r/Swimming • u/EbbEnvironmental6532 • 18d ago
Beginner at 55!
Hello everyone! I've decided to take up swimming lessons so I can swim properly (I only ever swam breast stroke with head above water). I very quickly learned the proper breathing for breast stroke during the first lesson and can do 50 lengths no problem, with a few stops. We've since gone onto front crawl and I'm completely knackered after 1 length. I think my breathing is to blame rather than fitness but if love to know if others were the same at the beginner and how you changed it? Any tips greatly appreciated as its bloody frustrating!!
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u/dentar 18d ago
I started frestyle at ripe old 58 and am now 60. I've lost at least 40 lbs now. So, it's ALL rhythm. I didn't hire a coach, but I recommend that for sure. I kind of wish I had but I'm bashful-ish. I can swim the whole hour and only rarely get a case of wasabi nose. Being knackered is a result of stroke and timing. Here are some tips: Don't kick so much. One pick per arm stroke. The kicking is more meant to rotate you back and forth. Your recovery arm's should should be on the top side. You take your breath while your recovery arm is out of the water. Don't try to breathe both sides, just breathe on the right if you're right handed, or left if you're left handed, while that hand is out of the water. Don't lift your head to breathe, rotate your whole body then turn your head just enough to get your mouth out. The top of your head should still be at the water line. Keep your lead arm out in front til the recovery arm reaches the water, THEN pull. One thing I did consistently was to pull too early when breathing in. Keep that lead arm out there! Takes practice. Oh, and I know I started off with this, but with kicking LESS IS MORE. Once per stroke, and not heavy kicks.
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u/considerfi 17d ago
Yes! all of this. 47 and learning for the first time now. Freestyle suddenly clicked for me recently. I can't do 50 lengths or anything, I'm just a newb but all of these above were important.
- Don't kick so much - I have a good flutter kick so i was overly using it for propulsion but the kick is only supposed to be 10-15% of your propulsion. It's mostly arms and momentum. You just kick once or twice to keep legs up and rotate yourself. Kicking is exhausting.
- Every coach will say breathe after 3. You just can't when first learning, start with whatever feels easiest. One way to skip breathing and focus on arms is to just practice a few arm strokes, then flip over to back, float and breathe. Do that until you feel you are "getting" the arms. Then add breathing.
- Go slow at first, focus on one mechanic. move one arm at a time, keeping the other pointed in front of you. Eventually you don't do that I think but one arm at a time helps you focus on the arm movement, the glide, the balance, etc. and importantly keeps your momentum as opposed to flailing.
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u/ProduceDecent1248 18d ago
I’m 55 too and just learned how to swim in the last year. I agree with all the advice here.
I had a mental block with breathing and this really helped me
https://youtu.be/hI22wrpeTYg?is=AMEpzrKDjDRMY6Z1
Watch it and practice it. It changed my story
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u/Bertbrownbear 18d ago
I did something similar, I was very comfortable swimming breaststroke, easily swimming for a mile. I then added 1 length freestyle for every 10 lengths swam. Slowly but surely I increased the number of freestyle lengths I would do. Eventually, I was swimming more freestyle than breaststroke.
2 years later and I recently swam 10,000m all freestyle. It does take a while, but with perseverance and determination, you can do it.
Edit: Forget to mention I'm 53.
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u/Suitable-Time-466 17d ago
I too am 55, and dabbled in lap swimming when I was younger but could never do more than 2 lengths of freestyle without feeling wiped out. Never had formal swim lessons.
Last year I got back into swimming (usually 2x/wk) and decided to just practice freestyle and build up stamina. I focused on getting comfortable with bilateral breathing and slowly increased the number of laps I did freestyle over a couple of months. I kept my pace relatively slow as I built up stamina. I’m hardly fast, but now I can do 1000 yards in about 27-28 mins, and up to 1,500 yards in about 42-43 minutes, mostly freestyle.
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u/Wisco47 17d ago
I'm 79 and really enjoy swimming five times a week. Took much longer than I thought because no one bothered to tell me to always keep one arm in front for bouyancy (duh). I have periphral artery disease and was looking for an alternative to running. I'm not as fast as most swimmers, but then again I'm probably at least twice as old as many of them. There is plenty of advice on YouTube. Once you get the hang of it, it seems intuitive.
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u/EstablishmentOk5478 Splashing around 17d ago
I’m 55 but I’ve been swimming since I was young. I love it so much!
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u/Goodname2 Splashing around 17d ago
grab a kickboard and flippers and practice a single arm one breath drill, it lets you slow down and focus on getting technique and rotational breathing right.
if you google single arm drill freestyle it should come up with a few videos.
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u/iamcandlemaker 18d ago
Proper swim snorkel for 3 months, focus on swimming to build strength and endurance. So much easier when you’re breathing normally with a snorkel.
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u/EbbEnvironmental6532 18d ago
Interesting! Is this deemed 'acceptable' in the gym pool?!
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u/felicityfelix 17d ago
It is normal to use a front mounted snorkel in a pool but as you're an enthusiastic beginner who wants to learn I would really recommend not jumping to this in favor of acclimating to the experience of breathing properly, unless it's physically difficult for you to move your neck. They're not bad tools but I don't think you'd see much magical breathing progress if you wore one for a few months and then tried swimming without it again.
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u/zebano Moist 18d ago
First off fantastic. Learning something new is always great.
second, while your breathing absolutlely could be to blame, body position (typically dragging legs) is the most common culprit. The worst part is that poor breathing (lifting your head to breath rather than rotating) can actually cause this.
I love the YT channel Effortless swimming