I'm not referring to water aerobics, but actual swimming (freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly)?
I have been swimming on and off for about 8 months now and I am wondering exactly WHEN I will be able to do more than 2 lengths of the pool without gasping for breath??
I absolutely love, Love, LOVE swimming because you feel weightless in the water, your feet, knees, hips and back do not ache, and you don't get all sweaty. Obviously I am getting a good aerobic workout because of being out of breath, but I am wondering when I can expect to get better conditioned so that I can swim several laps without dying!
i have the SAME question. My father has an inground pool and during the summer i go over and do my cardio while the kids play in the other half of the pool. I can do about the same as you and i am just exhausted. Its like 5 minutes of exercise. But yet i can go on the ellipitical at home for 30+ minutes....what is the deal? My friend was a swimmer in high school and she is heavier than me and can do lap after lap of swimming but can only do the ellipitical for about 3 minutes...just crazy really.
I am really of no help to you, just to say, i know how you feel. Right there with you sister.
Try alternating a breast stroke, side stroke, back stroke with a freestyle laps, it will give you a chance to catch your breath. You clould go to a mask and snorkle so you can breath when you want. but I prefer 1 to 1. It does take a little time but most of the swimmers I watch and swim with will alternate.
Hey Irish.. I know what you mean.. I had just finished my first marathon when I decided to jump in the pool and swim some laps... Cha! I felt like an old woman - who smokes!
For me the trick is relaxation. I last longer when I focus on relaxing and swimming slow and steady. I also rotate sets by swiming freestyle, then using a kick board, back to freestyle, breast, etc. so that I am still working but resting certain body parts...
I'd say its one of two things if you can only swim two lengths and be out of breath. Either you are swimming too fast and need to set a comfortable pace to be able to swim further or you have a poor technique and are not breathing properly or it could be a combination of the two. Only you will know.
Ok so slow down, it is not a race! and see how that helps. AND I pesonally use my ipod in the water (all set up with waterproof headphones and case) so music will help set the pace for me rather than the person next to me.
Seriously, I am NOT going fast. I would say I am going at a leisurely pace. Breathing in the water is just DIFFERENT than breathing on an elliptical or a treadmill.
I take a breath every other stroke. My youngest daughter is a swimmer (she is the one who inspired me to begin swimming) and I watch her take a breath every 4 strokes, but I just can't last more than every other stroke.
I really don't think it's my technique or my speed; I just think it is my conditioning and I want to know how long I can plan on being out of breath?
L1445 more info on this waterproof Ipod equipment please!, where can I get it from?! I do about 60 lengths a week and it can get quite boring and I've been thinking it would be nice to have some music! I should have known it was possible !
And Irish I swim alot and I do breathe more heavily but I'm not OUT of breathe, but I swim with my head above the water so I'm constantly taking breaths. But I dont think it's anything to worry about, it's a definite sign that you're working well at least..
When I do laps, I generally breathe every stroke or swim with my head about water, so I can breathe as I need to. Usually when I've gone without swimming for several months, I have to "start over" in terms of how fast I can swim, how many laps I can do and how many I can do without rests in between. But I count my laps, count how many I'm doing in a row, and count the breaks (counting how many seconds before I can head back). This way, I see my progress. Usually from swim to swim, I can add extra laps, or do more in a row, or rest less. By counting, I can see my progress.
The older swimmers have more endurance because they've been doing it longer. That's all. In college, I had a friend who was surprised and kind of bummed because I had more endurance swimming than she did, even though I easily weighed twice as much. She could outwalk me, but I could outswim her, but I was swimming almost every day, and sometimes even twice a day.
Go at a pace and take as many and as long a break as you need to for it to be doable and fun. The progress will come, and if you find a way to measure it, you will get to see it happening.
I bought a referb shuffle from apple, the shape has not changes in a while and I doubt it will for another little wile either, I think the new ones are under $75, but the referb was something around 40.
H2O audio sells what I think is the best set up. headphones and a case. They do make them for all kinds of ipods BUT if I lose a $40 shuffle it will hurt a lot less than my video Nano!
I will say that it is not supririor, BUT it wors fine and for me it is better than being lost in my own head for and hour!
Let me know what you think and shop around you may find a better price, but at the time I bought mine, it was cheeper off the home website.
I swam competitively since I was about 6 years old up until the end of high school. I think one really important thing that new swimmers overlook is technique. You might thing "swimming is swimming" but there's so many little things you can change in your stroke to make it much more effective so that you don't get as tired.
Is there somewhere that you can go for some swimming lessons dealing with technique? If you can't, at least try watching the really good swimmers at your pool for a bit. Watch how their elbows get very high and fingers go into the water at a shallow angle, very stretched out. You want to be doing as few strokes per lap as possible, making each stroke powerful propelling you forwards. Maybe you can find some videos explaining swimming technique online?
You say you been swimming "on and off" for about 8 months? How consistently do you swim. Once a week? Once a month? To increase your endurance, you really have to be consistent about it. Once a week should be fine, but if you are swimming less than that, you'll probably find that it's hard to really build up your endurance.
How long do you swim at a time? If you're only swimming for 10 or 15 minutes, it's also going to be hard to build up your endurance. Try to swim for at least 30 minutes (with breaks between laps as needed) at least once a week, and you should find that your endurance increases pretty quickly.
It also sounds to me like it could be a technique problem. Are you being careful to only turn your head to the side--don't look forward and don't try to lift yourself out of the water. You also want to make sure you are breathing at the right point in your stroke (just as your elbow comes out of the water). Also, make sure you aren't trying to hold your breath. You want to be breathing out while your face is in the water and breathing in when you turn your head to the side. Breathe in, breathe out. It should be a natural rhythm and you shouldn't be holding your breath at any point.
Breathing every other stroke is fine. Unless you are swimming competitively, there's no reason to try to breathe less frequently than that. I swam competitively for years and we rarely breathed less frequently than that while practicing (breathing while racing was a different story).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Get n healthy
My friend was a swimmer in high school and she is heavier than me and can do lap after lap of swimming but can only do the ellipitical for about 3 minutes...just crazy really.
Actually, it's not so crazy. Your friend might not be heavier than you in the water. Fat weighs less than water so it is buoyant; people with more body fat have an easier time floating.
My daughter has helped me with some technique. She pointed out that I was not breathing correctly and instructed me to sort of "roll" to the side to take a breath, rather than just lifting my head out. I am not sure about the timing of the breathing, though. I may have to look at that.
For a while I was swimming 3x/week and while I noticed that I was able to swim more lengths than I used to in a session, I still was not able to go more than 2 lengths without having to stop to breathe and recover.
I guess maybe I'm just worrying too much. I'll just concentrate on the fact that I'm getting aerobic exercise and not obsess anymore.
Swimming?
I also rotate sets by swiming freestyle, then using a kick board, back to freestyle, breast, etc. so that I am still working but resting certain body parts...
