HELP I have runners kick. its ruining my swim drills.frustrated swimmer.?
152315
Don't kick.  Focus on your pull.  As you get faster and can go longer distances you'll find a rythym where your kick starts to propel you with less effort.
870981
OH YES!!!!!!!\n\nAnd if you are nto swimming for competition and can swim well enough you could save your life.. then you dont have to learn anything else!\n\nUnless you want to!\n\nBreaststroke is great ... keep on going...\n\nYou can also use a kick board for working out and just kick ...really works out the legs\n\nGood for you any kind of swimming is gerat for fitness!\n\nGood Luck and keep it up!\nWismom
959553
Yes, keeping your legs straight will make you go faster.  You need to think of yourself as a needle or torpedo in the water.  You want the least resistance as possible so staying straight will make you go faster.  You want to kick from your hips and point your toes.  I used to have a large sissors kick and it only slowed me down.  Other swimmers kept pointing this out to me and I concetrated on keeping my legs together.  You can feel your thighs rub together and let your big toes touch each other each time you kick.  Now that I don't have a big sissors kick and I'm more streamlined I can swim 20 seconds faster for 250 yards.
61635
If you are trying to swim freestyle (crawl), switch to an easier stroke, like the sidestroke while you increase your endurance. If you can only swim 20m, then swim 20m, rest, and swim 20m again. Repeat that process.  You can time your rests and shorten your rests as you get stronger and increase the number of repititions you do each session. After a while, push yourself to do 40m between stops, then 60, etc.\n\nIn my experience, if you can work up to 400m without stopping, you will be past the point where you are struggling in the water.\n\nIt might be a good idea to have someone look at your stroke and tell you what needs correcting. If you are struggling to make 20m. there are probably a lot of things that you can do to make your stroke more efficient. Find out what they are and work on correcting one thing at a time. Find someone who's swimming laps when you are at pool, someone who's stroke looks good, and ask them to look at your stroke. Ask them what the worst thing that you are doing and what they think you should do about it. You'd be suprised how many people would be happy to help you.
462716
You need to rotate your body. When you start your recovery (hand starting from your hips moving to start your stroke above your head), initiate the movement with your shoulders. Rotate your shoulder out of the water, to under your chin. Then start your hand moving up above your face, turning your hands and placing your pinky into the water.  This movement will help to rotate your body. Don't "shrug" your shoulders to your ears. Visualize your legs following the rotation of your body, and visualize your flutter kick rotating from one side, up and over to the other side. This rotation will make your body more hydrodynamic and prevent your legs/hips from wagging side to side. \n\nA drill you can practice is the one arm back stroke. Do a lap stroking with only one arm. The arm that you are not swimming with rests at the side of your body. When you start your pull (in the water) you should be on the side with your almost all the way in the water. You should feel like you are doing a side stroke. Your kick will be a side flutter kick. When you do your recovery, kick on your back. Once your hand recover back to above your head, glide and maintain your balance. Start your pull again when you feel balanced and stable.
349323
Since you are getting decent times I would assume that your stroke is pretty sound. To cut time in your swim work on the transitional parts of your swim. Work on your starts. Swimming short course? Work on your push off and your underwater glide. And of course work on finishing strong. Ask your coach or a fellow swimmer to help you with your stream lining. Also check your hand/arm position on your stroke. On your recovery, work on exploding forward into a long stretch into your glide.
887311
It's an ongoing work, problem is people when they reach a reasonable point in skill they stop pushing themselves really hard, which is what you probably need to do more. Also going to the gym and working on the muscles used in swimming can also really improve your swimming.
1183220
Be patient with yourself.  I think it's great that you're learning how to swim and you should give yourself some slack about mastering it quickly.\n\nHave you tried having someone teach you or coach you as you try to learn?  Most places have some sort of recreation department class for adults learning how to swim.  If your area doesn't, take a look around the place where you swim.  If there's a lifeguard, ask the guard about a few lessons or ask the place  operating the pool or beach.  If that's not possible, maybe a member of your local high school's swim team could help you out.\n\nSwimmng is excellent exercise and you can eat more if you find you're losing weight because of it.  The benefits to your fitness go beyond the weight control that others may use swimming for.  It's good for your heart and for toning your muscles all over your body.\n\nAnyway, as I said, just practice, maybe with some coaching, and be patient.  You'll get it, I'm sure.
