This scenario is all too common in Australia……

You learn to swim all the basic swim strokes in primary school, then you might even compliment your swim fitness with private lessons and squads throughout your childhood/teenage years.

However in the years since school finished? Nothing!

Then all of a sudden, you are somewhere between the ages of 30-60 and want to take up triathlon or participate in a community event like the ‘Pier to Pub’ at Lorne or the ‘Rotto swim’ in the West. However, it has been YEARS since you’ve swum ‘properly’ and you’ve never, ever swum laps before.

What to do, what to do?

I have people who fit the above storyline contact me weekly. They all fit a very similar profile and often make the same key mistakes.

Below, I outline exactly what most people getting ‘back in the swim’ do wrong and some simple tips you can implement to have you improving as quickly as possible.

Mistake 1: Breathing

The Problem:

Just like on land, the process of breathing whilst swimming requires you to breath in and breathe out. Simple right?!

However the fact of the matter is, most adults who return to swimming or learn to swim at a later age struggle first and foremost with the breathing component. They don’t breathe in and breathe out naturally while swimming. What they do is breath in and then hold their breath when their face is in the water……..and promptly ‘run out of air’ by halfway down the pool.

It’s true, and this is THE most single common mistake I see with adult swimmers. As a result of not breathing out underwater, when they go to take their next stroke they need to quickly expel all the air trapped in their lungs first. Not a normal breathing pattern at all and no wonder people become breathless!

The Solution

Concentrate on slowly breathing out in a controlled fashion underwater. Use a kickboard and make it really simple to start with; simply freestyle kick with your face in the water breathing out and then lift your head to breathe and repeat for the length of the pool. If you need to, wear fins/flippers to make the process easier.

You can then progress to single arm freestyle on the kickboard, again concentrating on expelling your breath underwater. Trust me, once you master this it will be a game changer to your swimming!

 

Mistake 2: Head Position

The problem

Most adult swimmers trying to re-acquaint themselves with the water have their head up too high. As they are looking ‘up’ and straight ahead, the rest of their body follows……. first the feet start sinking, then all of sudden they are swimming more vertically than horizontal. As a result, they waste a huge amount of energy just trying to stay afloat.

The solution

You don’t need to have your ‘chin on your chest’ however you can definitely move your chin in that direction while swimming. A good guide is to have the water level a few centimetres above your hairline and eyes looking approximately two metres ahead along the bottom of the pool (about a 45 degree angle)

Mistake 3: Feel for the Water

The problem:

When people lack a ‘feel for the water’ this can greatly affect their confidence and what happens is they spend the whole time ‘fighting the water’ and trying to stay afloat, instead working with the medium to move forward. The good news is, ‘feel for the water’ can usually be developed over time.

The solution:

Patience grasshopper, this one takes time. The more time you spend in the water, the more you will start to feel ‘at one’ with the water. When we develop a better feel for the water we establish a better catch and therefore can move more comfortably and quickly through the water.

Sculling drills are fantastic to implement as part of your warm-up and cool down to further develop this feel for the water, not just on your hands but forearms too. There are many ways you can scull and these are only limited by your creativity; on your front with arms extended, on your back and feet first, on your back head first, sculling while sitting on a kickboard or with a pull buoy float between your legs…….the possibilities are endless! I try and incorporate some element of sculling in all the squad sessions we deliver.

So there you have it, I hope these tips offer some timely advice if you are in the situation of getting back in the swim.

I know that you just want to get in there, work hard and get faster, however swimming is a technique based sport and it’s important to get these basics correct first. The you can build from there and the sky is the limit 🙂

Our next on-line ‘Back in the Swim’ Program begins on Monday the 21st of September for six weeks and includes three swim (45 minutes) and 2 injury prevention (20-30 minutes) sessions per week delivered through our Training App, plus three educational Zoom sessions to help educate on how to sustainably incorporate swimming into your life for the ling term. You can sign up at the link HERE 

Happy swimming!