Like a cow in water
April 10, 2011 8:11 PM Subscribe
How can I finally learn to swim?
I never learned to swim as a kid. I went into pools and stuff -- typically those above ground deals that never went above 4 feet, and as an adult I started going to the beach. So I'm not afraid of water, so much as...not confident? unfamiliar? I'm not sure what the term would be.
A couple years ago I decided I wanted to learn to swim for real. I wanted to have some confidence in the ocean and it looked like fun to actually swim. So I took some private lessons with someone who swam competitively. They were very helpful, but by the time they ended I still didn't have it down. The problem was (and continues to be) the breathing. I'm scared of breathing in water when I inhale, so I lift my head very high out of the water. I also spend the entire time concentrating on it. So that throws my entire freestyle stroke off.
A few months after that I decided to try again and took a group class. It was great to learn some new strokes and things, but I left with the same problem.
I recently decided to try yet again and am taking another group class. It's panning out to be the same deal. There are enough teachers that I get feedback after every lap, but telling me "You need to stop lifting your head" over and over doesn't do much. I know what I'm supposed to be doing...but when I actually try to do it I can't. To be clear, I do exhale under water through my nose, but when I turn my head to the side to exhale, I lift my head very high out of the water for fear of breathing in water. I also feel like I can't get enough air. Not in a "I'm engaging in aerobic exercise while out of shape" kind of way but in a "Someone is holding a pillow over my head" kind of way.
Am I doomed? I don't know what else to do. I dropped in on a beginner's class, but that was too basic. (I don't need to get used to putting my face in the water...I'm okay going in the deep end.) I've done the motions with my head while just standing in water, but it doesn't seem to transfer when I'm moving. I have regular access to a pool with a lifeguard...would practicing help? Or would I just be reinforcing bad form?
I've read a number of past threads on the topic. I checked out the Total Immersion website, but unless I missed something you have to buy their stuff to get detailed information. Also, I am familiar with other strokes but I want to correctly learn freestyle. Thanks!
I never learned to swim as a kid. I went into pools and stuff -- typically those above ground deals that never went above 4 feet, and as an adult I started going to the beach. So I'm not afraid of water, so much as...not confident? unfamiliar? I'm not sure what the term would be.
A couple years ago I decided I wanted to learn to swim for real. I wanted to have some confidence in the ocean and it looked like fun to actually swim. So I took some private lessons with someone who swam competitively. They were very helpful, but by the time they ended I still didn't have it down. The problem was (and continues to be) the breathing. I'm scared of breathing in water when I inhale, so I lift my head very high out of the water. I also spend the entire time concentrating on it. So that throws my entire freestyle stroke off.
A few months after that I decided to try again and took a group class. It was great to learn some new strokes and things, but I left with the same problem.
I recently decided to try yet again and am taking another group class. It's panning out to be the same deal. There are enough teachers that I get feedback after every lap, but telling me "You need to stop lifting your head" over and over doesn't do much. I know what I'm supposed to be doing...but when I actually try to do it I can't. To be clear, I do exhale under water through my nose, but when I turn my head to the side to exhale, I lift my head very high out of the water for fear of breathing in water. I also feel like I can't get enough air. Not in a "I'm engaging in aerobic exercise while out of shape" kind of way but in a "Someone is holding a pillow over my head" kind of way.
Am I doomed? I don't know what else to do. I dropped in on a beginner's class, but that was too basic. (I don't need to get used to putting my face in the water...I'm okay going in the deep end.) I've done the motions with my head while just standing in water, but it doesn't seem to transfer when I'm moving. I have regular access to a pool with a lifeguard...would practicing help? Or would I just be reinforcing bad form?
I've read a number of past threads on the topic. I checked out the Total Immersion website, but unless I missed something you have to buy their stuff to get detailed information. Also, I am familiar with other strokes but I want to correctly learn freestyle. Thanks!
Sounds like you need a one-on-one teacher who's willing to help physically guide you into better form.
I have no idea if this works for adults, but I was taught to swim, as a kid, by being thrown into the deep off a diving board and told to make it to the shallow end. One way or another. Swallowed and breathed in a *lot* of water, but the body learns. Even when swimming "normally" some amount of water gets sucked in but you can learn to keep this from entering your lungs and you can spit it out.
Not in a "I'm engaging in aerobic exercise while out of shape" kind of way but in a "Someone is holding a pillow over my head" kind of way.
This speaks to me of just needing a *lot* more time in the water to get more comfortable.
Maybe give diving and holding your breath underwater some time to get used to being under water. Or spend some time at a wavepool, trying to swim - better approximation of "real world" ocean experience (changing heights of water), and once you get back to a regular pool it might seem a lot easier.
posted by porpoise at 8:25 PM on April 10, 2011
I have no idea if this works for adults, but I was taught to swim, as a kid, by being thrown into the deep off a diving board and told to make it to the shallow end. One way or another. Swallowed and breathed in a *lot* of water, but the body learns. Even when swimming "normally" some amount of water gets sucked in but you can learn to keep this from entering your lungs and you can spit it out.
Not in a "I'm engaging in aerobic exercise while out of shape" kind of way but in a "Someone is holding a pillow over my head" kind of way.
This speaks to me of just needing a *lot* more time in the water to get more comfortable.
Maybe give diving and holding your breath underwater some time to get used to being under water. Or spend some time at a wavepool, trying to swim - better approximation of "real world" ocean experience (changing heights of water), and once you get back to a regular pool it might seem a lot easier.
posted by porpoise at 8:25 PM on April 10, 2011
"I also feel like I can't get enough air. Not in a "I'm engaging in aerobic exercise while out of shape" kind of way but in a "Someone is holding a pillow over my head" kind of way. "
This can be a sign of asthma. It could be regular asthma, exercise-induced asthma, allergy-induced asthma (from the pool chemicals), etc., but it could be asthma in some form. I had the same problem for years ... I always felt like the water was squeezing my lungs too tight so asthma never occurred to me, but actually it was the humidity in the indoor pool combined with the chemicals. Cleared right up with an inhaler before leaving the locker room ... I just needed to combat the inflammation.
