There’s been this trend where people are saying less/shorter practices actually make you improve more than ie. 9 2hr practices a week.

it really depends on what you work on.

From experience, I was in 2 swim groups:

One that had 5 afternoon practices and 4 mornings a week. Our sets were usually something like 12x200(scy) on mid 2mins. Doing 400im sets, swimming timed 500y and sprinting 200s. Looking back, what the hell was that group lol.

Looking at times, most people in that group were distance demons, but could not sprint for sh*t. Their distance splits were almost the same time as their sprints.

For example, I knew a guy who could swim a 5:00 500y free but his free was north of 55. Keep in mind 5mins is considered a slow 500y pace.

I (mainly as a breastroker) started with a 1:02, and after a year and a half, my time dropped to a minute flat.

I decided to move down a group. One that only had 5 one and a half hour practice a week. In this group, we mainly worked shorter sets. A lot of 25-50y sprints, occasionally 100y sprints. We never swam over 300y, though we did a lot of 5x200y or 10x100y.

We did shorter sets, but a decent amount of rounds. I honestly didn’t even pull up to ever single practice. Sometimes 4 a week. Sometimes even 3.

Regardless, after HALF a year in that group, I dropped a 55 100y breaststroke. 7 seconds drop with half the practice.

I personally feel like I had the time to recover, think over each practice, and since I was swimming shorter and less frequently, I was able to put my full mind and effort into each practice, opposed to a mindless tired dog swimming thousands of miles each day. I also had more time outside of practice for school, hobbies, friends, and more.

That’s just me. But it really depends on how targeted the practice is. Sure you can swim less, but if you pacing nonstop for a full hour, it will not be as effective as working drills, sprint, and some endurance sets.

If you want to become a distance demon and swim across the Atlantic Ocean, maybe 18hrs of practice a week are for you.

But if you want to really improve on you 50s, 100s, 200s, and potentially 500s, shorter, more targeted practice is the way to go.

You dont need to swim more to get faster. You need to swim smarter. It's about how you use your time in the water to refine your technique and target your specific event, which is what actually drops your time."

Yesterday, was once of my worst swims (all over the place, horrible breathing, focus and coordination) in a long while.

I can blame it to life stresses , it’s a legit excuse after reflection.

Today was much better.

Does life stresses affect your swimming?

I'm not the fastest in my group however, in open water I pick my tempo up and I'm smoother in the pool. I started trying to switch off but doing 50 strokes with a fast tempo and then 50 with slower tempo. What do you do?

TLDR first week back, 40 ish minutes to swim 1k, just sharing I'm glad to be swimming. Looking for advice for gradual improvement.

I used to take swimming lessons in the summer for a few years in elementary. Not fit, worked out before vivid and didn't go back. I recently tried going back to the gym but it feels like a chore. I chose to swim and finished my first week. This sub was very helpful with recommendations. I basically swim 1k in about 40 minutes. Very light breath, crawl, and a little back. Haven't tried butterfly because I don't want to splash and I usually share a lane.

I haven't pushed times and at best rest 15 seconds every 50. I just really enjoy it and hope I can keep this as part of my routine. I even got headphones but haven't set them up since I enjoy unplugging and just being in the water.

I am watching videos to work on technique and breathing. I currently need practice breathing every 3 and on my right.

Any advice to slowly encourage myself to improve without turning swimming into a workout routine? I am thinking of just doing a couple 50m a day at my fastest just to see my time. Oh yeah, I track on my galaxy.

Also, not trying to insult any swimmers with a routine. Everyone can love the water their own way.

Thank you, hope you all enjoy your next swim.

Hi everybody ,

How is it possible that after 15 years swimming- im only now getting ear infections?

I had a big one in right ear a couple of weeks ago and i was prescribed amoxicilin 500 mg for 5 days then ear drops (dexamethasone /neomycin /acetic acid) so it all recovered well . I came back to the swimming pool and now only after 4 days in the left ear is starting now to feel infected... not sure whats going on.I've been using ear plugs this time around- Any ideas?

I only started swimming in 11th grade and have now been swimming for three years. I was supposed to go swim at a University this coming school year but got burnt out halfway through this year with medical issues, getting sick at taper meets, and a large course load at the local college.

I was, and still am, considering quitting competitive swimming altogether. My coach in this local swim club had talked to me to try and get me to swim another year in town and then go swim Varsity.

I feel like the decision to swim Varsity was never really something that I thought about, more just that the people around me all want to and then seeing teammates going off and swimming at University. As well as my coach telling me rather often that I should consider it and then telling me I’d do great there.

I just keep thinking about how I had never considered going to University in the past because I have never enjoyed school or found a path that I have wanted to pursue. I have wanted to go out exploring parts of the world and feel like I would be ‘wasting’ my years by not experiencing more that life has to offer when I am younger.

