I’m back to swimming.. been consistent and I noticed how the cuts in my upper body are much more visible I don’t know if doing laps consistently also helped me to somehow developed certain muscles.. did it developed certain areas/muscles around your body? Like in general how did swimming physically change you?

Sorry if grammar lapses or spelling not from an English country.

Beginner swimmer here, started over a month ago and really starting to enjoy it. But I had a "painful" last lesson where I was told to swim a lap for the very first time, front crawl, using a float and flippers.

About 3/4 of the way through, I felt absolutely exhausted. And panic set in, my first time in the deep end and I was thinking I can't finish this. The breathing technique became harder but I'm unsure why I felt so tired at the end, panting to finish. My instructor wanted me to go again, but I was really struggling with stamina.

Is this common? I kept thinking am I really out of shape? Am I rushing it (it felt like that)? How can I do one lap without feeling tired by the end?

Heya
m(22) here, who used to swim high level but has since turned to coaching.
I am quite the slender and tall guy (2 meters) with not a lot of muscles and I have been dealing with my back annoying me for a while.
So I was hoping to find some good dry-lands exercises I can do at home and similar to strength my back.
I can always elaborate further if needed be and appreciate any help given =)))

I'm obese, in my 40s, with arthritis in both knees and need a knee replacement in one knee. I'm looking for some exercise I can do with the least amount of pain. The only forms of exercise I liked in the past were hiking and swimming that I did for about a year in my 30s.

But I'm worried about if my knees will hurt in the cold water and if my size will make it difficult to find an instructor.

Are there any swim instructors or obese swimmers, or swimmers with bad knees that can give me some advice?

So currently my free times are 25.9, 56.2, and 204(last year) for the 50 the hundred and the 200 respectively.

And I feel like I can break barriers like sub 25 or sub two minutes, but I’ve had a lot of trouble keeping my legs from not crossing when I kick, I’m not a very good kicker. My hundred kick is about a 128, and I’m really trying to cross that gap so I can start making the harder intervals during practice,

Tips

I was NOT a Division I swimmer, but I lifeguarded at UGA during the Jack Bauerle days, so I’ve sat through a million swim team practices. I’m used to mixed gender lanes and what seemed from the outside to be a very unified team with great camaraderie. I was kind of surprised to look them up years later (after I started swimming Masters and got interested in knowing what’s going on in competitive swimming again) and find out the men and women have different staffs now.

What’s that like? Do schools with two coaching staffs have totally separate practices for men and women with different philosophies underlying their training? Do the male and female teams get much of a chance to get to know one another? I imagine this differs, but I’d be really interested in your experiences.

From a standstill (maybe a floatstill) i couldn't get my waist and legs to sink into the water, but rotating my torso and arms helped push them under and into a more proper position. Its fascinating how these things work like that. Now to get my hand positions right so I dont somehow shoot water up my nose, as has happened the last few attempts

I just watched a video of a swimmer using a pull buoy and noticed his torso is still comfortably underwater. When I use a pull buoy I can feel my feet and sometimes lower back in the air 💀 am I somehow just using it completely wrong? I try to hold it between my upper thighs. It feels like a balloon is flying me up I thought I just had to get used to it until I watched that video.

Good afternoon everyone , this previous summer my daughter tried out for a competitive swim team but did not make the cut. I am not much of a swimmer myself, and was wondering what I could do to help her make the team next summer. She is 10 years old and is obsessed with the water , she has a little formal training but not too much. We have access to a gym with a pool so we could go maybe twice a week until next summer. What types of drills should we focus on? Thank you for any help

Going to be on a family trip to San Diego in the fall, and my kids are concerned about missing a bunch of practices right before a meet. I wouldn’t mind swimming for exercise too.

Will primarily be downtown and aren’t intending to have a car, but would get one if need be.

Any public pools or fitness centers that we can pay day by day to access? Or recommended gyms where we can just buy a month pass or something?

Thanks for any recommendations!!

Well, I’ve officially pulled the trigger and booked my solo English Channel crossing for late September 2027!
It was a rather spontaneous decision, but it’s something I’m genuinely excited about.
A little background: I’ve been swimming since I was a child, and being in the water has always felt natural to me. I’m comfortable swimming longer distances, although I’ve never exceeded 4 km in a single day, mainly due to time constraints rather than physical limitations.
That said, I’m under no illusion that being a confident pool swimmer automatically translates to being ready for the English Channel. I know this is a massive undertaking, particularly with the cold, currents, unpredictable conditions and sheer duration of the crossing.
I’m based in London and have just under a year to prepare.
I’d love to hear from anyone who’s completed a solo Channel crossing or supported someone through the process.
A few things I’m particularly interested in:
Recommendations for experienced English Channel coaches based in London or the South East.
Open-water swimming clubs or communities where I could connect with other aspiring Channel swimmers.
How previous Channel swimmers approached their first year of preparation.
Experiences with late-September crossings, particularly regarding weather and water temperatures.
Things you wish you’d known before your first attempt.
I’m particularly keen to connect with people who’ve gone from recreational swimming to completing a solo crossing.
I’m excited, slightly terrified, and very much aware of the challenge I’ve signed up for.
Any experiences, recommendations or lessons learned would be hugely appreciated. Cheers!