Anyway, it made me a bad breather (and consequently not a great swimmer) because I always felt panicky about being able to get my next breath and get ENOUGH air. After I figured out it was asthma and could control and get good DEEP breaths, I had much less trouble with good form.
Meanwhile I did a lot of old-lady-style breaststroke (where you hold your head up really high so your hair doesn't get wet). :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:28 PM on April 10, 2011 [5 favorites]
This can be a sign of asthma. It could be regular asthma, exercise-induced asthma, allergy-induced asthma (from the pool chemicals), etc., but it could be asthma in some form. I had the same problem for years ... I always felt like the water was squeezing my lungs too tight so asthma never occurred to me, but actually it was the humidity in the indoor pool combined with the chemicals. Cleared right up with an inhaler before leaving the locker room ... I just needed to combat the inflammation.
Anyway, it made me a bad breather (and consequently not a great swimmer) because I always felt panicky about being able to get my next breath and get ENOUGH air. After I figured out it was asthma and could control and get good DEEP breaths, I had much less trouble with good form.
Meanwhile I did a lot of old-lady-style breaststroke (where you hold your head up really high so your hair doesn't get wet). :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:28 PM on April 10, 2011 [5 favorites]
Well, like anything else, it's important to figure out how to get started, and leave form for later when you have adopted a new habit (swimming on a regular basis).
Go to the pool. Splash around. Go to the slow lane. Take a boogie board (or whatever they call those little foam boards) and practice kicking from one end of the pool to another.
Just get in the habit, and become comfortable with the pool.
After a couple of weeks, try taking an individual class. The goal here is to be able to make it from one end of the pool to the other, somehow. Don't worry about freestyle, or correct form.
I've been a swimmer since childhood. Used to go to the lake and swim out to islands in the middle of the lake; I'm totally used to swimming.
My wife grew up in Japan, and while she went to the beach, there was no public pool and she didn't learn to swim (every year a Korean, Japanese or Chinese ESL student will drown in our community because they are not familiar with the water or swimming).
It boggles my mind, but she's afraid of the deep end. However, she's been taking lessons, and is getting better at swimming.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:28 PM on April 10, 2011
Go to the pool. Splash around. Go to the slow lane. Take a boogie board (or whatever they call those little foam boards) and practice kicking from one end of the pool to another.
Just get in the habit, and become comfortable with the pool.
After a couple of weeks, try taking an individual class. The goal here is to be able to make it from one end of the pool to the other, somehow. Don't worry about freestyle, or correct form.
I've been a swimmer since childhood. Used to go to the lake and swim out to islands in the middle of the lake; I'm totally used to swimming.
My wife grew up in Japan, and while she went to the beach, there was no public pool and she didn't learn to swim (every year a Korean, Japanese or Chinese ESL student will drown in our community because they are not familiar with the water or swimming).
It boggles my mind, but she's afraid of the deep end. However, she's been taking lessons, and is getting better at swimming.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:28 PM on April 10, 2011
Yeah, you could also be getting exercise-induced asthma, or asthma triggered by chlorine in the pool.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:29 PM on April 10, 2011
posted by KokuRyu at 8:29 PM on April 10, 2011
I have trouble working out the breathing with a front crawl, too. Why not learn a breast stroke, where your upper body does come decently above water at the point where you breathe? Exhale through your nose, inhale through your mouth and you shouldn't inhale any water. That's what I do.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:30 PM on April 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:30 PM on April 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
You are "familiar with other strokes", but do you use them? That is, can you swim using strokes other than freestyle? I ask mainly because it sounds like you have two problems contributing to your problem with freestyle: the fear that you will inhale water, and a general difficulty with feeling safe and comfortable in water. Lap-swimming using other strokes could help with both of those.
You could also try lap swimming with a kickboard, arms at full extension with your face in the water (not the usual kickboard position) so you can practice breathing to the side without the arms. This will basically force you to keep your head down, because you can't get the full leverage that you can when you're swimming normal freestyle.
posted by gingerest at 8:31 PM on April 10, 2011
You could also try lap swimming with a kickboard, arms at full extension with your face in the water (not the usual kickboard position) so you can practice breathing to the side without the arms. This will basically force you to keep your head down, because you can't get the full leverage that you can when you're swimming normal freestyle.
posted by gingerest at 8:31 PM on April 10, 2011
Oh, and what's your goal here? Is it A) To learn a front crawl or particular stroke for the sake of learning it and saying you can do it, or B) to be able to transport yourself efficiently from one place in the water to another and possibly use this activity for exercise?
If it's B, take up the backstroke.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:32 PM on April 10, 2011
If it's B, take up the backstroke.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:32 PM on April 10, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks for the responses so far. A couple things:
1. I definitely do NOT have any type of asthma, exercise-induced or otherwise. I can run and bike many miles with no difficulty. I am in my late twenties and very healthy.
2. The last time I went to the ocean I did backstroke, and in the last class I took I did two classes with diving. I'm definitely not entirely comfortable in the water, as I've said, since I've not spent a lot of time in it, but I'm not petrified either.
posted by unannihilated at 8:36 PM on April 10, 2011
1. I definitely do NOT have any type of asthma, exercise-induced or otherwise. I can run and bike many miles with no difficulty. I am in my late twenties and very healthy.
2. The last time I went to the ocean I did backstroke, and in the last class I took I did two classes with diving. I'm definitely not entirely comfortable in the water, as I've said, since I've not spent a lot of time in it, but I'm not petrified either.
posted by unannihilated at 8:36 PM on April 10, 2011
Have you tried practicing JUST the breathing? No arms, no kicking, not even floating. Just squat in the shallow end, stick your face in the water and practice blowing bubbles, then turning to breathe.
Also, Nthing suggestions that you learn breaststroke or sidestroke. You can be a confident swimmer without using the crawl stroke.
posted by gnutron at 8:36 PM on April 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, Nthing suggestions that you learn breaststroke or sidestroke. You can be a confident swimmer without using the crawl stroke.
posted by gnutron at 8:36 PM on April 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I had this problem for a long time, but a few months ago I started taking a group swimming class and I've been making some progress. So there's hope!