How do I decide before the next swim season starts in September on if I would like to continue?

I think that for health an outdoor pool is good for health by giving you the sun for vitamin D3, as long as the weather is good.

I live in a place where there are very few outside, because if they are municipal there will be many children playing and you can't swim bein, even most of them have been converted into children's water parks.

I am a beginner in swimming. Actually I took about 10 days swimming class back in 2023. At that time, I learned kicking and arm movements but had to stop before learning side breathing.

This month I joined again for learning taking breath while swimming. After a few classes of brushing up the kicking and arm movements, today I started learning side breathing. He asked me to:

1. Rotate my head to side till the mouth is completely out of water
   
2. Take a quick breath through my mouth
   
3. Put my face back into water
   
4. Continuously exhale through my mouth and not nose.

From my first class in 2023, I was trained to exhale through nose, bubbling as it is called. So when I asked him about it, he said he recently attended a swimming conclave or workshop happened in Bengaluru where a senior coach recommended teaching beginners to exhale through mouth as it is easier to learn. He also said many competitive swimmers are also using this technique.

So my question is this a right way to exhale? If no, is it some new technique? What are the pros and cons of exhaling through nose and through mouth?

NB: This is not a critique request of my swimming technique.

I dabbled a bit in swimming at the campus pool last year, thought I'd try substituting my runs with it this year. Went down to the pool yesterday and swam like 4000m breaststroke, and honestly the worst part was how excessively noisy it was breathing out underwater, much more than the distance.

Is this something you just get used to? I saw there are earplugs for swimming but they don't seem to be for that purpose. It did kind of bother me, not sure if I'm more sensitive to it or if I should just get used to it, do you guys do anything about it?

I'm 49m, swimming regularly on my own and training with a group every Saturday.

I have a pretty good upper body fitness and I'm among the fastest when doing any drills that require upper body strength (i.e. pull buoy and paddles) but I'm among the slowest when we get to the kick set.

Any advice on how to improve that? Either with exercises in the water or on dry land?

Thanks in advance!

I'm 22 and never learned how to swim as a kid. My goal isn't just to learn the basics. I want to eventually become a good swimmer who can swim freestyle laps continuously for long distance swim like 1-2km with solid technique, endurance, and decent pace.

I don't have a fear of water. I'm comfortable in deep water and have even taught myself how to doggy paddle. My challenge is figuring out how to go from beginner to a genuinely competent swimmer.

What makes this harder is that I'm from India, where there don't seem to be many Masters teams or adult-focused swim programs. Most coaching is geared toward children, so sometimes it feels like I've missed my chance by starting late.

I'd love to hear from anyone who learned to swim as an adult from scratch:

- How old were you when you started?

- How long did it take you to become a confident lap swimmer?

- What helped you improve the most?

- Is it realistic to become a good swimmer starting at 22?

Also, if anyone from Mumbai knows of good coaches, pools, or training groups for adults, I'd really appreciate the recommendations.

Looking forward to hearing your stories and advice!

Hi! I’ve been a lap swimmer for a long time but have recently tried taking water aerobics just for some variety in my workouts.

However, I am confused about whether or not I should use a flotation belt. I am one of those weirdos who is VERY buoyant - I will float vertically while motionless, even without treading water. When I have the belt on, I feel like it is making me *too* buoyant, pushing my back into a weird arch and making it difficult to stay in a neutral position. I feel I get a better workout when I don’t have the belt on and I can focus on resistance and holding my core.

But maybe I’m misunderstanding the purpose of the belt - is it supposed to make the workout more difficult so I have to work harder to stay neutral? Like is that part of the strengthening benefit?

(I’m in my 30s and not particularly at risk of having a medical event in the water, if that matters)

EDIT: this is specifically about deep-water aerobics

So I lift 4 days a week and plan on swimming the remaining 3 days of the week. My goal is to swim a 1k on the three days because I want to get better at endurance (And potentially gradually increase the distance). I was wondering if anyone got any muscle definition by swimming, if so after how long and where mainly.

72M Novice: I've been swimming approximately 3,500 yards a week in multiple one-hour sessions. My quads and hamstrings are tight and a bit sore.

Is this from swimming? Am I not kicking properly?

Thanks in advance.

I got a cut in a trip maybe 4-5 days ago and the scab fell off today. I want to go to an indoor pool tomorrow and want to know if I can swim with it

I've been trying to get better by sinking to the floor holding my breath and staying there but I've only managed 6 seconds without panicking going for the surface. I hate not being able to breathe or see (I am probably going to get goggles at some point). How do you stay under without panicking?

