My pool buoy, I love this thing! These past weeks it has been my buddy, helping me become a better swimmer.
My first swimming lessons, as a kid, consisted in swimming (crawl) as fast as I could. Speed was the only thing my teacher was interested in. So I can do a swim sprint, and then I have to cling to the side, to catch my breath. And I never learned to swim with my head in the water.
I wish I could take YouTube with me in the pool, there are so many good swimming instruction videos on it. From tips for people with water phobia ( fill a pan with water, baby steps!) to the most advanced swimming techniques.
For me, watching my husband compete in triathlons gave me that push to finally learn how to swim properly.
Breathing every third stroke, is not easy if you have never done it.
My husband told me to get the pool buoy, and that little thing makes all the difference. If you want to try it out, here are some tips how to use it.
At first I couldn't regulate my breathing, so busy learning to breathe out that I forgot to breathe in. But after four workouts I can manage to do a lap, without making a mistake. I still haven't learned to breathe out though my nose, I still use a clip. But it is amazing how much more relaxed it is to keep your head in the water. Before I almost forced myself through the water. Now I glide. Again YouTube has all the secrets, and for great tips how to smooth your stroke, check out Total Immersion, with one of the best triathlon swimming coaches.
To get the breathing down I swam 550 meter, each workout, about 27 laps. Now I am ready to have some fun with my workouts. Swimming makes your muscles nice long and lean, and burns 500 calories an hour. And when I come out of the pool, sun on my wet hair, I am immediately in a holiday kind of mood.
Here is a nice swimming schedule, of alternating laps you can follow. More swim workouts/tips/awesomeness find it here.
Are you a good swimmer, any tips? Or do you want to be?