One thing that I think helped is that the teacher emphasized that we should have good form even if we can't get the breathing correct. Specifically, when some of us didn't have the breathing part down, she had us swim as far as we could (in 3/4-ft water) just exhaling, not turning our heads or breathing in, and then stand up each time we needed to take a breath. She says that having good form with your arms and legs helps ensure that when you turn your head to the side (not up), you don't get a mouth/nose full of water, and that's seemed to be the case for me.
With turning my head to breathe, I've found it helpful to exaggerate things and almost imagine that I'm turning my head to look behind me, not just to the side (almost as if I were trying to look at my own shoulder) . That's helped me turn my head to the side rather than picking it up.
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:39 PM on April 10, 2011 [4 favorites]
One thing that I think helped is that the teacher emphasized that we should have good form even if we can't get the breathing correct. Specifically, when some of us didn't have the breathing part down, she had us swim as far as we could (in 3/4-ft water) just exhaling, not turning our heads or breathing in, and then stand up each time we needed to take a breath. She says that having good form with your arms and legs helps ensure that when you turn your head to the side (not up), you don't get a mouth/nose full of water, and that's seemed to be the case for me.
With turning my head to breathe, I've found it helpful to exaggerate things and almost imagine that I'm turning my head to look behind me, not just to the side (almost as if I were trying to look at my own shoulder) . That's helped me turn my head to the side rather than picking it up.
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:39 PM on April 10, 2011 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I was in a similar situation - I'd never been able to pick up the front crawl in swimming classes as a kid. I felt like I couldn't get a proper breath unless I lifted my head right out of the water. Finally, a few years ago (in my 30s) I decided to work on it on my own. I found that just practicing it on a regular basis, I finally got it.
I worked at it gradually, just a few strokes per lap with the proper front crawl breathing, the rest of the time keeping my head out. Eventually, it just started working. I think it's really important to be relaxed in order to reach the stage where you're not bothered by the water rushing over your face while you breathe, and to figure out that if you do miss a breath or don't get quite as much air as you wanted, you'll be fine, and you can make up for it on the next stroke. For me, practicing on my own made it easier to relax.
posted by teg at 8:42 PM on April 10, 2011
I worked at it gradually, just a few strokes per lap with the proper front crawl breathing, the rest of the time keeping my head out. Eventually, it just started working. I think it's really important to be relaxed in order to reach the stage where you're not bothered by the water rushing over your face while you breathe, and to figure out that if you do miss a breath or don't get quite as much air as you wanted, you'll be fine, and you can make up for it on the next stroke. For me, practicing on my own made it easier to relax.
posted by teg at 8:42 PM on April 10, 2011
Best answer: I think it's a practice thing. You just gotta force yourself to do the movement correctly. Go slowly and accept the fact that you might suck in some water and as a result you'll cough a lot.
It might help to isolate certain aspects of the swim so you can focus more on breathing. Beginners I've taught in the past have 2 major problems: trouble getting the rhythm correct and very frantic movements as they try to keep themselves afloat. Try using a kickboard to keep your arms up and just focus on kicking and turning your head to breathe. Or try using a pull buoy to keep your legs up and just focus on your arms and breathing. Just remember to go slow and relaxed.
You might need to focus on keeping the top of the water at your hair line rather than having your head fully submerged. Make sure you can feel where the water is too so that you're not over compensating to breathe.
If you're having trouble keeping your head at the correct level then have someone look at your kicking to make sure it's efficient and not dragging down the lower half of your body.
Definitely find a teacher who will get in the water with you and follow you as you swim so they can correct your form as you're going.
Other random tips, if you're not already, wear goggles. Being able to see is very important and helps keep people stable in the water. Also, play. Spend a few hours in the pool swimming under water. Seriously pretend you're a mermaid/merman and explore the water and how to move your body through it. Practice floating by pretending you're unconscious. Choreograph a synchronized swim routine. Tumble, do handstands, sit at the bottom of the pool, etc just to really get a feel for your body and the water.
posted by simplethings at 8:43 PM on April 10, 2011 [3 favorites]
It might help to isolate certain aspects of the swim so you can focus more on breathing. Beginners I've taught in the past have 2 major problems: trouble getting the rhythm correct and very frantic movements as they try to keep themselves afloat. Try using a kickboard to keep your arms up and just focus on kicking and turning your head to breathe. Or try using a pull buoy to keep your legs up and just focus on your arms and breathing. Just remember to go slow and relaxed.
You might need to focus on keeping the top of the water at your hair line rather than having your head fully submerged. Make sure you can feel where the water is too so that you're not over compensating to breathe.
If you're having trouble keeping your head at the correct level then have someone look at your kicking to make sure it's efficient and not dragging down the lower half of your body.
Definitely find a teacher who will get in the water with you and follow you as you swim so they can correct your form as you're going.
Other random tips, if you're not already, wear goggles. Being able to see is very important and helps keep people stable in the water. Also, play. Spend a few hours in the pool swimming under water. Seriously pretend you're a mermaid/merman and explore the water and how to move your body through it. Practice floating by pretending you're unconscious. Choreograph a synchronized swim routine. Tumble, do handstands, sit at the bottom of the pool, etc just to really get a feel for your body and the water.
posted by simplethings at 8:43 PM on April 10, 2011 [3 favorites]
Nthing the "try the breast stroke" advice. It uses a much more natural movement to lift your head straight up out of the water.
posted by pantarei70 at 8:54 PM on April 10, 2011
posted by pantarei70 at 8:54 PM on April 10, 2011
"1. I definitely do NOT have any type of asthma, exercise-induced or otherwise. I can run and bike many miles with no difficulty. I am in my late twenties and very healthy. "
I didn't "have any type of asthma" either. I was also quite fit and healthy and could do aerobic exercise with no problem. That's why it took so damn long to get diagnosed. For me, it was the chemicals plus the humid air ... and that's why I never had trouble in the open ocean, either.
If you feel like someone is holding a pillow over your head when you're in the pool and it's interfering with your ability to get a good, deep breath, it's worth at least mentioning to your doctor. You can get a little $2.50 cheapie lung capacity meter that you can blow in when it happens and see if you're getting enough air as usual for you.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:56 PM on April 10, 2011
I didn't "have any type of asthma" either. I was also quite fit and healthy and could do aerobic exercise with no problem. That's why it took so damn long to get diagnosed. For me, it was the chemicals plus the humid air ... and that's why I never had trouble in the open ocean, either.
