Call Betty Ford
I'm addicted.
I'm addicted to these things. See, I've never been a good swimmer. More specifically, I've never been a good water-treader. In our efforts to be more healthy, Jen and I have started to go to SPAC. Well, we actually go to the Norris Aquatics Center (we don't want to take away the grandeur and recognition due to Mr. Norris for getting a multi-million dollar tax break).
The thing is that I have a really hard time being in the pool without the fins. We usually station ourselves at about the 7'-7.5' range. I think that's pretty deep. It's not like I will drown without the fins, but I get tired really fast and have to either grab onto the edge, or start to swim somewhere (I do fine when I'm really trying to move). I noticed last time we were there that I have kind of become dependent on the fins for propulsion. I allow my arms to do less of the work. When I take them off, I struggle to do the laps.
So, the question for those of you who were lucky enough to actually learn to swim as kids is, is there some way that I can reduce my dependence and get accustomed to the relatively minor movement I get from my regular feet? Is there an exercise or activity that will improve my treading (other than the obvious answer of doing more of it)?
Yours Truly,
Evanston Fin
posted by Andrik @ 9:17 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
As the resident fish on this blog, let me see if I can offer some advice...
If you want to get better at swimming laps, you need to get balance. Swimming involves lots of arm strength* and lots of balance, but very little leg strength. So, while the fins are fun, they won't help you much for getting better at laps.**
I would advise doing some laps with a kick board to get your kick strong. A strong kick is a straight legged flutter kick. Keep your knees straight, your hips level, and move your legs fast in a scissor-type motion. Once you have a strong kick, you will have better balance in the water - your body will remain more horizontal as you try to stroke, and will counter-balance the motion of your shoulders. I would practice kick with a kickboard for a while. Put your arms on top of the board (you don't have to stick your face in the water to get the utility out of the exercise).
Separately, you should work on your arm stroke. This means a pull buoy. Stick one of those between your thighs and do some stroking! I could spend many paragraphs on stroke technique, but what you really want to be thinking about is feeling your hands pulling the water as you go. If you feel like the water is slipping through your arms, then you should adjust what you are doing until you are pulling the water. Also, make sure you are rotating your shoulders as you pull (remember, your kick will be there to balance you out later).
Once you have a pretty solid kick, and a pretty solid pull, put them together, slowly. Remember that you want to remain as horizontal in the water as possible. Anytime you stop and put your head up in the air, your butt is going to go down in the water and it takes that much more effort to get going again. That said, breathing to the side is definitely a learned skill. Rememer those rotating shoulders? Once your balance in the water is pretty good, they will give you the room to just turn your head a little further to breathe.
And of course, keep practicing. Maybe you can join me for a bay swim when you guys come out to visit. :)
* the extreme reliance on upper body strength in swimming and water polo is why I didn't wear button down shirts or cap sleeves in high school and why the best swimmers have really wide shoulders and no hips.
** fins are typically used by competitive swimmers to get them used to the feel of the speed of their races without all the effort of actually sprinting, not for much strength building
One more idea...
If you really get inspired to get more comfortable in the water, I recommend the Total Immersion method of teaching. I have a friend who is a TI coach, and she has had a lot of successful and happy clients.
There's a coach listed on the TI website that coaches the ETHS swim team (he's listed under Wisconsin). He might also do TI clinics in the Evanston area.
Thanks for all the advice. I'll continue to work on my technique. I have followed many of the links that I think could be helpful from the sites you have posted. I think that my major problems are that I don't have good balance around my short axis and that my ankles are inflexible and don't allow for an efficient kick, which is already messed up because I have used running as exercise for most of my exercising life. I have to work on all these things.
There are also a host of other small things that I have to improve. This is why people should learn to swim at an early age.
Oh well, at least it helps to give me a goal when in the pool.
Thanks.
Yeah, you gotta work on being more flexible while you stroke your short axis.
Post a Comment
<< Home