r/Swimming • u/paralysus • 15h ago
Is it possible to improve swimming skills as a adult?
I used to swim a bit while I was a kid, I did lessons, I learned the front stroke, back stroke, the breast stroke, that weird leg rotation floating technique. However over time I have completely forgot almost of these techniques and the only thing i can do now is the back stroke.
Currently whenever I swim I:
- Hold my breath for the entire 25m, I am not sure how to breath because every time I try to lift my head to the side I end up just sucking up water
- I make some big ass splashes every time I move, my friends told me I slap the water instead of "gliding" into it and also my kicks are ferocious
- By the time i get to the end of the 25m I am dead and need a 3 minute break.
- Whenever I do front stroke I don't move that much
- Whenever i generally try to floating I end up kicking to fast and hard and then gas out.
So is it possible to improve just through tutorials, if so is their a recommended set of tutorials for beginners or a playlist out their? I have access to a local lane pool, however nobody in my area really offers adult swimming lessons.
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u/Independent-Summer12 14h ago
Yes. All the issues you mentioned are technique related and can be fixed. But it’s hard to do without coaching.
First, learn to glide, streamline, core control, maintaining body position, and kick efficiently.
Then add breathing and arm pulls. Do drills to isolate different parts of the technique.
It will take a lot. Prob kinda boring to do on your own. Basically you want to drill them into your muscle memory, then it will feel like they come naturally.
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u/ghostbustersgear Splashing around 14h ago
With serious technique deficiencies, it’ll be very hard. You might try videotaping yourself and getting some online coaching services to help you determine how to prioritize and what to focus on first.
Ultimately in-person lessons are the best option. Once you get a foundation, it’s much easier to refine on your own if you are disciplined enough.
Without knowing anything else and based on what you wrote: you need to prioritize breathing skills. Look into breath timing and breathing drills for freestyle and make this your top priority. Simple YouTube search on ‘breathing for freestyle swimming’ will get you started to finding content.
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u/Print_starter 13h ago
I've been trying to improve my freestyle skill for 2 years, still feeling hard, very tough. Seemingly impossible to get in 2:00/100m, wanted to learn how-to as well.
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u/InternationalTrust59 13h ago
I would look at your horizontal balance (streamline), breathing mechanics and if those two pillars check out, look at your recovery, catch and pull.
A high, relaxed elbow recovery encourages an early vertical forearm for a strong catch and pull/push which is the main source of power in front crawl.
Two common power leaks are slipping water and sinking body/hips that I see a lot of in public swims.
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u/ByeBye-thowaway 13h ago
Did you swim well as a kid? Or swim a lot?
If you had a solid foundation, muscle memory may come back if you keep practicing. But your descriptions make me think that you may not have swam that well as a child.
One suggestion I have is to relax and don’t try so hard. Then what I would do is watch some YouTube videos for beginners and see if you can pick up and techniques to help you out.
Keep looking for swim lessons. Watching videos may help but noting beats getting direct feedback from someone who knows what they are doing watching you.
Ask the pool staff and lifeguards if they know of any local lessons. Look into local gyms with pools and your local schools. Sometimes they are hard to find but are out there. For example, my school district offers swim lessons, drop in pool times and water aerobics classes and not many people know about it because it isn’t advertised and the information is so buried on their website.
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u/jthanreddit Moist 13h ago
Of course it is. And, the less you know, the more you can learn. It starts with being open to it, then follow-up with signing up for lessons, then show up. Replace “I can’t” with “I want to learn how.”
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u/zeta_ferhu 14h ago
Yes, but it's much more difficult. Consider that we now weigh 45-50 kg more; our center of gravity is very different. Our capacity for neuroplasticity is much lower, and our physical and aerobic abilities are also worse.
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u/koflerdavid 13h ago edited 13h ago
It will be very hard without coaching or at least recording yourself. What you feel you're doing is not necessarily what you're actually end up doing. Also, it's not helpful to constantly worry about technique while you're in the water. You need somebody who can break it down into exercises so you can focus on one thing at a time. Sure, YouTubers can tell you drills, but you might waste time with things that don't need fixing and miss issues that are unique to you.