If you feel like someone is holding a pillow over your head when you're in the pool and it's interfering with your ability to get a good, deep breath, it's worth at least mentioning to your doctor. You can get a little $2.50 cheapie lung capacity meter that you can blow in when it happens and see if you're getting enough air as usual for you.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:56 PM on April 10, 2011
When my great grandfather joined the Royal Navy at the age of 14 he couldn't swim. They tied a rope around his waist, threw him off the dock and when he sank they pulled him out, threw him in again and kept doing it all afternoon till he could swim back to the ladder himself. A few months later he was Admiral Jellicoe's runner at the Battle of Jutland. In the Second World War he was torpedoed during the siege of Malta and turned up on my Great Grandmother's doorstep in Valletta dripping wet, still clutching the bunch of bananas he'd grabbed while floating around in the water after his destroyer went down. All I'm saying is you'll be able to learn and one day you'll be glad you did.
posted by joannemullen at 9:00 PM on April 10, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by joannemullen at 9:00 PM on April 10, 2011 [3 favorites]
Have you tried floating face-down in the pool, your arms outstretched holding the edge of the pool, and practicing breathing to the side like that? I've found that to help lots of people.
Also, I n-th the idea of getting some private lessons. I took swimming lessons for years as a kid, but it wasn't until my parents splurged for individual lessons as a teenager that I was able to get past a bunch of hurdles that had been holding me back.
posted by auto-correct at 9:03 PM on April 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
Also, I n-th the idea of getting some private lessons. I took swimming lessons for years as a kid, but it wasn't until my parents splurged for individual lessons as a teenager that I was able to get past a bunch of hurdles that had been holding me back.
posted by auto-correct at 9:03 PM on April 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
1. When you turn your head to one side, your opposite ear should end up in the water. If you're pulling your face out and looking forward instead of turning your head to the side, the overwork could be freaking you out.
2. Blow bubbles when your face is in the water. That "face in a pillow" thing comes from trying to breathe in and out when your mouth and nose is above the water; you don't have time for that, and after a few strokes you're under-oxygenated (I just made that word up, it's not like a technical term) and you start to freak out. Blowing bubbles while your mouth is under ensures that your lungs are empty when you come up and you have enough time to inhale.
If number two doesn't drastically change things, or if you are already doing the bubbles thing, I would find a teacher who specializes in water phobia/adult phobia, NOT a competitive swim teacher. Water acclimation and swim technique are basically two separate disciplines.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 9:06 PM on April 10, 2011
2. Blow bubbles when your face is in the water. That "face in a pillow" thing comes from trying to breathe in and out when your mouth and nose is above the water; you don't have time for that, and after a few strokes you're under-oxygenated (I just made that word up, it's not like a technical term) and you start to freak out. Blowing bubbles while your mouth is under ensures that your lungs are empty when you come up and you have enough time to inhale.
If number two doesn't drastically change things, or if you are already doing the bubbles thing, I would find a teacher who specializes in water phobia/adult phobia, NOT a competitive swim teacher. Water acclimation and swim technique are basically two separate disciplines.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 9:06 PM on April 10, 2011
gnutron: Have you tried practicing JUST the breathing? No arms, no kicking, not even floating. Just squat in the shallow end, stick your face in the water and practice blowing bubbles, then turning to breathe.
That's what I came in to say. The breathing thing is a habit; it's like good running or riding form. If you repeat it often enough it becomes second nature.
Also I would encourage you to explore your fear a bit. Just so you know, what happens when you accidentally suck water is not your worst fear: you do not inhale the water. 99 time out of 100, you spit it straight back out, at some speed, before it even hits your throat. 1 time out of 100, maybe, you swallow it. The gag reflex is super-strong that way, and is what makes people sputter. Worst case scenario is you vomit, not drown.
FYI in 35 years of swimming, I've had that happen exactly once since childhood and it was when I got wolloped by a big-ass wave. With my mouth open. While talking!
posted by DarlingBri at 9:12 PM on April 10, 2011
That's what I came in to say. The breathing thing is a habit; it's like good running or riding form. If you repeat it often enough it becomes second nature.
Also I would encourage you to explore your fear a bit. Just so you know, what happens when you accidentally suck water is not your worst fear: you do not inhale the water. 99 time out of 100, you spit it straight back out, at some speed, before it even hits your throat. 1 time out of 100, maybe, you swallow it. The gag reflex is super-strong that way, and is what makes people sputter. Worst case scenario is you vomit, not drown.
FYI in 35 years of swimming, I've had that happen exactly once since childhood and it was when I got wolloped by a big-ass wave. With my mouth open. While talking!
posted by DarlingBri at 9:12 PM on April 10, 2011
Three things.
1. Freestyle or front crawl is a pretty tiring aerobic stroke and for a beginner it is even more so, because you waste a lot of energy. The lack of air you feel could be simply fatigue. Though as others say, a common cause is not taking full breaths because you're not fully exhaling underwater.
2. You can get a kickboard or flutterboard at most pools and use it to practice. Lie flat in the pool face down, hold the board in front of your head with both hands, and start kicking. Do laps like this. Breathe out with your face down, then turn your head to the side to breath in. The point of this exercise is to remove the arms from the stroke which will let you concentrate on the breathing.
3. A possible cause of breathing trouble is in the angle of the neck. Most beginners swim with their face forward, submerged just below the forehead. The forward position creates a tendency to life the head out of the water when breathing because it is harder to swivel your head when you are pointed forwards. It's better to have your face pointing straight down, so that you're looking at the bottom of the pool, and when you swivel your head, it turns sideways and almost backwards with your mouth pointing back at your armpit. You can practice this doing the kickboard drills. I kind of suspect that this motion points your mouth away from the wake you create while moving through the water and makes it less likely that water will splash in.
posted by PercussivePaul at 9:12 PM on April 10, 2011
1. Freestyle or front crawl is a pretty tiring aerobic stroke and for a beginner it is even more so, because you waste a lot of energy. The lack of air you feel could be simply fatigue. Though as others say, a common cause is not taking full breaths because you're not fully exhaling underwater.