608200
Don't worry !!! First you must feel very comfortable in the water - walk, run, jump etc. Next step is contact water with your face. If you feel that everything is all right then you can hold your breath under the water: standing at the wall, with and without float (or another equipment). First start swimming with some equipment (legs, hands) and then start do it without those things. Process of learning  is very difficult to describe and put it down.I can say something more about your movement in the water  if I could see how you move.Some people learns very fast some doesn't want to even put their face into the water. I had all of them and now their can swim :) so don' worry :)
838988
when I was young and just started running I had a problem with these kind of pains,  but I found later that if you can push yourself beyond those pains  they go away..  but I was pretty young back then.  It might stress out an older person.  I am glad I did it when I was young.  maybe just push yourself a little bit harder every time you run just a little bit further
1163421
Losing is a part of life- i hate to break it to you.  Striving to be the best is one thing, but being completely neurotic about not being number one is another.  Swimming is about beating yourself, not the person in the lane next to you.  Always strive for a better time- not to beat the next person.  Because in the end, unless you're an Olympic champion, there is always going to someone faster than you.  Do what Dory says: Just Keep Swimming!
656841
Well am a swimmer and have swam since i was little. I was always told to eat bananas, bagles, pasta, etc. All of those are good and help with your swimming. I knwo this isnt healthy but my coach always had me eat a choclate bar about 30 min before a race to give me energy, it helped alot!  Good Luck , oh by the way i would suggest not drinking pop the week before a swim meet or the day of one
264361
I've had the same experience, my coach just left last week. There's nothing you can really do about it, life goes on. Stay on the swim team, because you never know what will happen. My friend quit swimming after her previous coach was fired, and she missed two whole years of a new coach, who turned out to be one of the greatest coaches in the U.S. There will always be hope for another swim coach, let him/her in and decide whether he/she is good enough, if not, ther are other choices. Wish you luck!
1155735
Be encouraged that if you seriously set a goal to improve your time, then you will!  These are some steps to take along the way.  First, work with experienced and trustworthy tutors to learn swim techniques.  Ask several coaches to watch you swim and accept their corrections and suggestions. Practice what works for you and discard what doesn't.  If possible, select one coach to encourage you, time you, spur you on.  Second, borrow books from the library about swimming, watch video tapes, and you will discover a lot.  Read Total Immersion material. You will be fascinated with your reading.  Also, research your topic on line to find articles about backstroke and freestyle.   Third, working your fast twitch muscles will help you improve time.  As you improve in technique, then -- and only then --practice harder and faster swims each time you get in the water.  Watch the clock and try to improve each week.  Most importantly, have patience with yourself and be less self-critical.  Let go of negative thoughts and stay positive.  A great deal of swimming is mental activity so stay positive.    As you practice new techniques to improve your strokes, you will find yourself improving, getting a better feel for the water.  In the end, you might surprise yourself with an improved attitude and an incredible mind-set about life.
1113872
I used to have the same problem while I ran cross country. I went from running 2 mile races to 5 mile work outs to prepare for state championship. It took me a while to finally master it but, as long as you run two miles a day without stopping it will get easier and easier. Every day run a little bit more. Then, try speed walking for the next two miles for a "cool down". If this fails, doutful, than try jogging 4 miles VERY SLOWLY--- go at your own pace. Don't get fustrated if it hurts and takes a while. That is natural. Best wishes!
993459
Take a  deep breath in the water or swimming pool! painful but works
116178
It usually works out that you are either good at fly and breast or back and free. Assuming that your basic mechanics are sound the best way to improve on your breaststroke is to work on the kick. The whip kick is a part of the stroke that makes the difference between an average breaststoker and a great one. Concentrate on keeping your knees inward and your toes outward on the start of the kick. Once completeing your kick, point your toes and stretch. Keep it short but powerful. If the kick isn't your problem work on refining your timing. Most swimmer's timing can be tweaked a little. Do you do your recovery with high shoulders and hands out of the water? Work on a short, but powerful arm stroke - hands always in front of your chest and explode into your extension or glide. Good Luck.