I know this is a "running" blog family, but I hope some of the triathletes will read my blog and help me resolve my swimming issues.
#1 I have a hard time breathing, I have the mechanics down for the front crawl, but by the end of lap one, my lungs are burning. Then I switch to breast stroke for a length and do another two front crawl laps. All my other body parts are able to do the front crawl without incidence, but I am not breathing effectively. I breathe on alternating sides every three strokes. Help me, please!
#2 I have chapped skin from the chlorine, some embarrassing areas too! Any ideas to protect my delicate skin?
I know I have a third one, but I can not think of it right now!!
Bye!
5 comments:
#1 It sounds like you need someone knowledgeable to look at your stroke. Is there a master's swim class you could attend?
#2 Shower before getting into the pool. Since I have sensitive skin, I also have a prescription for Triamcynalone cream that I use after swimming.
Wow! I'm not doing the bilateral breathing thing yet. That's pretty cool. I just started one hundreds, and I'm out of breath pretty much all the time. Here are a couple of things I've learned in the short time I've been swimming.
1. Don't try to exhale and breath in when your mouth goes above the water. Exhale under the water.
2. I cut 3 seconds off my lap time and that lets me control my breathing much better. Speed and endurance will come.
OK. So I don't know much, but I thought I would throw those out there. You can help me with my questions on my blog today! It's multiple choice :-)
I meant I added 3 seconds to my lap time, a much more controlled stroke.
Try to breathe every stroke until you get your gills. Breathing every 2-3 strokes, and bilaterally, is a great advanced technique. As for your face, I don't have a problem now that I don't run in the cold all the time, but when I did, I put a thin, thin, thin layer of vaseline or a Eucerin-type cream on my face at night (before a morning swim) and I'm good to go.
You might try protecting your body with something like Body Glide or vaseline prior to entering the pool.
You can train to improve your breathing. Do repeats of 50 metres where you breathe every other stroke for the 1st 50, every 3rd for the next 50, every 4th for the next, etc. Put 15 seconds rest between them. It helps you get used to breathing more efficiently.
I would also recommend a masters group or just hire a coach for an hour to get some feedback. You could also video yourself & have swim people look at it.
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