2. You can get a kickboard or flutterboard at most pools and use it to practice. Lie flat in the pool face down, hold the board in front of your head with both hands, and start kicking. Do laps like this. Breathe out with your face down, then turn your head to the side to breath in. The point of this exercise is to remove the arms from the stroke which will let you concentrate on the breathing.
3. A possible cause of breathing trouble is in the angle of the neck. Most beginners swim with their face forward, submerged just below the forehead. The forward position creates a tendency to life the head out of the water when breathing because it is harder to swivel your head when you are pointed forwards. It's better to have your face pointing straight down, so that you're looking at the bottom of the pool, and when you swivel your head, it turns sideways and almost backwards with your mouth pointing back at your armpit. You can practice this doing the kickboard drills. I kind of suspect that this motion points your mouth away from the wake you create while moving through the water and makes it less likely that water will splash in.
posted by PercussivePaul at 9:12 PM on April 10, 2011
Best answer: Also, worth noting from another swimming thread:
Regarding breathing - it's really easy (when you're new to it) to take in too much air each breath, not be able to expel it all before the next breath, repeat this a few times and you've hyperventilated and feel as though you can't get enough air.
This is quite possibility your issue with feeling like you are not getting enough air.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:15 PM on April 10, 2011
Regarding breathing - it's really easy (when you're new to it) to take in too much air each breath, not be able to expel it all before the next breath, repeat this a few times and you've hyperventilated and feel as though you can't get enough air.
This is quite possibility your issue with feeling like you are not getting enough air.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:15 PM on April 10, 2011
It sounds like your total time practicing is about 30-40 hours, so I think you're doing great.
This is a long shot but trying to breathe in through your nose instead of your mouth could cause what you're describing. To breathe you should be turning your head and rolling your shoulders to the side, keeping your head in the water, and breathing in through your mouth. If you suck water by accident you roll a bit farther to the side, spit out the water, breathe in, and keep swimming.
You might find these videos interesting too.
The lifeguards will save you if you start choking.
posted by sninctown at 9:16 PM on April 10, 2011
This is a long shot but trying to breathe in through your nose instead of your mouth could cause what you're describing. To breathe you should be turning your head and rolling your shoulders to the side, keeping your head in the water, and breathing in through your mouth. If you suck water by accident you roll a bit farther to the side, spit out the water, breathe in, and keep swimming.
You might find these videos interesting too.
The lifeguards will save you if you start choking.
posted by sninctown at 9:16 PM on April 10, 2011
Strongly seconding individual lessons, practicing really slowly, and that you're doing fine.
My mom reacted very badly to the ol' "throw her off the pier" technique, and can't get more than waist-high in water thanks to a full-on phobia. The only benefit to her experience was that she made damn sure my 3 yr old self was at the YMCA for swimming lessons.
posted by desuetude at 9:27 PM on April 10, 2011
My mom reacted very badly to the ol' "throw her off the pier" technique, and can't get more than waist-high in water thanks to a full-on phobia. The only benefit to her experience was that she made damn sure my 3 yr old self was at the YMCA for swimming lessons.
posted by desuetude at 9:27 PM on April 10, 2011
I would try standing in a a pool in water just deep enough to bend over and put my torso into. Waist deep maybe. Then lean over and practice the breathing/head turning thing until you start to feel comfortable with it. Then add the arm strokes. Then try swimming. It is a question of adapting to something. Go slowly, over several days.
This is definitely a question that we will need follow up on. Good luck!
posted by SLC Mom at 10:22 PM on April 10, 2011
This is definitely a question that we will need follow up on. Good luck!
posted by SLC Mom at 10:22 PM on April 10, 2011
Go to the pool. Splash around. Go to the slow lane. Take a boogie board (or whatever they call those little foam boards) and practice kicking from one end of the pool to another.
Just get in the habit, and become comfortable with the pool.
This was a great bit of advice from KokuRyu. It simply takes time in the pool, and you'll get comfortable with it. I've spent considerable time around swimmers of many different levels of ability and experience and I can tell you the lifting of the head is merely a sign of someone who hasn't spent a lot of time in the water yet. It will come with time. Good luck!
posted by StrangerInAStrainedLand at 10:46 PM on April 10, 2011
Just get in the habit, and become comfortable with the pool.
This was a great bit of advice from KokuRyu. It simply takes time in the pool, and you'll get comfortable with it. I've spent considerable time around swimmers of many different levels of ability and experience and I can tell you the lifting of the head is merely a sign of someone who hasn't spent a lot of time in the water yet. It will come with time. Good luck!
posted by StrangerInAStrainedLand at 10:46 PM on April 10, 2011
i would recommend starting out in a pool. take a few classes through the YMCA, usually they have inexpensive lessons and pool time for you to practice. when your comfortable with the pool move on the ocean. start out in maybe a bay area or pond and then take on the ocean. i still have trouble in the ocean especially with big waves. don't give up though! give it time and eventually you will see results.
posted by melizabeth at 10:48 PM on April 10, 2011
posted by melizabeth at 10:48 PM on April 10, 2011
In addition to the good advice everyone else has given so far, I will second getting a pair of swim goggles. You can go to Target or wherever and get a reasonably priced pair that fit. Opening your eyes in the water and being able to see stuff without getting chlorinated pool water in them will help you position your head.
