to get some rest. I did a front crawl, side stroke, breast stroke pattern the whole time and was ready to keep going when the whistle was blown. She also had us count our strokes like was suggested. She wanted us to constantly work on cutting down the number of strokes necessary to reach the other end of the pool. The idea was that you had to lengthen your stroke to decrease the number needed to reach the other end of the pool. If you could lengthen the stroke you can go farther with and maximize the efficiency of each stroke.
DairyCreamer
Registered User
I'm considering taking private lessons for a few weeks to develop my strokes and whatnot. I SUCK at breast stroke... and really, I suck at all strokes. I have like no efficiency at all. I can run fine, but swimming is a whole 'nother animal.
Any of you have luck with particular swimming programs, private or otherwise? I did a public instruction last summer... and that sucked balls. No attention at all, didn't help me one bit far as I could tell.
Anyway, just curious what the best ways of improving my swimming ability would be.
Awesome sauce
~Nate
Any of you have luck with particular swimming programs, private or otherwise? I did a public instruction last summer... and that sucked balls. No attention at all, didn't help me one bit far as I could tell.
Anyway, just curious what the best ways of improving my swimming ability would be.
Awesome sauce
~Nate
One other suggestion to improve your swimming: Get a coach. Shoot, it can be a teenager from your local swim club who can swim laps around you.
Arm stroke technique and getting your speed up is very important. Rock your shoulders as your arm enters the water and get a good glide. Like bike riding, the faster you move, the easier it gets. If you move fast enough through the water, your head tends to plane up, and it's easier to breathe (freestyle).
The ability to swim a mile, run a marathon or whatever is not for the Navy's benefit, it's for you. You will be called on to tap into those reserves of physical endurance in situations and times not of your own choosing. Having confidence in your endurance will help you get through those trials.
Arm stroke technique and getting your speed up is very important. Rock your shoulders as your arm enters the water and get a good glide. Like bike riding, the faster you move, the easier it gets. If you move fast enough through the water, your head tends to plane up, and it's easier to breathe (freestyle).
The ability to swim a mile, run a marathon or whatever is not for the Navy's benefit, it's for you. You will be called on to tap into those reserves of physical endurance in situations and times not of your own choosing. Having confidence in your endurance will help you get through those trials.
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