Hi. Many, many moons ago, when I was in my teens and early twenties, I used to be a competitive swimmer. I didn't have the dedication to push myself enough to achieve anything relevant, but I still practiced with the ones that did. A regular wet practice was around 2h, and 6km to 8km, depending on the weekly plan.

During this time, it was frequent to have about 20 minutes of drills with hand plaques, and very sporadically some work with fins.

Now into my thirties, wanting to keep a minimum of mobility and physical ability, I've retired to the pool purely as a leisure swimmer. No time goals other than what's feeling fun I'm the moment and I feel like pushing. I purposefully want to stay away from the competitive side of things.

Imagine my surprise when I see people who perform at national and international level, doing practices of (only) 50min to 60min, but most of it (like 40 minutes of it) with some sort of gear on. It's either plaques, fins or respirators.

Why is this? Had there been a shift in the training theory and practices?

Thanks.

This is probably a silly question but asking anyway. I am training for a triathlon and I've been swimming for a long time, so I know the etiquette of asking to share lanes and such. How do you handle someone trying to chat to you and interrupting your workout? For context, I work in healthcare and have limited time I have to get in and out of the pool. I also listen to music and usually have ear plugs in bc it helps with the audio and I hate water getting in my ears.
Yesterday, in the middle of my sprinting drills, a middle-aged man started talking to me (36F), asking me a bunch of questions which required taking out my ear plugs and pausing my garmin. I didn't want to be rude, but I subsequently had to quit early bc of thunder/lightning and as a result I'm miffed I wasted time dealing with this stranger.
Any tips? Obviously don't want to be rude but my time in the pool is very limited and I need to use it to train, not socialize.
Thanks in advance

As always we do a lot of warming up before the swim meet rlly begins, but when I’m right about to get on the block because of adrenaline or nervousness, I feel pins and needles in my legs and arms. I don’t know if it really affects my swimming but it does feel like I won’t be swimming my best when it happens🥲

I swim 5 days a week and recently (past year) my nose has been an issue. I wake up with what feels like little cuts in my nose / scabs. Whenever I yawn or stretch my nostrils it's very painful and after swims my nose can become quite sensitive. Has anyone ever experienced this?

I think I have reasonably good freestyle form when going slow and deliberate. When I speed up, i have two problems 1) i feel not strong enough to actually push harder and 2) I'm no longer conscious of all the elements of the stroke.

What's a good way to increase my pace and remain smooth?

Hey all, this is partially a celebration and partially a confused shrug. I'm a 44-year-old woman who took up swimming in the summer of 2025 (but had to stop for a bit while healing from a partial knee replacement last fall). I took lessons as a kid but never was on a swim team or anything.

I am working on my freestyle, trying to be careful and do things right rather than worrying about getting faster (I took some lessons this year after I kinda hurt my shoulder--I'm hypermobile and was doing some weird stuff with my stroke).

Despite the aforementioned partial knee replacement, I like breaststroke a lot. On the kick, I'm opening my hips wider, not doing the thing where you completely keep your thighs together and snap your legs from the knee down, as then my knees seem perfectly happy with the breaststroke. Other than having a modified (less effective but not painful) kick, I try to do the rhythm and timing of competitive breaststroke (just, you know, way slower than someone actually competitive).

I have been enjoying swimming a km or more breaststroke. I know from reading older stuff that a lot of people are not a fan of that, but it feels good to me, and I don't trust my ability to keep my form on freestyle enough to go that long or steadily. As long as it isn't hurting me, I don't see why not (and at this point in my life, I very much know the difference between things that are hurting my knees and things that aren't.) But I have been very, very slow, or at least it has felt that way to me. Like, 1:30 for 50 yards. (for reference, this is a 25-yard pool and I can't yet do flip turns)

However, in the last few weeks, apparently something kind of clicked! Literally in early September I was barely managing to do a km in 30 minutes. And then I just started getting faster and faster! Last night I did 1.2 km in 30 minutes, an extra 200 yards! It felt incredibly good.

So yeah, I'm now going at 1:15 for 50 yards. And the only way I can explain how I shaved 15 seconds off my time that abruptly is that I started thinking about Mario in Super Mario 3 (original Nintendo--remember, I'm 44) when he wears the frog suit, and just thinking that my arms should just be like a quick "bloop" before returning to streamline, and same with my legs. I think previously I was letting my arms and head very slowly return to streamline (if at all) before. I also think I'm engaging my core better when in streamline, not being as floppy, if that makes sense.

I thought I'd share this in case anyone else finds imagining they are Frog Mario helpful, and also to celebrate.

(Hopefully this goes without saying, but please don't comment on how this is slow or unimpressive. I'm swimming for health, not for competing, and, again, only started a little over a year ago.)