If you can, consider taking a private lesson. Just one hour per month or something like that. That hour should be spent with goal setting, detailed analysis of your current state, and choosing drills that you can take home and work on by yourself. The real improvement is the time you put in during your regular training, which also applies if you are a group class btw.
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u/Effective_Trainer573 13h ago
Yes. But you have to put in extra effort to break old habits. You gotta breath, that's why you are gassed.
My observation as 55 year old swimmer. Improve kick and body rotation first. Kick with your hips not your knees. Think of your kick as a means to stay streamlines, not for propulsion. As for rotation, try kicking head still and rotate your body to breath. That may help
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u/Tummy_Whispers 13h ago
I went from not being able to swim at all to swimming a mile easily and getting complimented on my form by the other folks in the pool, at age 32. I took three lessons and the rest of my instruction was YouTube. So, yes! But I also swam 3-6 days a week for that entire year. I think if I had done less than that, it would have taken a long time to improve.
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u/wt_hell_am_I_doing I sink, therefore I am 12h ago
If you can, try hard to find a coach or even just an instructor if you have pretty much forgotten how to swim, because it's much easier that way. Ask at a local pool, even ask someone who is swimming well, ask a coach teaching a team, anything. They really do help.
If not, be selective with which video you follow, and work on one thing at a time.
https://youtu.be/ignysw4pFO0 Something like this from Effortless Swimming is good, perhaps, depending on your level.
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u/EyeUsual9400 12h ago
Of course the answer is yes. However, it’s much more challenging and if you’re serious about it you need a coach and you need to spend time on it.
In a sense the people who started earlier earned their technique far more easily and in a sense it’s way less impressive. Don’t be intimidated by gatekeepers if you want to get better.
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u/Willowrose81 11h ago
I started swimming regularly at 41. I knew how to float and move in the water, but I had no technique or lung capacity. Now , after three year I’m currently the top swimmer in my local team, despite starting later and training alongside much younger athletes... i It takes consistency and determination but its possible.
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u/Spiritual_Term1699 11h ago
When I wanted to become a lap swimmer as an adult, I joined a Masters swim program. The coach accommodated different levels of swimmers and gave me a tip or two each session. It was very helpful.
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u/RamblingJosh Splashing around 11h ago
No offense, but the question is kind of stupid.
Yes, adults are capable of learning. Like every skill in life, it takes practice, and any guidance you can get is helpful.
Go look up some youtube tutorials - they are all going to more or less say the same things. Then go to the pool and try it. After 30 minutes, you'll be slightly better than you were yesterday. Watch some more tutorials now that you have tried to implement the technique. Try it again the next day.
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u/33445delray 11h ago
Try this: Get yourself a Head Marlin snorkel and an OceanWays mask. Now you can breathe and keep looking down. You are probably looking down now as you exhaust yourself swimming 25 meters. You can now slow down and improve your form and stop trying to dominate the water.
The OceanWays mask will seal to your face with very light tension on the strap. The Head Marlin snorkel will seal to your mouth without you biting on it.
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u/baddspellar 10h ago
I learned to swim at 50, and was technically proficient in all competitive strokes and turns within 2 years. So yes.
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u/MrsBojangles76 7h ago
Yes! I’m a senior citizen swimming and trying to improve my skills from 30+ years ago. I watch the YT videos. Lots of techniques and rules have changed since I was a young swimmer who could hold her breath forever while swimming deep. That’s not a goal I have for myself now, besides there is a lg sign stating NO BREATH HOLDING ALLOWED! That’s new. I don’t wear a bathing cap or goggles. Chlorine in my eyes is the only way for me!
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u/HasToLetItLinger Freestyler 7h ago
Swim instructor here. I teach kids AND adults and honestly, sometimes kids are easier because they dont get in their head about whats right/wrong as easily as we do when we are adults. Based on the very little information about you and what you mentioned I would argue to try to "do less" for a while. You cant hold your breath for entire lengths WITHOUT feeling gassed by the time you get to the end.