(I learned to swim two years ago at age 38. I have pretty bad technique -- I haven't mastered the art of breathing with my head sideways, but I can at least move from point A to point B and remain unsupported in water deeper than my height. You can do it!)
posted by no relation at 11:09 PM on April 10, 2011
(I learned to swim two years ago at age 38. I have pretty bad technique -- I haven't mastered the art of breathing with my head sideways, but I can at least move from point A to point B and remain unsupported in water deeper than my height. You can do it!)
posted by no relation at 11:09 PM on April 10, 2011
I really struggle to swim front crawl, despite being a pretty strong and confident breast stroke swimmer. I just wanted to add my support to breast stroke - forcing your head out of the water is a natural part of the stroke. May not be as fast as freestyle, but I can swim for miles with it!
posted by prentiz at 11:16 PM on April 10, 2011
posted by prentiz at 11:16 PM on April 10, 2011
Best answer: Just practice. Every day do laps. One side to the other. Do 4 laps of freestyle, then one of breast stroke, then one with the kickboard. You'll get stronger at getting from one end of the pool to another. As you get stronger, your form will get better. Eventually (like in three months) start to do some workouts with sprint laps (do a lap in say, 45 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds, then do the next lap in 45 seconds, etc.). As you get stronger, your form will get better. Lifting your head up far out of the water is a lot of effort, so if you swim and swim, you'll test out more efficient movements. If you swim a lot, you'll get more comfortable, and stronger, and your form will evolve toward the most efficient form. You'll eventually find yourself swimming from your back, through your shoulders and hips, instead of swimming from your arms and legs. Good form will eventually click for you.
I disagree with the play-around-in-water advice. Sure, play around, it can't hurt. But the only way to get comfortable with freestyle breathing is to swim freestyle. The same thing goes for how to stop being afraid of getting water up your nose while swimming backstroke. You just have to do it a lot. You'll get a little water up your nose, but eventually you stop doing a thousand awkward discombobulated movements and your body comes together like an efficient and powerful machine. (God I have to get back into swimming.)
On non-preview, the link sninctown provided has some good tips. But they wouldn't have made any sense to me until at least a month of doing laps the wrong way a few times a week.
posted by salvia at 11:33 PM on April 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
I disagree with the play-around-in-water advice. Sure, play around, it can't hurt. But the only way to get comfortable with freestyle breathing is to swim freestyle. The same thing goes for how to stop being afraid of getting water up your nose while swimming backstroke. You just have to do it a lot. You'll get a little water up your nose, but eventually you stop doing a thousand awkward discombobulated movements and your body comes together like an efficient and powerful machine. (God I have to get back into swimming.)
On non-preview, the link sninctown provided has some good tips. But they wouldn't have made any sense to me until at least a month of doing laps the wrong way a few times a week.
posted by salvia at 11:33 PM on April 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
"1. Freestyle or front crawl is a pretty tiring aerobic stroke and for a beginner it is even more so, because you waste a lot of energy. The lack of air you feel could be simply fatigue. Though as others say, a common cause is not taking full breaths because you're not fully exhaling underwater. ..."
posted by PercussivePaul at 12:12 AM on April 11
This bit from PercussivePaul is spot on; the flutter kick associated by most people with the freestyle or crawl stroke is only an efficient propulsive kick for the relatively small percentage of people who can habitually hyper-extend their knees, to get the extra 15 to 20 degrees of lower leg motion that good racing swimmers of the flutter and butterfly (or "porpoise") kicks seem to do very naturally. For the rest of us, the flutter kick, at best, raises our legs to a mostly prone position near the surface, thus reducing drag to a minimum, but provides very little forward drive for all the effort expended.
Most people get a much better, lower effort, sustainable freestyle stroke by adopting the trudgen, which combines the windmill arm motions of the normal crawl, with a powerful scissor kick, delivered on alternate arm strokes on the same side (right or left, as you choose), or the double trudgen, where smaller, alternating left and right scissor kicks are made on each arm stroke, in sync with the body sideroll to that side. Trudgen strokes also naturally rotate the body farther in the water for the scissor kick, making it easier to clear the face/mouth for breathing in. Some very energetic people even swim a six-beat double trudgen crawl, inserting two beats of flutter kick, in between alternating two beat scissor kicks on each side; for me, this just creates additional flutter kick drag, and I go faster, farther, with a lot less splash and noise in a 15 to 20 full arm stroke per minute double trudgen, than ever I go with any kind of flutter kick, at even far higher arm stroke rates. For what I know will be very long open water swims, I drop back to a single trudgen, occasionally switching between kicking on the left or right side roll, to keep even effort on both sides over the long haul. I can comfortably swim this way in up to a couple feet of surface chop, although I do get more water in my mouth, and make slower progress, the higher the water chop and wind conditions. Still, I've regularly done open water swims in lakes, rivers, and ocean conditions all my life, depending mostly on the trudgen and side strokes, with the scissor kick, for crossing miles of open water, as comfortably as possible.
posted by paulsc at 12:25 AM on April 11, 2011
posted by PercussivePaul at 12:12 AM on April 11
This bit from PercussivePaul is spot on; the flutter kick associated by most people with the freestyle or crawl stroke is only an efficient propulsive kick for the relatively small percentage of people who can habitually hyper-extend their knees, to get the extra 15 to 20 degrees of lower leg motion that good racing swimmers of the flutter and butterfly (or "porpoise") kicks seem to do very naturally. For the rest of us, the flutter kick, at best, raises our legs to a mostly prone position near the surface, thus reducing drag to a minimum, but provides very little forward drive for all the effort expended.
Most people get a much better, lower effort, sustainable freestyle stroke by adopting the trudgen, which combines the windmill arm motions of the normal crawl, with a powerful scissor kick, delivered on alternate arm strokes on the same side (right or left, as you choose), or the double trudgen, where smaller, alternating left and right scissor kicks are made on each arm stroke, in sync with the body sideroll to that side. Trudgen strokes also naturally rotate the body farther in the water for the scissor kick, making it easier to clear the face/mouth for breathing in. Some very energetic people even swim a six-beat double trudgen crawl, inserting two beats of flutter kick, in between alternating two beat scissor kicks on each side; for me, this just creates additional flutter kick drag, and I go faster, farther, with a lot less splash and noise in a 15 to 20 full arm stroke per minute double trudgen, than ever I go with any kind of flutter kick, at even far higher arm stroke rates. For what I know will be very long open water swims, I drop back to a single trudgen, occasionally switching between kicking on the left or right side roll, to keep even effort on both sides over the long haul. I can comfortably swim this way in up to a couple feet of surface chop, although I do get more water in my mouth, and make slower progress, the higher the water chop and wind conditions. Still, I've regularly done open water swims in lakes, rivers, and ocean conditions all my life, depending mostly on the trudgen and side strokes, with the scissor kick, for crossing miles of open water, as comfortably as possible.
posted by paulsc at 12:25 AM on April 11, 2011
Best answer: I learned to swim as an adult (relearned, actually). I took two different group classes and got the stroke down but couldn't get the breathing - I could never get enough air. I could never go more than 50 yards without stopping and hanging onto the side to catch my breath. Then one day I had an epiphany and went 800 yards without stopping. It was just one simple change to my technique - don't rush the stroke when I"m trying to breathe. That's it. Before I'd always had this sense of panic, like if I didn't stroke fast enough, I'd sink. So I rushed, never giving myself enough time to draw a proper breath, but always attributing it to head position or something else. Once I learned to relax and let my hand trail until I had a full breath and then stroke, I had no trouble.
posted by zanni at 4:04 AM on April 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by zanni at 4:04 AM on April 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Semantics alert...