Hi everyone,

I'm a 36-year-old beginner swimmer in Bangladesh. I don't have access to a coach, and my only available pool is 50 meters long, with a depth ranging from 5 to 10 feet.

I can currently swim 21 meters using breaststroke and 50 meters using elementary backstroke, but I struggle with treading water.

My goal is to become a confident swimmer so I can enjoy a wide range of water activities, including kayaking, canoeing, surfing, and water skiing, as well as swimming in lakes, rivers, ponds, and the ocean. I also want to be better prepared for emergencies, such as falling overboard or getting into difficulty in open water like tides, rip currents, waves, choppy water etc.

Could you suggest a specific swimming proficiency test with measurable benchmarks? For example, swimming certain distances using different strokes, floating to rest, and treading water for a specified duration, all within a set time limit.

I'd like a concrete test that I can work towards and use to assess my progress independently.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I'm an adult beginner, and today was my second swimming class.

I'm trying to learn how to front float, but I'm really scared of sinking whenever I let go of the pool wall. I can put my face in the water while holding the wall, but as soon as I try to float without holding it, I panic. I'm afraid I'll sink or won't be able to get back up, and my shoulders become really tense.

Even when my instructor supports me, I still feel like I'm sinking and struggle to relax my body.

For anyone who was scared of sinking when they first learned to swim:

• How did you overcome this fear?
• What helped you learn to float without holding the wall?
• Is it normal to struggle this much during the first few classes?
• What exercises can I practise to become more comfortable with floating?

I'd really appreciate advice, especially from people who were also very scared of water when they started. I genuinely want to learn, but right now I'm struggling with the fear. Thank you!

Short background: I got into swimming when I injured my hips 2.5 years ago and I couldn't run anymore. I'm completely self-thought with the help of Youtube, of course, what else. I aim for two sessions per week, 1500meters each. I average 2:10/100m freestyle, and I'm quite happy with it. I'm 46yo, short woman.

Up untill today, I found swimming being not just the physical workout but also mental too. There's so many moving parts to co-ordinate, you know what I'm talking about. I'd finish my swim with my head buzzing from the intensive mental workout it's just gone through.

But a couple days ago stumbled up on this video by Eetu Karvonen https://youtu.be/7kK_yw9j6mo?si=m039m4CygiYq6SOt and it changed everything. Today in the pool I applied what he's talking about for the first time and I had that Eureka! moment. I stopped thinking what my hands, arms, hips, legs, whatever are supposed to be doing in the water. It's just one thing: your arm at the back is to push your arm at the front, that's it. Both arms are connected through the torso and are working together. Boom! I left the pool with a big smile and a clear, rested mind for the first time ever. 2:02/100m without any extra effort, just like that. I just wanted to share it, thanks for listening (reading).

ETA: I contacted Eetu Karvonen via Instagram. His Youtube channel was hacked yesterday (16th of Oct). He's working on bringing it back at moment.

He just went 45.11 in 100m free short course. And he went 9.83 in the first 25m.

His training method still defies expectations and shocks coaches.

Hi!

I'm curious to hear if others have this experience... So, I LOVE swimming, specially long distance, but I panic at meets - therefore I dont join them. I train with an academy (unsure of how to put it in English, is like a group that teaches, trains, and has a small team for competitions), and I'm used to training with some of the members of the team... I just dont care for joining a meet, but every single day my trainer will give me a sort of pep talk about joining a competition, and I cant seem to get the point across that I just train for the love of it, they (both trainer amd others from the 'academy') tend to ask me what's the purpose of doing it, and Im just like "because is fun".

I honestly train like I'm going to join them on a meet because is fun, and I swim because I love it and for health 😅

We lap swim together and compare data from our Apple Watches. So are my calorie figures bogus because I’m older and fat or do I actually burn more calories?

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Or - is it just in my head and all due to improper technique ?

Context: a combination of some city swimming / training growing up, a few years in water polo with very loose swim sets / now mid 30s and pursuing it seriously again as I always loved it but had other commitments through high school / college.

About 2 months back into it 4-6 sessions a week , using the Y , indoor and outdoor pool facilities. Technique has been improving steadily. My shoulders aren’t hurting anymore , incorporating structured workouts / sets. Starting small … but good lord my breathing is inconsistent.

There are 2 situations I’m struggling with and it’s all breath related: 1.) one bad , poorly timed or executed flip turn and my breathing is near trashed and I have to rest for like 2 minutes at the wall when my body is no where near tired.

2.) Indoor pools : this situation my lungs just feel tightened , like I can’t get a quality breath in. Is this some type of bad ventilation induced asthma?

Sorry if this is too many topics in one post ! Just curious what the pros and avid swimmers have done to work through this ? Thanks in advance

Hi All, I am extremely beginner just into 4 classes and I have been practicing hand movements along with my legs, seems like yesterday i did lots of wrong hand movements, and since then i have sharp shoulder pain and having hard time lifting my shoulder? How long will it take to heal and how should I be cautious in future?