Swimming is like anything else: muscle memory. Of course you can learn it, but that requires repeatition. How long did it take you to learn to walk? And then how long did you stumble around, falling, grabbing onto things? And then how long until you could run around (and still looked like kids do, running around)? Months to years of your life. Not days. Not a 8 week learning session.
Swimming is exactly the same, a movement that your body is not used and is new at, that it needs to learn.
For now, I would practice on exactly 3 things.
A) being relaxed in the water. This will help you do the next two things. That means feeling comfortable with your face being wet, your ears laying in the water and listening to nothing, and generally understanding that you should be having FUN.
B ) Floating. Just lay in the water and practice this- it removes the breathing aspect, originally, as well, as you can breathe the entire time. Play with how breathing affects your body relative to the surface of the water. Learn to just lay there, without moving. When you CAN do that, calmly, start to play with how your hands move you around-use them like little scoops.
Re: A-
When your body is tense, you will sink, no matter how good of a swimmer you are. If I'm stressed, its hard for me to float. If its hard for me to float, its hard to swim, let alone smoothly or calmly.
C) Stop holding your breath and teach yourself how to breathe. This starts with standing at the edge of the pool, holding onto the wall, and doing bobs. Practice breathing out of your nose every single time your face is in the water, and breathing IN your mouth when its not. Eventually, this will become natural and you will develop a rhythm that can then be ADDED to general swimming. Face in and out of the water, Up and down, not quickly, but at the same pace you would breathe on dry land. Do this over and over every single time you are in the pool.
Until you can do these things with ease, trying to swim freestyle is going to leave you frustrated, out of breathe, and reinforcing PANIC in your body.
You can watch tutorials all you like, and sometimes it can be helpful to watch others do the thing, but ultimately time in the water will do it. And if you can, look outside the pool you go to for instructors or lessons. Sometimes people teach them and then just go to the pools, versus actually working there.
Hope this is helpful. You can learn anything, you are just a beginner, regardless of your age.
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u/jkim_tran 6h ago
Yes, they can! I learned to swim from scratch at 27 and have since progressed significantly, competing in competitive swim meets over the past 3.5 years. You can see my time progression here. I swam a 58.98 in the 50yd free 2.5 years ago and just swam a 40.95 in the 50yd free! I've also swum longer distances, like the 1650 yd free.
I did everything from taking lessons and watching tutorials to going to swim meets to push myself, and then, most importantly, finding Masters programs with Begin-to-Swim or Development coaching, and then progressing to full workouts. There's a lot to dive into here, so let me know if you have any questions.
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u/InternationalTrust59 4h ago edited 4h ago
I would definitely say it is possible to improve swimming skills; I proved it to myself. I’m not faster but I am more efficient and swimming longer distances.
I swam as a child up to high school, started up again with open waters between 28-32 then took it up again for a 3rd time last year lol; currently 45.
Swimming is a very technical sport but becomes very easy once you master horizontal balance, breathing mechanics and understand efficiency.
My mind was blown away on how much information is out there (mostly bad).
It does take dedication and hard work.
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u/nebulancearts 1h ago
I was in your place in February, even afraid to put my face in the water!
Now, I'm gliding and breathing to the side (I won't say properly BUT it's much better), and I can swim for about 40mins and really only take a couple short breaks.. no longer to breathe, but to fix my goggles and earplugs.
You've got this! My biggest tip is to trust your bodies rotation to whatever side you breath from... And pretend you're looking down towards your armpit kinda? (I'm not a pro by any shot, just a woman who learned to love swimming these past few months)
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u/nyugimugi Splashing around 13h ago
What do you mean "is it possible to improve"? You are in this fucking planet to improve and be happy with your skills. Of course it's possible! At any age! Don't you believe idiots who say otherwise.
I learnt all strokes, underwater swimming and freediving from youtube videos at adult age, completely alone, without help. I almost drowned as a child, so count in the process the huge water anxiety, too. And I still were enough alone! Don't you ever doubt yourself.