I think you ARE swimming. You're just swimming sub-optimally. What you really need is improvement.
The rational understanding of what you are SUPPOSED to do is present, but you are having trouble putting it in practice. This is no different than playing guitar. You want the concept and practice to converge.
I recommend you first lighten up on yourself. Regardless of how long it takes to improve, it's a path and you ARE on it.
Second, quit trying to solve the entire problem, which is to implement a process. Concentrate instead on implementing an event. Do it ONCE IN A ROW. One breath. EXACTLY perfect. Then go for two. Repeat, expand, improve and in several sessions, you should notice SOME convergence to your goal of doing it for indefinite periods.
This is no different than anything else you need to learn.
posted by FauxScot at 5:10 AM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think you ARE swimming. You're just swimming sub-optimally. What you really need is improvement.
The rational understanding of what you are SUPPOSED to do is present, but you are having trouble putting it in practice. This is no different than playing guitar. You want the concept and practice to converge.
I recommend you first lighten up on yourself. Regardless of how long it takes to improve, it's a path and you ARE on it.
Second, quit trying to solve the entire problem, which is to implement a process. Concentrate instead on implementing an event. Do it ONCE IN A ROW. One breath. EXACTLY perfect. Then go for two. Repeat, expand, improve and in several sessions, you should notice SOME convergence to your goal of doing it for indefinite periods.
This is no different than anything else you need to learn.
posted by FauxScot at 5:10 AM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
You can rent the Total Immersion videos from Netflix, or even better my public library has copies of the books and DVDs so hopefully yours does, too. They are very useful, especially the underwater camera.
I watched the first fifteen minutes of O2 in H2O (before I got bored): He starts with practicing in a bowl of water to see how close to the water your mouth can be while you breath. You should be able to put your head straight down into the bowl, tilt your head to the side until your mouth is just out of the water (in fact the corner of your mouth can still be in the water) and breath in through your mouth. Once you've convinced yourself that you CAN breath close to the water, do the same exercise standing in shallow water, then standing in shallow water with arm motions, floating in shallow water, swimming just a few strokes at a time, and so on. And yes, turn your whole body to pull your head sideways out of the water. Actually, just pause this during the middle of his breath at 28 seconds and you can see what I mean.
posted by anaelith at 5:31 AM on April 11, 2011
I watched the first fifteen minutes of O2 in H2O (before I got bored): He starts with practicing in a bowl of water to see how close to the water your mouth can be while you breath. You should be able to put your head straight down into the bowl, tilt your head to the side until your mouth is just out of the water (in fact the corner of your mouth can still be in the water) and breath in through your mouth. Once you've convinced yourself that you CAN breath close to the water, do the same exercise standing in shallow water, then standing in shallow water with arm motions, floating in shallow water, swimming just a few strokes at a time, and so on. And yes, turn your whole body to pull your head sideways out of the water. Actually, just pause this during the middle of his breath at 28 seconds and you can see what I mean.
posted by anaelith at 5:31 AM on April 11, 2011
I grew up in the water. I've lived at the beach most of my life and can't really relate with not being able to swim.
But I second everyone saying you just need to practice - you'll get it.
The most important thing, I think, is being comfortable in the water. You are the boss. If you can tread water, there is always a way to stop and regroup.
Second, crawling is not the only way to swim. I've always found sidestroking, breaststroking, and backstroking more efficient and enjoyable ways to get around.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:36 AM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
But I second everyone saying you just need to practice - you'll get it.
The most important thing, I think, is being comfortable in the water. You are the boss. If you can tread water, there is always a way to stop and regroup.
Second, crawling is not the only way to swim. I've always found sidestroking, breaststroking, and backstroking more efficient and enjoyable ways to get around.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:36 AM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
It's also possible to crawl without ever putting your head in the water.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:40 AM on April 11, 2011
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:40 AM on April 11, 2011
I love swimming but at no point do I swim with my head going underwater.
I don't know if what I do is any kind of official 'swimming', but I will do my best to describe it for you here, and you can try it. It's a very enjoyable, floaty, head-dry way to get around in water.
My arms do a 'parting water' kind of thing. To picture this, put your two arms straight out in front of you. Now put the backs of your hands together so that they're touching. Now make little cups with your hands and pretend you're parting water in big swoops back to your body.
My legs do a 'frog kick'. As my arms part water, my legs just kind of go along like you would picture a frog doing.
I'm not sure if this will be helpful at all, but I know that I grew up on the beach, love swimming, but hated swimming lessons because I didn't like putting my head underwater. Also, the side stroke, back stroke, etc, always seemed so inefficient, when the water-parting-frog-leg-kicking combo was so pleasant and effective.
posted by whalebreath at 8:18 AM on April 11, 2011
I don't know if what I do is any kind of official 'swimming', but I will do my best to describe it for you here, and you can try it. It's a very enjoyable, floaty, head-dry way to get around in water.
My arms do a 'parting water' kind of thing. To picture this, put your two arms straight out in front of you. Now put the backs of your hands together so that they're touching. Now make little cups with your hands and pretend you're parting water in big swoops back to your body.
My legs do a 'frog kick'. As my arms part water, my legs just kind of go along like you would picture a frog doing.
