Author Topic: Learning to swim/improving swimming  (Read 82197 times)

Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #225 on: 03 March, 2013, 07:11:33 pm »
Today, for the first time EVAH I haz swum a length !!!!!

Well done!  I still remember the sense of triumph when I managed that! 
(It's all much easier from now on!)
"No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everybody on the couch."

Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #226 on: 03 March, 2013, 07:59:56 pm »
The final piece in this particular jigsaw was changing to a breath every stroke. It wasn't pretty, but I was able to carry on doing it without drowning or drinking too much water. I think that's the aim of the game,

essexian

Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #227 on: 04 March, 2013, 06:56:24 am »
..................I was able to carry on doing it without drowning or drinking too much water. I think that's the aim of the game,

It is indeed  ;D

Well done on your milestone.  :thumbsup:

essexian

Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #228 on: 10 March, 2013, 09:27:40 am »
Managed my longest swim yet since I started again this morning: 800m in 54 mins..... I am still slower than a slow thing on pause but hey ho, it will come.


I hope to have enough time on Friday lunchtime to do 1 000m.... and then sleep all afternoon no doubt!

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #229 on: 11 March, 2013, 06:56:25 am »
Think I might get back into swimming, seeing as I can get concessionary entry to the cooncil pool as a student!   :thumbsup:

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #230 on: 12 March, 2013, 09:44:53 am »
Think I might get back into swimming, seeing as I can get concessionary entry to the cooncil pool as a student!   :thumbsup:

Well, just back from an early morning swim (7:15 - 8am) at the shiny new* Carnegie leisure centre.
Ended up doing 30 ends of the 25m pool, so 750m.   :thumbsup: All swum using my gangly breast stroke.   :-[ No doubt will be stiff and sair tomorrow....   :o
 Looking forward to swimming more regularly, and a new pair of trunks ordered!  (and a swim cap to go with my long manly hair....)

* Finally reopened after a £17 million 3 year refit in November 2011 - various issues with myself meant I've not been able to get swimming since it reopened.

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #231 on: 14 March, 2013, 05:45:59 pm »
Two days in a row now I have averaged under 90s per 50m length for an entire kilometre. I can generally manage that for 500m but then I start to slow down.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


essexian

Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #232 on: 16 March, 2013, 09:44:58 am »
Interesting weeks swimming for me in that I made 1km on Wednesday for the first time since I started swimming again. Okay, it took me 63 mins but it felt quite easy and if I hadn’t run out of time, then I could perhaps have made it to 1 200m.

This morning with my local pool closed, I took myself down to the newly re-opened pool at Cannock for a few lengths and what a strange place. Firstly, they talk funny (yes, yes, I know everyone in the West Midlands apart from me has an accent but I thought I was in Wolverhampton some of the time!) and secondly, they have a system where you swim up the pool on the left hand side and back down on the right. It works well unless you have never been to the pool before…doh!

Anyway, I only had time to do 900m today but again, it didn’t feel that hard and for a change, I was catching and passing people….perhaps I have picked up some speed?

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #233 on: 16 March, 2013, 09:56:43 am »
I want someone to come with me and film me so I can see what I'm doing, because I see some people who are very splashy, and it doesn't feel like I'm as splashy as that but if I was, it would all be behind me anyway and I wouldn't know.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #234 on: 16 March, 2013, 12:31:00 pm »
I want someone to come with me and film me so I can see what I'm doing, because I see some people who are very splashy, and it doesn't feel like I'm as splashy as that but if I was, it would all be behind me anyway and I wouldn't know.

Can't you just ask one of the life guards or the regulars how splashy you are in comparison ?


Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #235 on: 16 March, 2013, 12:55:59 pm »
No, I want to be able to see what I'm doing. Also, that would be weird.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #236 on: 17 March, 2013, 11:48:18 am »
No, I want to be able to see what I'm doing. Also, that would be weird.

Question is who are you going to pay danger money to to use the camera in a swimming pool  :o

Can you get video as part of a swimming lesson ?

Try entering a swim meet that videos races ?

Seek out a coach who does video ?

Guess i'm fortunate that my pool is just a swimming club and its the same crowd week in week out
for lane swimming, and everyone is interested in technique and discusses it.




Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #237 on: 17 March, 2013, 05:38:53 pm »
No, I want to be able to see what I'm doing. Also, that would be weird.

watching yourself swimming is brilliant; i only realised how horribly not-straight my body was when i had a whole day lesson with video analysis of my swimming. It made a huge difference to me (I went from 22 or 23 strokes per 25m length to 16 or 17, with much less effort).  There are some places that do video coaching in swimming tanks with a current, which might be a bit odd but probably easier to film..