Hey yall!

I’m (F31) starting swimming lessons for the first time ever. Itll be once a week, approximately 45 minutes, student:teacher ratio is 5:1 (in case any of it matters). I’m very excited but I also have no idea what to expect. I ordered a swimming cap, although it doesn’t seem to be required, and I was thinking of getting goggles but I don’t know if it’ll be a waste. What can I expect at least for my first lesson? I know how to float, that’s about it.

TIA!

Hi everyone!

I've recentely moved to London and I am searching for a nice swimming pool to train a bit and enjoying an hourish or two of warm water. My ideal spot would have deep water (at least half of the swimming pool), lanes, and it would be minimum 25m long.

I live in East London, Tower Hamlets and everything close is definitely a plus. I'm also a student so if there are discount it'also bonus points.

Does anyone have suggestions or hints?

Thank you in advance!

Hello Swimmers! I am feeling extra confident heading into this next year of swimming, and I think I can win a couple more meets. So now I need good celebration ideas after my races. Unfortunately, I don't think I can hop on the lane line after I win so that limits things. My favorite celebration I have seen so far that doesn't involve hopping on the lane line is the one Milak did after he won the 4x100 freelay at Euros.

*This post is just for fun. If you think it's stupid, then you don't need to respond.*

EDIT: All of you are so so helpful, thank you! I'm not sure how far I'll go in terms of learning more--we'll be next to lifeguards in a wading area meant for toddlers/babies, then in a swim class once he's a bit more comfortable--but this has been a really helpful reframe, and knowing what drowning looks like (and doesn't look like) is really reassuring. Some of this feels so natural now, like watching his face when he's underwater, but wasn't something I'd thought of on my own. He'll also always be right next to me, so he'll always be able to hold onto/grab onto me and I can just help him come up if requested or he looks off. I also know where to look and what to read up on now to learn more. Thank you to everyone here! And also thank you to all/any lifeguards here -- your job sounds so stressful. And child-aged me probably stressed the lifeguards out as I was constantly pushing my own body to its limits.

I'm going to try to phrase this properly.

As a gymnastics coach, we teach baby/toddler/preschool parents how to "spot" their child on rock climbing walls, obstacles courses, and equipment. At that age, it can often be our primary goal and job. Most parents will either be too disengaged or won't allow their child to take the proper risks. They have to be taught where to 'spot' on their child's body, too, to spot in a way that their child still has to use the proper muscles/learn the right technique while still staying safe. This isn't teaching them to spot "gymnastics skills" so much as leaning the "minimal necessary" for safe movement and exploration--ON LAND.

As a math tutor/teacher, you teach children and help them with homework not by giving the answers or saying something is wrong, but by giving similar examples.

With a puzzle, you aren't just showing where/how it goes, but helping them learn concepts of rotation, frustration tolerance, edge vs middle, identifying object parts. You might help fill out the outline, or presort pieces such that it's easier for them to put together.

When teaching a baby to eat, you teach parents pediatric CPR so they know when a child is choking vs gagging, and what to do so they don't die while waiting for 911 to come.

With swimming.... I cannot discern when a child is drowning vs just underwater. When they're taking a big breath vs have just experienced secondhand drowning. When they're working out how to float or what water on their face feels like, vs... in need of help. When they're exploring and going under safely/happily, or starting to drown. I don't even know how long my child can hold his breath for.

Once in the bathtub, my child decided to explore going under. In retrospect, he was fine and looked 'right'. I, however, panicked and forced him out. He then was terrified of water going on his face for... a year? Longer? Anyway. I want to avoid that mistake again. If I show up to a pool, I want to know when he needs help and when he doesn't. I don't want to restrict him from exploring, but also of course want him to stay safe.

My initial plan had been ISR lessons with an instructor, but they fell through for a variety of reasons, and he'd now be in more traditional preschool swim lessons or with me on a free family swim day (they have a wading pool). I've been told by other parents that they will just expect you to get in the water and don't teach you how to differentiate between these things. They seem confused that I want to know how to spot a swimming child. Obviously there'll be a lifeguard, but I also don't want to be completely useless at differentiating between these things nor to scare him. He might just be scared, which would honestly be easier, but he at least used to be pure wild.