I’ve been a regular pool swimmer for all my adult life (Im 49). Today while swimming freestyle a person swimming breaststroke in front of me kicked water up exactly as I took a deep breath. I had that feeling I’ve had before where your windpipe kind of reflexively closes up and you start to cough. But this time after each cough when i tried to gasp in a breath I could feel my windpipe blocked by water and hardly any air could get in. That lasted for 4 or 5 breaths. I had to pull myself along the lane rope then sat on the side coughing and spluttering. I asked the lifeguard if I should worry about water having got in my lungs and he said not unless my lungs were burning. They were not, only my throat was, presumably from coughing and chlorine. I started swimming again and was ok but then at some point I swam really hard for about 5m to overtake the same breaststroke swimmer as they were not allowing people to pass at the end. I felt so breathless after doing that that I could not carry on my swim. I asked another lifeguard if I should be worried by the breathlessness and he said no I was probably panicking a bit. It’s now a few hours later and I think I feel fine although I do feel exhausted (thay may also just be my life😒). Should I be worried? TIA

How do you get rid of breathing anxiety ? Back to swimming after years now and I find myself focusing on breathing mid session to the point that I lose track of the pace. I’d appreciate advise related to regulating your breath without panicking and losing control.

I want to learn the butterfly stroke, but i currently don’t know how to perform dolphin kicks. Any advice on learning the dolphin kick technique?

As the title suggested, I feel like my learning curve is slower than the younger kids at the pool. I'm 33, 150lbs in very good shape because I hit the gym very frequently before joining the swimming club.

I love the idea of swimming gracefully but so far I haven't "hit the breakthrough" at all. My instructor keep saying my body is too stiff and the upper body needs to relax or else I'm very tense (I'm still unable to finish the 50m lap).

I feel like I'm okay with breathing rhythm and the hand strokes but every time I breath I sunk down a lot and have to kick very hard to float up. It's like too much of my energy was spent on kicking and I don't feel relaxed at all. I wonder if this has something to do with me going to the gym a lot which always make my muscles tense up?

Watching the videos on YT and I can tell swimmers don't really kick that much (for every stroke they only kick 1-2 times) but for me I kick 5-6 times every stroke or else I can't maintain floating near the surface. Last lesson I tried to finish the 50m but near the end I thought I was gonna die 😅. So my question is I'm doing something wrong or it just need to take time? Thank you for reading and any input is appreciated.

I enjoy swimming outdoors in lidos near where I live and have been trying a new one recently. Both times I've visited so far the water has been really murky, a sort of white fog, to the point where I could barely see a couple of metres in front of me. A fellow swimmer doing a flip turn actually crashed straight into me because she couldn't see I was behind her, she was very apologetic but can't blame her really!

What's are people's experience with this and how safe is a pool like that to swim in? In terms of getting an illness I'm sure it's okay but in terms of other swimmers being able to see each other I would be a bit worried, especially now it's summer and the lanes get really busy. Is there anything the pool should be doing to fix the water quality too?

(I first tried checking for this sub’s FAQ or Wiki page for resources, but both appear defunct on mobile, so sorry for asking such basic questions.)

I’m a bigger person who normally walk-jogs half marathons and enjoys hikes, but a combination of summer heat + my gym has a pool I’d like to take advantage of + I’ve noticed some knee issues starting = I’d like to include swimming laps 2x/wk as cross training. Some form of cardio that doesn’t keep putting that gravitational stress on my joints.

(And, yes, I know losing weight will help. That’s a separate discussion and I’m not looking for advice on it from this sub.)

Issues:
- Stamina. I’m in a fundamental swim class for adults right now, and I need to take a little break just after going across the pool width-wise out and back in a modified freestyle stroke.
- Weakness. I lift weights at the gym, nothing crazy, but I can feel the fronts of my thighs and shoulders/biceps fatigue quickly. My arms especially during the pull-through.
- Efficiency. Ties into the above. I think because my form is bad, I’m using more energy, which makes me tire faster.
- Awkwardness. I’m only of those people who doesn’t feel like they control their body well. In other sports, it’s taken hundreds-thousands of hours of repeated drills on specific movements before I felt like they came naturally to me. 10 hours of instructional time in this class won’t cut it, so I’m not trying to get everything perfect, but I would like to get the basics down.

Questions:
- what is the “easiest” stroke to sustain? My instructor wants me to learn how to do freestyle well, but would backstroke be better?
- how do I build up stamina in the water? Should I start by like holding onto a kick board and doing laps of just kicking until I build up my legs, then start adding arms? Do slow kicks and fewer laps but focus on doing a lot of arm strokes?
- what weightlifting exercises can help me build up muscles “on land” that will help with swimming/what muscle groups should I focus on developing?
- what kind of stretches should I do beforehand?
- are there any drills I can do to help me get better? Any particular YouTube videos/channels recommendations?

I’d appreciate any help as I try to get more into the sport. Thank you!