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Tasoulenko

Swim General

Tasoulenko
Nov 18th, 2015
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  1. =====================================
  2. /Swim/ General FAQ
  3.  
  4. 0) Why swim?
  5.  
  6. Unlike running, swimming is zero impact, and so easier on your joints.
  7. It is one of the quickest ways to burn calories, having a higher caloric burn rate than running or cycling.
  8. It is also a full body exercise, using legs and arms for propulsion and a tight core to keep you moving.
  9. Excellent for cardiovascular health.
  10.  
  11. 1) I don't know how to swim; how do I get started?
  12.  
  13. If there's a pool near you with swim lanes (T-shaped lines at the bottom of the pool) there are swim lessons available, and likely a club... virtually any pool like the one described will offer lessons as a way to offset costs, including adult lessons. For training purposes, you should take lessons until you've mastered the 4 main strokes: freestyle, breast, back, and butterfly.
  14.  
  15. In general, learning to breathe in rhythm with your stroke is the hardest skill to learn... it just takes practice.
  16.  
  17. The same place that you practice will be where you swim laps, so get a membership that allows you to train in hours you are available.
  18.  
  19. 2) What equipment do I need?
  20.  
  21. Level 1: Googles and a swimsuit, sunblock. Googles are a must needed to keep chlorine / salt out of eyes. If you're taking swimming seriously you need a good pair, since you'll use them a lot. Anything Speedo or Tyr should work well. Sunblock is important if training outdoors.
  22.  
  23. Level 2: Competitive swimsuit, swim cap. As you get more serious, you'll want a set of swim briefs or jammers (male) or a 1 pc suit intended for swimming (female.) These reduce drag over more casual trunks / fashion suits. Handwashing and air drying suits will help maintain them longer than machine wash. A swim cap helps reduce drag and keep longer hair together. It also helps get goggles on and off without tangling hair. Worth mentioning are special shampoos for swimmers meant to remove chlorine from hair; worth checking into esp. if you have long and/or light colored hair.
  24.  
  25. The above 3 items (goggles, suit, cap) are required for anything that looks like a swim meet, and probably the minimum requirement for a serious amateur swimmer.
  26.  
  27. Level 3: Training aids, namely a kickboard and swim fins. Both of these allow you to train legs more intensively.
  28. The kickboard is used by competitive swimmers in some way during every practice. Isolating the leg kicks for all strokes can lead to rapid improvement as most people just rely on their upper body strength to get them around. The legs are key to balance in the water and with good enough technique/strength a decent amount of propulsion also.
  29. Fins can be introduced after the stroke technique is up to a good standard; fins are used to overload the working muscle groups or to reinforce already cemented good habits. If you have good kicking technique then you are ready to implement them into your sessions. Never warm up with them on and never wear them for a whole session. Mix it up, do some kicking sets with them on and off. The added propulsion from the kick with fins will help to focus your attention to the upper body, arm actions, head and body alignment. Most swim fins are not meant to be used with the whip kick for breaststroke, so remove them for this stroke.
  30.  
  31. 3) Can I use swimming to lose weight?
  32.  
  33. It's not the best for this, though the best is just eating less.
  34.  
  35. Anecdotally: swimming stimulates appetite, perhaps due to being immersed in cold water, and this appetite increase works against weight loss. That said, there's no magic to calories in calories out; if you can maintain a cut diet while swimming, you will lose weight.
  36.  
  37. 4) What should a training regimen look like?
  38.  
  39. Initially training should consist of just getting from one end of the pool to the other without stopping. Know the length of your pool; some are 25m (short course) and some are 50m (long course or Olympic). Swim competitions concentrate on the main 4 strokes, swimming 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, etc in a heat. Think of these distances as goals to work towards (that is, being able to swim them without stopping.) This means not only knowing the strokes, but knowing the turns made at the ends of the pool. Competitors can have runs DQ'd because of incorrect form on turns as the turns create a competitive advantage to swimmers, giving them a short speed boost. For the amateur, either talk with your swim coach or with other experienced amateur swimmers, and find something that works and keeps you moving forward.
  40.  
  41. As in all forms of training, the fundamentals apply: Keep records of your laps (and later times), be consistent with training regimen, get feedback on form from others, set realistic goals and achieve them.
  42.  
  43. As you gain training hours, getting back and forth in the pool without stopping will no longer be a challenge. At this point, you should begin to vary the intensity of your runs. For example, 200m freestyle at medium pace to warm up, 100m at fastest speed, 200m at a slow pace to cool down. In terms of volume, a typical sessions will run 2000m - 4000m total distance covered. The total target distance will decrease with intensity and increase as you improve as a swimmer... in other words, lower total distance if you're working on speed, increase total distance as you become a stronger swimmer.
  44.  
  45. For more advanced advice on training plan, see David Salo's SprintSalo, available here: https://www.teamunify.com/tsc/__doc__/146380_4_Sprintsalo.pdf
  46.  
  47. Routines online, broken into beginner / intermediate / advanced by total distance
  48. here http://mydailyswim.com/
  49.  
  50. 5) Weight training, considerations
  51.  
  52. Train of thought from former competitor anon on working weight training in to supplement competitive swim training. I'm hoping to explore this topic more on 4Chan:
  53.  
  54. "In retrospect what killed my swimming career was poor diet and thoracic mobility deficits, causing poor form and scar tissue. Having a stronger posterior chain would have given me the support I needed to develop... Hip mobility was also decreased. the main factor was poor ankle dorsiflexion from pointed toes all the time, as well as weak ankles from non use... Attention must also be paid to the reinforcing strength and leverage points... T-spine and shoulder mobility everyday... If I could go slap my coach I'd make him make us do: deadlifts, Turkish Getups, Pullups and Ropeclimbing, Goblet squats, Handstands, and a few Sprints and jogs... The shoulders, girdle and rotator cuff are the workhorses and they need special care to be strong, supple, and in good position.
  55.  
  56. 6) Stroke Technique Videos
  57.  
  58. As mentioned prior, learning to swim should be an in-person activity. The following are a collection of videos from /swim/
  59.  
  60. Speedo International on the strokes: https://www.youtube.com/user/SpeedoInternational
  61.  
  62. Freestyle Swimming Technique (Speedo):
  63. Stroke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HLW2AI1Ink
  64. Kick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK563K_DZP0
  65. Breathing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRgc0VKfRdo
  66. Body Positioning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJSo8nP8ik4
  67.  
  68. Backstroke Swimming Technique (Speedo):
  69. Stroke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89HxafulzyI
  70. Kick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvCvdIQLbaA
  71. Breathing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Z5jmy2wzI
  72. Body Positioning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R0mQCcxqw4
  73.  
  74. Breaststroke Swimming Technique (Speedo):
  75. Stroke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFFxTuaMpDQ
  76. Kick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJj9z4n0STk
  77. Breathing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBs2sPifsq8
  78. Body Positioning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aofS2pF6A0
  79.  
  80. Butterfly Swimming Technique (Speedo):
  81. Stroke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UffZn_-lU54
  82. Kick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebMfr7n65_c
  83. Breathing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSRQrZAxCUA
  84. Body Positioning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMPCgz48NOc
  85.  
  86. How to do turns/flips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdRwdceEalA
  87.  
  88. Simple streamline technique https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fej5IOsR8BU
  89.  
  90. Streamline kick drill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t2-A7i3lUs
  91. Freestyle drill / The Catch Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7-xnvc3ap8
  92. Breathing practice with kickboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxBCEkaP26s
  93. Example, Backstroke technique https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McC3crRWpGc
  94.  
  95. =====================================
  96. Original creator: Ng2 October 23 2015
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