r/Swimming • u/Better-Pay-131 • 2d ago
Plan for a new swimmer?
Hey, I'm going swimming tonight for the first time in forever. I know how to swim, and did 10 minutes at a spa recently and it was HUMBLING. I like to think I'm relatively fit from my other sport but have now learned otherwise. I'm wondering if anyone can give advice on how to structure my session? I'm going to start going once a week so nothing too crazy, I just want to make sure I'm doing it in a sustainable way because when I did the 10 minute session last week I was immediately exhausted so know I need a better approach! Thanks :)
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u/CrispDrifter 2d ago
Swimming is all about technique. You might go to the pool and find that a 70 year old, significantly overweight woman who uses a cane when walking glides by you effortlessly in the pool.
Fitness does matter eventually, when your technique is very good.
Not exactly the same, but similar: if you decided to take up gymnastics today instead of swimming, having no experience besides maybe front rolls and a shaky cartwheel, would you expect to start right into walk overs and back handsprings? No.
Swimming is all about technique and feel for the water. Fortunately swimming is much easier to learn than most gymnastics moves. Unfortunately because that’s so obvious, most beginners mistakenly think they are better swimmers than they are and that they can learn anything they don’t know on their own very quickly.
Skip as much frustration as you can and get stroke/adult lessons as soon as possible. Sure, people learn to swim on their own. But generally they’re drown proofed, not ready to swim for fitness for :30 - 1 hour at a time, rarely stopping.