I'm not sure if this will be helpful at all, but I know that I grew up on the beach, love swimming, but hated swimming lessons because I didn't like putting my head underwater. Also, the side stroke, back stroke, etc, always seemed so inefficient, when the water-parting-frog-leg-kicking combo was so pleasant and effective.
posted by whalebreath at 8:18 AM on April 11, 2011
I recommend the following alternative sideways evolutionary approach:
(1) Stop the crawl, for now. Do the side stroke.
(2) HOW you do it is vital. Do this as slow as you can, as low-energy as you can. Do NOT swim vigorously. This is not aerobic exercise. Go for lazy smooth efficiency. Gradually side stroke more and more horizontally, with your head more sideways and lower in the water.
(3) After you get totally comfortable with that, you can try this: side stroke a few times on one side, then roll over to the other side for a few strokes, then back, etc. Remember: low-effort, smooth, let your arms flow rather than strong-arming the water.
posted by coffeefilter at 9:57 AM on April 11, 2011
(1) Stop the crawl, for now. Do the side stroke.
(2) HOW you do it is vital. Do this as slow as you can, as low-energy as you can. Do NOT swim vigorously. This is not aerobic exercise. Go for lazy smooth efficiency. Gradually side stroke more and more horizontally, with your head more sideways and lower in the water.
(3) After you get totally comfortable with that, you can try this: side stroke a few times on one side, then roll over to the other side for a few strokes, then back, etc. Remember: low-effort, smooth, let your arms flow rather than strong-arming the water.
posted by coffeefilter at 9:57 AM on April 11, 2011
Whalebreath - sounds like youre doing breaststroke. Which yes OP is a very good stroke to do if you don't like putting your head in the water, and may be worth practising just to get used to swimming a lot.
It's just like everything else you learn really, you keep doing it until something clicks. Although I think considering the asthma possibility might be worthwhile because I've never experienced any difficulty breathing despite hating my face being in the water as a kid.
posted by stillnocturnal at 10:46 AM on April 11, 2011
It's just like everything else you learn really, you keep doing it until something clicks. Although I think considering the asthma possibility might be worthwhile because I've never experienced any difficulty breathing despite hating my face being in the water as a kid.
posted by stillnocturnal at 10:46 AM on April 11, 2011
Oh, man, this sounds exactly like me 15 years ago. EXACTLY. Now I swim daily!
1) N'thing the private instruction suggestions: that was the turning point for me. Like you, I'd had private and group lessons in the past; finally, I scheduled four private sessions with a teacher who taught the kid/beginner classes at the community pool (so knew how to deal with students' discomfort), and came in saying "I need to learn the rhythm of breathing" -- so that's what we focused on.
2) Practice with a kickboard: this helped me stop thinking about what I'd been taught and just do it. Hold it out in front of you, superman-like, with your face in; scissor kick (not hugely vigorously; just enough to stay buoyant); blow out in the water; and when you need to inhale, take a stroke with one arm, turning to breathe at your shoulder while you hold the board with the other hand. Alternate sides, and try to keep the lower eye in the water (goggles!) so that you break the habit of lifting your head.
Taking the arm-stroke when practicing with the kickboard made a huge difference in my ability to put it all together when swimming.
(Not sure I'd agree with the breast-stroke-is-easier advice; it's definitely a weaker stroke for me. Which is just to say YMMV.)
posted by Westringia F. at 11:04 AM on April 11, 2011
1) N'thing the private instruction suggestions: that was the turning point for me. Like you, I'd had private and group lessons in the past; finally, I scheduled four private sessions with a teacher who taught the kid/beginner classes at the community pool (so knew how to deal with students' discomfort), and came in saying "I need to learn the rhythm of breathing" -- so that's what we focused on.
2) Practice with a kickboard: this helped me stop thinking about what I'd been taught and just do it. Hold it out in front of you, superman-like, with your face in; scissor kick (not hugely vigorously; just enough to stay buoyant); blow out in the water; and when you need to inhale, take a stroke with one arm, turning to breathe at your shoulder while you hold the board with the other hand. Alternate sides, and try to keep the lower eye in the water (goggles!) so that you break the habit of lifting your head.
Taking the arm-stroke when practicing with the kickboard made a huge difference in my ability to put it all together when swimming.
(Not sure I'd agree with the breast-stroke-is-easier advice; it's definitely a weaker stroke for me. Which is just to say YMMV.)
posted by Westringia F. at 11:04 AM on April 11, 2011
What finally made me able to swim was doing the breaststroke, and lifting my head enough to feel comfortable breathing. After I got comfortable with swimming in general, I learned the crawl, and took a swimming class to improve. Then it was just practice.
posted by theora55 at 12:55 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 12:55 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Random Suggestion - try practicing your crawl for a bit while using a snorkel and never lifting your head out of the water at all. Still having trouble getting air? I'm thinking it's possible that you have a particularly strong mammalian diving reflex, that you'll have to train yourself out of.
posted by bartleby at 4:43 PM on April 11, 2011
posted by bartleby at 4:43 PM on April 11, 2011
You could also practice the crawl breathing movements while using a kickboard. You hold out the board with your arms fully outstretched, head under the water, kick as normal, and then turn your head to breathe after a certain amount of kicks. As someone else suggested, isolating the movements helps you to refine them. This activity helps you practice being comfortable with just the breathing without having to worry about the strokes.
Also: I refined my breathing recently, and it made the length I was swimming with freestyle (crawl) so much easier. What I used to do was hold onto my breath for two of my forward strokes, and then breathe out on the third, and turn and inhale on the fourth. I get so much more (lung) stamina from forcing myself to breathe out underwater the second I put my mouth and nose back in the water.
posted by chronic sublime at 11:08 PM on April 11, 2011
Also: I refined my breathing recently, and it made the length I was swimming with freestyle (crawl) so much easier. What I used to do was hold onto my breath for two of my forward strokes, and then breathe out on the third, and turn and inhale on the fourth. I get so much more (lung) stamina from forcing myself to breathe out underwater the second I put my mouth and nose back in the water.
posted by chronic sublime at 11:08 PM on April 11, 2011
Response by poster: Oh, lots of great answers, thanks! I marked the ones that really "get" where I am in the process and/or give me new ideas to try.
posted by unannihilated at 4:47 PM on April 12, 2011
posted by unannihilated at 4:47 PM on April 12, 2011
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