Source
r/Swimming•
creatiff

Whats going on with my conditioning?

I'm swimming 3x a week for the last 2.5 months now and i stopped improving after the first few weeks.. So obviously doing something wrong, but i found the 'Zero to 1500' in the sidebar so i'll start following that guide instead of using my own 0-knowledge of swimming and conditioning.

But i'm confused, this guide redirects to the easier form if you cant swim for 100 yards freestyle, which i can, but it then sends me to swim 4x 100 yards with just 12 breaths between the 100's. I seriously need to rest a minute if i do that, and after repeating that 4x im finished.. So week one is WAY too much for me, so ill start all over again with that 0-700 and keep track of my progress.

But im doing the 100 yards thing(by coincidence) for 2 months now, and according to the guide 6 weeks should be enough to swim a mile without stopping. Can there be something else going on? I dont get it..

And my conditioning isnt that bad really, i cant run sadly because of tendonitis in my foot, but i can easily box for 1:30h straight and do plenty of pullups/pushups etc throughout the week, i'm in shape and i eat good stuff. Whats going on? Is this a entirely different type of cardio? Someone suggested my breathing, since my muscles arent giving up, its just my air. My heart is literally visibilly pounding through my chest after 100 yards, and i'm breathing all the way out under water, and according to the trainers, my technique is fine.

I can passively hold my breath for just about 20 seconds, which shouldnt be normal either. Can someone relate to this?

Sry for the wall of text ;)

Posted Oct 3, 2016, 9:43 AM UTC · edited

113
awkward_sea_turtleMoist•

This likely has nothing to do with your conditioning and everything to do with your technique. How and how frequently are you breathing? How many stokes are you taking per length?

4
creatiffOPMoist•

Very true, my legs are a problem for instance.. When holding a board with my hands i can barely propel.

I start breathing out the moment my mouth touches the water, all the way out through the mouth untill the end and then turn my head slighty to breath in again. Tried breathing out through the nose but that makes it even harder.

I sometimes try the bi-latteral technique, but most of the times i breathe on 1 side so 2 strokes. I try to switch between sides and i dont seem to have a dominant side, its both equally hard.

Theres probably alot to say about my 'technique', since im just learning from youtube.. Swimming is pretty expensive, let alone taking classes i just cant afford right now ;(

1
awkward_sea_turtleMoist•

If you're powering your way down the lane and breathless because of it, it's definitely your technique that needs work. You should be able to go slowly — think of it like walking pace instead of running. Swimming is all about moving efficiently through the water.

I'd suggest sucking it up and spending the money to get a private lesson. Even one session will help you enormously. Try asking a friend who was a life guard in high school.

Aside from that, if your kick is inefficient, that may mean your hips are dragging and pulling your body low in the water, which would (in turn) make it harder to get your head around to breathe. That makes it a body position problem which (again) is technique. But if you're learning off of youtube, there's probably a lot that a coach watching you can diagnose and fix that I can't guess at here.

1
creatiffOPMoist•

Thanks ill guess ill just have to submit to lessons then, progression is what keep me going in sports, i really need it :\

1
olanzorUltra-moist•

I had a similar problem which I solved by slowing down during my sets. Making sure I was relaxed and keeping an easy pace really helped build volume over time

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creatiffOPMoist•

Just tried slowing down a factor, it helped alot indeed.. I need to take it easy

2
limacharlesLane Bard•

Breathing with swimming is much different than any other aerobic activity, and it is very uncomfortable at first.

12 breaths is quite a bit for 100 yards, and you'll think the same as you get better. I'd highly recommend you just try what's prescribed by the 0-1650 program. An entire minute of rest may actually make you feel worse when you go to swim again.

Concentrate on rotating your body, getting the most out of your strokes, and keeping your head low while breathing. Since you are only learning right now, I'd recommend that you stick with bilateral breathing to avoid developing a lopsided stroke.

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creatiffOPMoist•

Ill try to take shorter breaks and see i can convince my brain that im not dying, maybe i am spending too much time recovering.

Ive been practising on the rotating, but its not easy doing it just through youtube, because i feel like its making me sink also.

Going to suck up the lessons as suggested and improve my technique :)

Tx

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creatiffOPMoist•

Gonna try this today from the 0-700, which already seems too much for me, crazy..

100 any stroke warm-up
3 x 100 ( 12 breaths between)
3 x 75 ( 10 breaths)
3 x 25 ( 6 breaths)

Edit: just came back. I can actually do this to the end BUT i need a minute break in between the 3*X sets. Probably because of olanzor's tip

1
yCloserMoist•

mm, if 4x100 is too much maybe:

2x(4x50 + rest) > 8x50 > 6x75 > 10-12x50 > 8x75 > 4x100

in increasing diff order, pick your starting point and level up when you feel like it

just showing you some patterns to give you ideas to start with...

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christopherrunsMoist•

OP I was in your shoes (fins?) just a few weeks ago (I am a beginner swimmer as well, distance running background). It honestly took me a few weeks (2-3) of doing the week #1 swims before I could get through them without dying.

Slowing down helped me. Be long and slow and smooth as possible.

Another thing that helped me was timing how long it took me to take the x number of breaths after each distance, and instead of counting those breaths at the end of a rep, I just split my watch and waited however long it would take me to take that x number of breaths. And then go again. That might be cheating or whatever but I found I was able to recover within that timeframe and get to the next rep. I'm in week 3 now. Feeling pretty good.

1
creatiffOPMoist•

thnx for the heads up, im going to log my progression very strictly from now on to the point where i know my number of breaths and see if i can improve simply on taking shorter breaks.

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hthu•

I've gone through the 0-1650 program. I can tell you this: the number of breaths between sets is intentionally designed to be not quite enough. This is to train your cardiovascular capacity. I couldn't do it at first, felt like dying and "just needed ONE MORE breath". But it's actually doable. Slow down, like others have said. Also, if you really need to, breathe on every other stroke instead of sticking to every 3rd.

1