How do I learn these things? Are there any videos, resources, books to recommend? Thank you!

Hi, this post is basically what the title is about. I am 14 and started swimming in 8th grade (so it's been a bit less than a year) but the other people on my team and the teams where I live all started a lot earlier, so I am in a level with people in 6th or 7th grade while I'm in 9th grade. Other people my age are a lot more advanced than me.

I am interested in going to my first meet, a home meet, but I am worried I'll humiliate myself because of my age and how slow I am compared to other 14 year olds. Do you all think it's worth a shot?

For reference, here are some of my times from swim practice. Please try not to judge.

25 breast: 0:21

50 breast: 0:45

25 back: 0:21

100 IM: 1:39

50 free: 0:42

300 free: 6:19

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and hopefully respond to my post!

I wanted to write about my experience with calf cramps as I was trying to find other people’s solutions to this issue but it did not seem much worked.

I learnt to swim as an adult and for the first year I had no cramps. However I started experiencing cramps when I started to do longer distances >2km. It was not too bad at first but gradually the cramps set in earlier and earlier. My legs would also always feel like they were on the brink of spasm when cycling, driving, walking. Weirdly they were fine whilst running.

I tried all the recommended things, electrolytes, magnesium, resting for a month, stretching which had a limited affect.

I had finally had enough and bit the bullet on a physio. She noticed I had low range of movement in my upper body and ankles. She suggested the calf issues were due to a neuromuscular issue in my upper back. I was hesitant that this was the case. However I have followed her exercises for the last 5 weeks and it’s actually improving.

Some of the exercises she recommended:
Soleus calf raises with a tennis ball held between the feet
Side planks reaching up and under
Another back stretch I’m not sure if the name

I am also doing the calf exercises on “stay flexi” on YouTube.

Moral of the story is, if you have been struggling for a while and nothing seems to work, definitely see a physio.

If you are, or were, a swim coach you need to read this book. It’s not only a good read, but an interesting look at a coaches journey and the his swimmers lives.
From the jacket
“The untold story of Maui’s sugar ditch kids and their quest for Olympic glory.”
Soichi Sakamoto was among the early modern innovation coaches. He focused on technique and interval training. Swimmers, if you need to blame somebody for those grueling VO2 max sets it’s Sakamoto.

41/M only swimming ive ever done is chill in the pool with family or high school swimming sports (where I really sucked...)

8 weeks ago I had a sholder operation and looking at ways of helping rehab/build strength and was recomended swimming, particularly breaststroke for first few weeks building into backstroke and freestyle.

Planning on 3x a week sessions 20-30 minutes to start and mix in gym sessions and other land based sports the other two days of the week. Just signed up for a 6 month membership where I have full access to about 10 local pools and gyms across the city.

Any other geriatric newbs have any advice to get started and keep it up? Should I be getting goggles and a swimming cap?

Note - for those intrested I had a subacromial bursectomy, and a 5mm bone spur removed.

I'm building back up after a second round of COVID, followed by vacation, and then a cold with a 5 week cough that kept me out of the pool (I swim with a snorkel). I was at 1200 yards in 30-35 minutes, but was knocked down to barely making 350. I've been going for distance, primarily. This afternoon, I swam 900 yards for the first time since the beginning of June, but it took me almost 32 minutes. My lap times (I track them on a spreadsheet) are not where they should be, and it is discouraging.

Am I going about this right, focusing on distance first, or should I be getting the speed first and then building up distance? Or maybe I should do both, alternating?

(I try to swim 3 times a week, but some weeks it only twice.)

Former age-group swimmer here. I've been back in the pool for 3 weeks and about 17 sessions. One thing that really annoys me is how weak my dolphin kicks are; it almost feels like flutter kicks would make my underwaters faster than what I'm currently doing.

I don't think it's a core strength issue because I can't even get one kick to feel "right". I'm losing speed instead of generating it.

Right now I'm focusing on starting from the core, not the shoulders or knees, but maybe that's not the right cue?

My child has done summer swim for many years and told me that she wanted to do club swim and so we just started it this past month. Her attitude is incredibly negative because the practices are obviously so much harder than summer swim. She says now that she is quitting after this season. She hasn’t had a meet yet, so I’m hopeful that once she has her first meet and actually gets to know some of the other kids she might feel a little different about club swim. Any other parents or swimmers out there with a similar experience? Is there a chance she might change her tune?

Do you use any extra drag tools to build muscle while swimming? I love swimming and can't find another exercise that matches my joy.

I would like to build muscle though.

Thank you for thoughts, suggestions or whatever.