The Unexpected Joys Of Swimming

Lane swimming has been my sly mover for the past 7 months.

I started dipping my toes in the water (pun intended) last year during my knee rehab, as a way of off-setting the impact from running, whilst still pushing the CV system.

To be honest, I expected it would work well, but didn't anticipate getting royally humbled quite so early on.

In my first few dips I could barely do 100m of breast stroke without completely gassing out.

After completing several Hyrox's and half marathons, it made no logical sense that something as simple as swimming would have me on my arse.

But there I was. Gasping for air at the end of a lane whilst grizzly chested Gary (my assigned name to this chap) was going back and forth non-stop, seemingly unfazed (more on Gary later on).

Historically, anything that's stopped me dead in my tracks fitness wise, I've been drawn to like flies to 💩.

I haven't decided whether it's my ego or sheer stubbornness, but I refuse to let any form of exercise defeat me.

So I stuck at it and became a middle lane regular at Graves Leisure Centre.

100m breast stroke turned 500m unbroken, and at around 3 months in, I could just about do 1000m without stopping.

It was horrendously slow progress if I'm being honest. But this YouTube taught swimmer was at least making some mild gains. Implementing all the little tips I'd picked up from various videos. Big shout out to the Global Triathlon Network (GTN) YouTube Channel.

But the biggest challenge was on the horizon... switching from breast stroke to front crawl.

Switching To Front Crawl

Maybe it was the GTN YouTube channel or the fact I now had this very low level ability to swim, but somewhere along the line, I decided a Triathlon was a good idea.

First signing up to a sprint. Which very quickly turned into a full Triathlon once the bike landed.

I was pretty happy holding my own alongside grizzly Gaz and the other middle (aged) lane swimmers. Breast stroke felt like a nice comfort zone and my times were getting marginally quicker over that 1000m.

But became very apparent on the Triathlon YouTube videos I was watching, that no one was breast stroking their way around the lake.

So after having just got a grip on the breast stroke, I now had to (basically) learn how to swim all over again.

I knew the middle lane pace at Graves was too slow for a front crawl, so on day one, I sheepishly slinked into the fast lane, feeling more out of place than Eric "The Eel" at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The breathing is what threw me the most. Advice online all said three strokes and then breathe. So that's what I adopted.

I barely made 50m's before I hurdled myself over the side of the pool, gulping like a fish out of water. I persevered with this technique for the whole session. Hitting about 750m before realising a Triathlon may have been a bit hasty.

Second session on the front crawl and I went back in with a revived sense of determination. After about 100m I paused to catch my breath and a very elegant swimmer caught my eye. She was smooth, not rushed and moving at a very steady pace.

Most noticeably, she wasn't breathing every three strokes like everyone else. She was a two stroke breather. What was this witch craft?!

It looked easier. Less taxing. It looked like a bit of me.

I pushed off from the wall and gave it a go. Wow. Instantly was so much easier.

The journey back up to 1000m's unbroken was equally as arduous. But as I sit here writing this. I've just completed 2000m's unbroken. Huge achievement for this swimming novice.

At this stage, I'm in no position to be giving out advice. But if there are any super beginners reading this, wanting to adopt the front crawl...

1 - Start with the two stroke breathing. You'll build up your distance much quicker.

2 - Like running, I've found there's a cadence you need to find which marries the speed of your stroke, up with the timing of your breath. Find that speed.

I'm generally a faster breather, which is why the three stroke breathing didn't work initially. Even when I moved into two stroke breathing, my pace was too slow which meant I wasn't able to breath as quickly as I would like.

I eventually found a cadence with my swimming stroke, which allowed me to exhale and inhale very naturally, just like I would when running.

I'd adopted this without realising when doing the breast stroke, but became very cognisant of it whilst finding my feet on the front crawl.

Final Thoughts

So that's where I'm up to.

The Triathlon only requires a 1500m, (I think) I've got that in the bag.

I increased my swimming sessions to twice a week (also made a huge difference is progress).

There is one more daunting hurdle in the swimming saga however... Outdoor swimming.

Like an actual lake. A cold one. With all sorts growing and swimming around in there. Not looking forward to session one. I just hope those swimsuits keep you as warm as everyone says.

Triathlon is early June. I may do a follow up post detailing how that went. Stay tuned.

Ryan Dutton

Personal Trainer Sheffield

Online Coach