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #238 on: 20 March, 2013, 05:53:16 pm »
I am definitely getting faster. I did a km today in 28min 10s. The first 500 metres, I did in 14 mins. My average time per 50 metre length was 1 min 24s, and if you take out my breaststroke warmup first length and my backstroke cool down last length, I averaged 1 min 23 s per length. My fastest length was 1 min 20s and all of my lengths took under 1 min 30s.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #239 on: 20 March, 2013, 09:50:32 pm »
Got back in the pool for the first time in 5 weeks tonight. 1700m and feels good  :thumbsup:

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #240 on: 22 March, 2013, 09:11:05 am »
Another pleasant swim this morning!
750m including a few lengths attempting the front crawl. Ended up looking like Mr Bean doing his doggy paddle, so promptly went back to breast stroke.... Got one tip from a swimmer in the next lane, apparently I wasn't lifting my arms out of the water enough when I was doing the crawl...  So I'll work on that the next time.

Best of all, I've got my concessionary student discount card, so cheap swims!   :thumbsup:

Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #241 on: 22 March, 2013, 09:40:22 am »
 Have started swimming occasionally over the winter and as an OAP it's free for me. Can now do 1000m in 33 mins but am one of the slowest in the pool. Shall probably get some individual tuition to improve my technique now I can manage the whole distance using the crawl and without stopping at the end of each length. Haven't done much swimming for the last 25yrs, just 200 m each November in a mini tri in lanzarote when I always suffered the indignity of being last out of the water so hope to better that this year. Never learned to swim properly when I was young. Would like to do a Half Ironman if I can be sure of beating the cutoff for the swim so have a fair way to go yet.

Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #242 on: 22 March, 2013, 09:58:43 am »
I joined the local leisure centre on Wednesday and went for a gym induction and a swim yesterday. The gym induction was helpful only in that he showed me how to work the computers on the machines, although I would probably have been able to work them out if I'd needed to. He had no idea what was suitable for pregnancy, so I told him what I was likely to do and we concentrated on those. I did 25 minutes on the semi recumbent bike thing and then went for a swim. I started small with 12 lengths, since I don't have much stamina at the moment and I wanted to see how I felt today after a small amount before doing anything too ambitious. I'm fine, so I'll try to go down later and do some more.

[Rant]
The swimming pool changing rooms have lockers that take a non-refundable 20p, so if you want to shower with shampoo and open the locker to remove it, you either have to stump up another 20p or leave it unlocked - that gets expensive after a couple of weeks. I have 2 possible solutions. One is to keep a plastic bag with shampoo and stuff on a peg near the pool. The other is to leave my kit in the lockers in the gym changing room which takes a refundable £1 so you can open it as much as you like. I am going to try option 2 because the other design flaw is that there are no private showers in the pool area, so you can't have a strip down wash (it's communal changing or I would). Unfortunately the gym changing is at the other end of the building on a different floor, but it is segregated. I will probably need 2 towels and possibly some kind of wrap so I can pass as 'dry' for the dry side changing though. I do have a dress that might work...
[/Rant]
Quote from: Kim
^ This woman knows what she's talking about.

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #243 on: 22 March, 2013, 11:57:18 am »
When they refurbished the Commie they made the changing rooms mixed sex and all the showers are open, apart from a few in the "accessible" cubicles. I know some people aren't fussy about showering, but the chlorine really exacerbates my eczema, so I need to have a proper wash after a swim, which means removing my cossie and being nekkid. Luckily it's a ten minute walk away so I just go home and shower properly there, but it's not ideal.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #244 on: 22 March, 2013, 04:07:19 pm »
Mixed sex good, open showers bad!

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #245 on: 22 March, 2013, 05:31:09 pm »
I was well fast* again today. Average time per length 82 seconds, fastest length 76 seconds. I think someone is putting performance-enhancing drugs in my soup.







*it's all relative
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #246 on: 23 March, 2013, 04:50:49 pm »
I think the source of my new-found speed is my new swimming costume. It has an integral jetpack. My old one has a layer of "figure-flattering" ruched material over the base costume and the ruching layer is past it, and every time I swim in it it sags out and billows and creates a lot of drag.  ;D
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #247 on: 23 March, 2013, 05:19:24 pm »
I think the source of my new-found speed is my new swimming costume. It has an integral jetpack. My old one has a layer of "figure-flattering" ruched material over the base costume and the ruching layer is past it, and every time I swim in it it sags out and billows and creates a lot of drag.  ;D

I believe that Frenchie is our resident expert in such matters...

essexian

Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #248 on: 24 March, 2013, 02:50:30 pm »
1 000m this morning in 57 mins which is the fastest I have swam that distance. I am aiming to try for 1 200m on Thursday when the pool has a 90min session I can use.

I was well fast* again today. Average time per length 82 seconds, fastest length 76 seconds. I think someone is putting performance-enhancing drugs in my soup.


*it's all relative

Just wondering which time keeping piece you use to keep such accurate times. I am interested in getting a swimming watch but don’t know which one would be best. Any suggestions gratefully received.

And now, a rant….. faster swimmers especially ones with quick but really horrible style wise front crawl. DON’T swim in the slow lane with us near drowners please. You ploughing up and down doing two lengths in the time it takes me to do one is not big or clever. I was not the only one to call you a “t*sser” and suggest that you go into the fast or semi fast lane…. But no, you wanted to make yourself look big by trying to intimidate us slower swimmers…did it work, no it didn’t. Arsehole.

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Learning to swim/improving swimming
« Reply #249 on: 24 March, 2013, 04:07:58 pm »
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.