I like to swim, but I'm horrible at backstroke and butterfly. Help!?
475024
When doing backstroke make sure your arm touces your ear as it goes past it also has to touch your leg. Keep your head strait and looking back. Keep your arms strait, and your legs straight when you kick, and kick consantly. I see lot of people kicking from their knees, this is rally bad, kick from your hips. Practice kicking hugging a kickboard. Also when you are doing it see if you can find a straigh line that goes all the way down the pool andfollow that.\nI hope this helps!
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!
611056
IF U R NOT ABOVE 18,\nTHEN DO SKIPPING (AS ITS THE BEST)\nOR DRINK WATER OF DAL .\nU CAN OPT FOR SWIMMING ALSO.\n\n\n\n\nI TOO HV A PROBLEM OF SHORT HIEGHT BUT  CANT HELP AS I M A CREATURE OF GOD.\nG O O D L  U C K
567488
butterfly stroke is my best swimming stroke.its very easy too!
206167
All I would say.  You are so posed to be exactly alike in your moves.  What every body part the other swimmer has you must have that too.  lol\nIt helps if you can float also.
366253
I would suggest that you stop running and investing more time into your swim training. Although swimming involves your cardiovascular system, there is a whole lot more involved in swimming than breathing. If you are not comfortable in the water, your body will tense up. This anxiety often results in having difficulty breathing. \nWork on improving your swim strokes. You could be exerting so much unnecessary energy that you exhaust yourself. Being as hydrodynamic as possible helps. Be streamlined. Your strokes and kicks should be efficient. There is a lot more to swimming than just getting from one point to another in the water.\nYour comparison is like saying that Tiger Woods can hit the golf ball so he should be good in baseball.
403311
Don't listen to these idiots. If they answer a question in the swimming catagory, and don't know anything about swimming, forget them. Of course, while I'm answering, someone will give you a serious answer, and be offended that I called them and idiot. \n\nThe butterfly is rough. Basically you have to get some pool time. No real way to learn it without actually getting in the water.\n\nIt'd be better if you got someone who can do it to help you, but, you've seen the butterfly done, just do what you've seen. You gotta push hard enough to bring half your body out of the water, so you can swing your arms around in front of you. It hurts at first, and your chest is gonna ache, and you're gonna think you're having a heart attack, but just do it until you're worn out, then try again the next day. don't forget you're doing a dolphin kick, keep your legs together and move them in a fluid motion. It's not supposed to look like you're humping the water... more like doing the worm in break-dancing. When your upper body comes out of the water, it's like a wave traveling through your body from head to toe. \n\nI hope you can handle pain! Good Luck.
844277
work on your reactions off the line, quad work outs really help with this. \n\nwork on your swim moves to get past offensive linemen
124465
Not a swim champ but I may be able to help with your workouts.\nFirst thing is to set goals for yourself. Your goal can be as simple as "swim at least 3 times a week" or "do a new drill for each of the strokes each and every practice." Then set goals to improve your time  or distances. Setting goals help to motivate.\nAnother way to stay motivated is to get a partner or join a swim program. With a partner you need to be committed. Have your partner design the workouts for this week and you do the workouts for next week. Assuming you are of age, join the Masters swim program. This way you can make new friends.\nCross training helps keep varity in your workout. Run walk or jog in place of one of your swim workouts. Even better, jog to and from your swim workouts.\nTo get new ideas for workouts. Swim magazines usually have sections with ready made workouts. Swim books usually have a chapter on workouts also.
599943
You have a pinched sciatic nerve, probably aggrevated by the back problems, especially if the last two lumbar vertebra (L4 and L5) had disc ruptures.\n\nI beg you to get in the POOL and swim laps for 1/4 mile each dy until you get used to it, then "bump" the distance to 3/8 and then to 1/2 mile every day.  Nonstop.  Use the backstroke if you're a poor swimmer.\n\nTry this every day for six months before you complain that it isn't helping.  Hydrotherapy such as a whirlpool or water aerobics are nice TOYS, but the thing you need is for those tiny little muscles that run up and down the spine to themselves be stronger, and any other exercise you try is going to hurt you!
929300
Practice!  You will get better with time.  Also try swimming slower.  Make sure you have good form so you are not wasting energy.  Breathe with your head to the side; breathe every stroke if necessary.
1156592
You need 'in water' Tai Chi.... Badly, my friend.\nOr even plain Tai Chi.\nThen, work your way up to gentle swimming.\nThink of the pool as your best friend!\nof course, professional advice is best.
139694
the best thing you can do is train...important things in a five hundred are endurance(lol)...being an efficient swimmer which means good flip turns...streamline...and stroke mechanics...start out the race faster than you think you can...some people sprint the end, but that isn't the best way, and i am not saying sprint the beggining just go faster than you think you can
738819
Well here's the thing. \nThe butterfly or dolphin kick is not supposed to involve your knees at all. The reason Your coaches tell you not to bend your knees, is because as you bend them, you are creating a resistance, quite a strong one I might add, to your swim. What that does is it puts all of your swim onto your arms.\nNow speaking of arms, the biggest mistake that people make when pulling on the butterfly stroke, is that they bend their arms (like you do with your knees). If you make your arms straight as you pull, you wil have a MUCH stronger stroke. You will be using more muscles, and the more muscles that you use, the easier it is on all muscles combined. What I meean is, if you use only two arms muscles when pulling, all of your weight is being pulled by striclty, those 2 muscles. Straighten out your arms, and you will be using many more muscles, distributing your weight.\nAfter you have straightend out your arms and you have just completed pulling the arms right in front of you (and you are about to do another stroke) you must move your arms underwater much lke the breaststroke pull. \n\nI know that this is confusion how I explained this to you.\nPretty much, when kicking on the butterfly stroke, focus on using your hips oppsed to using your knees.\nWhen pulling, arms straight out of the water beside you. When you bring them over your head, do onot cross them.\nTrain hard, and pretty much, ask your coach for help.\n\nI know that it is hard to change your stroke once you have a routine way of doing it. And for a while, changing your stoke will actually make you slower. But over time (a few months), you stroke will greatly improve by several seconds.\n\nGood Luck with your swimming!
417058
I have won gold medals at Australian nationals and swam at selected swim camps. What you are doing is great, running and Pilate's.. Just try to remember that you can burn you body out. Instead of running everyday why don't you try some light weights?? As in pin weights!! If you are not for that then try kick boxing, its excellent for swimming. Using a medicine ball(the old school ones) It would really help though if i knew what stroke it is that you excel in or want to excel in.. I could help you alot better!!!
1175662
I'm a really good Backstroker\n50 m. - 32.09 \n100 m. -  1:18.39 \n200 m. -   2:29.39
330823
I am in a similar position as you, training for the swim of a triathlon relay even thouugh the run would be my strongest leg.  I can run and run but struggle with the swim.  \n\nI have found the same thing too about others being naturally quick and it is frustrating since I know I should be more able than I am.  What I have learned is that to swim comfortably you have to be really relaxed otherwise you burn out quickly because you lose breath.  You have to keep your head very low in the water, facing the floor and push your torso down into the water.  Try to accelerate your stroke under the water as you pull your arm below you, and keep your elbows high when out of the water.\n\nI don't have any training regimes, for training I just try and go as fast as I can for the race distance without getting my breathing and stroke all messed up.