Usually, video of men doing high number of pull ups or weighted pull ups are light men with short arms.

High level swimmers would be long arms and more heavy so pull ups would be harder for them.

And I heard pull ups aptitude are linked to swimming speed.

So I would like to see that, that would be rather impressive.

If anyone has a video like that, thank you!

Im a beginner and trying to learn freestyle swim. But my problem is when taking a breath and rotating my body, i heard that you want to be as straight or streamline with the water right? so i learn to not over rotate like look up the sky too much. I've seen proffesional swimmer barely turned their face when taking breath. But my problem is when i did this why my other half nostril is underwater when taking a breath with mouth, is the water kinda goes in that lower nostril make makes tingling/uncomfortable feeling up my sinuses. So how do you this? or you should actually turn so that both of your nostrils is above water when taking a breath?

I do swimming as hobby and just to stay active, yet I noticed that I can’t float. I’m confident in the water, yes, and I can keep my head above the surface pretty well, however floating just doesn’t work.

What I do: take a biiiig breath, jump a bit until I’m lying on my back, my arms and legs spread. I can stay like that for some time… until I inevitably feel my hips sinking.

Then I decided to try another thing: with lungs full of air I dived a bit and…

Just sank straight to the bottom.

I am on a more muscular side. I’m a girl yet I have abs definition, plus toned legs and arms. I think that maybe my body composition has something to do with it, but also maybe I’m overestimating its impact and it’s just a skill issue (lol).

How do I fix this?

I joined a masters swim team and have had two practices so far. I plan to go Monday through Thursday but also want to step it up in the gym. Past two months I only do shoulder external rotations, plank, RDL and Bulgarian split squats.

Schedule:

I get off work at 6pm, swim practice is at 7pm, then straight to gym. Then wake up at 6am next day for work. My friend who is a gym rat but not a swimmer thinks it might be too much lol. Guess I'll find out after this week but just curious what swimmers who have a real gym program think. Don't think I can do PPLPL because of tight schedule. Today i only got 6 hours of sleep.

Stats:

- 5'9" , hovering around 141-143 lbs (weigh first thing Monday morning after restroom)
- Eat around 2k calories/150g protein
- 4x100 @ ~1:55 (2 weeks ago)
- 110 lengths of 25yd pool in 1 hour (1 month ago)
- History: swam competitively in grade school. Fast forward 20 years, started swimming again in March (7 months ago). been swimming 2600-2700yards 3 days a week, 1 mile in the ocean on Fridays, then 1 - 2 hour recreation lap swim on Saturdays

Almost three years ago, I was diagnosed with type two diabetes. I was pushing 250 pounds. At 5'10" that's pretty gross! After the diagnoses wife said "We're joining the Y." Our diet is now much better, I've lost about 50 pounds! I swim 4-5 days a week and at the least a half mile.

My daughter didn’t know how to swim, and we wanted to enroll her in her school’s swim team (not really for competition, just to learn swimming). But the coach said that students should know the basics, like floating and treading water.

So, we enrolled her in one-on-one swimming lessons for 8 sessions. She has finished all 8 sessions, and she has improved a lot! We’re confident that she already knows the basics.

To all the swimmers here, do you think we should enroll her in the school swim team now, or should we continue with one-on-one lessons for another 8 sessions before joining the team?

Would love to hear your advice. Thank you! 😊

EDIT:
I’m sorry guys! I forgot to tell you tht my daughter is just 6 and we are not expecting her to join competitions in the near future. The school doesn’t force also, but she can train with them as long as she can swim by herself which she can already

I returned to swimming about 6 weeks ago and after my third swim I started to feel an ear infection (outer ear/swimmer's ear) brewing. Which was the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life, may I add.

Anyway, I finished the 7 day course of antibiotics about 3 weeks ago. I've had no pain since, though my hearing still isn't what it was in the affected ear. It feels as if I have lost 5% of my hearing. Had no problems getting it wet in the shower or bath though.

My question is do you reckon it's safe to go swimming again now? How long do you guys usually wait before getting back in the pool after suffering an ear infection?

Additionally, I think I will get some ear plugs as I'm terrified of having to go through this sort of pain again. What are your thoughts on their efficacy? Are there better alternatives (e.g. ear drops)?

Edit: Damn autocorrect for altering my title.

I always hear/read people talking about using the "large muscles" in your back when you swim, which will help you swim farther more efficiently.

I have been swimming for about 2 months now. And one of my current issues is tired arms, rather than tired lats, traps, etc. I can't tell if this is a general fitness issue or a swimming specific one. I don't have issues with mind-muscle connection when lifting, but I just cannot feel my back while swimming.

Anyone have cues you use to make sure you're using larger muscles and avoiding tiring yourself out?