I’ve been learning how to swim. I’m active almost every day between tennis and climbing before starting to swim, but mostly HIIT kind of activities instead of steady state endurance.

I’m at the stage where it’s a challenge to swim more than 50m at a time but I usually do 1k-2k per session a few times a week. I’ve improved my technique significantly over the last couple months doing better streamlined, staying balanced, breathing without lifting my head, early vertical forearm, etc.

Today, I saw someone who looked like they were 50-60 years old and swimming with their head completely outside of the water. They were swimming around 1:30-1:40/100yd (SC). I looked at them underwater and their legs were low as expected with a lifted head. They held this nonstop for nearly an hour without stopping.

I’m used to seeing a lot of fast people at the pool, but usually it’s people with solid technique who just look really comfortable and relaxed. But this person just broke my whole perception of swimming technique.

When I swim head up, I feel like it takes so much energy to keep moving. And yet this person is swimming faster than I can maintain. I can do strict muscle ups and I feel like I have good peak power, but there is no way I can maintain this pace with that form for long.

Is there some secret head up swimming streamline that I’m missing? How does this work?

I'm lucky in that our pool is never too crowded during lap swimming and I often have a lane to myself. However, when all the lanes are occupied, that next person to arrive always seems to choose my lane to split.

Why is this? I'm not that fast or slow (about a 1:40 per 100M pace when I'm swimming distance sets), but invariably the person that chooses me above all others to swim with, likes to do a lot of breast stroke and is a lot slower that me. We don't have fast and slow lanes, by the way.

At first I thought that this was fluke, but every time, it's always me.

I’m 26 and started learning to swim about a month ago. Before this, I had only been in a pool around twice in my entire life.

I’ve now had about 25 pool sessions, usually five days a week for around an hour. Only 7 sessions were with a trainer. When I started, I could barely put my face underwater and blow 2 bubbles. Now I can exhale automatically underwater, float on my front and back, and swim around 5–10 metres.

I crossed the roughly 10-metre width of the pool for the first time around my 21st session. I was completely exhausted, but I made it across. A few sessions later, I managed to cross it 3 or 4 times in a single day. 

I’ve only been seriously practising freestyle for about 7–8 sessions, and my main issue is still side breathing. I often lift my head instead of rotating properly, which causes me to lose my body position and tire very quickly.

Today I was standing near the edge in the 5-feet section. I saw the trainer near the 6-feet sign and asked if I could come there. He said yes. I went underwater and completely froze. I could not move forward at all. That made me realise I’m probably nowhere near swimming the 25-metre length of the pool. At my current pace, it feels like it could take more than another 3 months.

During my initial 7 days of training, I did go into the 6.5-foot section to practise basic survival skills. But once the training ended, the coaches stopped paying attention to me, and I haven’t gone back there since because I’m too afraid to practise in that depth alone.

The trainers are not very helpful. They usually stay outside the pool and give very basic instructions from the side. I also don’t have access to many other pools or better training options, so I feel stuck.

My original goal was not to become a serious swimmer. I just wanted to feel comfortable using hotel pools instead of avoiding them. Since I can now cross the width sometimes, part of that goal feels achieved. 

But freezing near 6-feet water made me question whether I will ever feel confident in deeper or unfamiliar pools, especially after spending some time away from swimming.

A 30-day membership (not training) costs NPR 7,000 about US$45. That may not sound expensive internationally, but it is a significant amount where I live. I can technically afford it, but it is still expensive enough that I’m unsure whether renewing would be worth the money.

The biggest problem for me is that I have no idea whether my progress is normal, slow, or actually good. I kept seeing posts and videos online claiming that people learned to swim in seven days, so I went in with a similar expectation.

I also don’t have any friends or family members who can swim well enough to guide me. The coaches at my pool usually handle around four people at once, and private one-on-one lessons are not available at the pools near me. Because of that, I feel like I’m mostly trying to figure everything out on my own, which has become extremely frustrating.

Honest questions:

Is this normal progress after 25 total sessions for an adult beginner?

Am I learning slowly?

Would another month of mostly self-practice help?

Does deep-water fear usually improve once swimming becomes easier in shallow water?

Would you renew in my position?

Hello everyone, I have recently turned 30 and for my 30th I gifted myself swim lessons. I am a total beginner I'm scared of water but I decided if 50 years old have successfully learned to swim I will too. So my sessions will be 12, 1 hour classes and I'm on day 4 right now and really disappointed in myself. I have zero confidence I can't let my body relax I was told to tummy float I could do it holding the edge but I can't do it without support. My trainer says by day 4 everyone can do it and I'm never gonna learn. She has tried everything holding my hands and I just go stiff and start flailing thrashing. Other people in the class are all able to do it despite being beginners like myself. Please help me understand if I should continue going or just give it up. After every class I feel more and more terrible about myself.

I'm just curious if its just me or if others experience this. I have a problem just hanging out in a pool. Whether its someone's backyard pool, hotel, water park etc.

Its like I don't know what to do with them because my brain and muscle memory wants to do laps and just standing/floating around feels weird.

Was amazed watching an older gentleman swimming fairly fast laps without submerging his head. Literally he just kept his head above the water and skimmed across the surface comfortably. Granted his legs were somewhat submerged but it didn't seem to disrupt his rhythm. Anyone ever see this or actually swim like this?

It has been a few months since I started going for swimming, though my consistently is shameful. Sometimes 2 or even 3 days a week, especially in the beginning. And sometimes 3 days in a month.

My status quo: I can play in water. If my feet are touching, I put myself underwater, holding my breadth. I even lied down on the floor with no air in my chest. 😄 I heard from my friends that floating is the first thing I should know. If I try to float facing upwards, my head and chest float, but my legs start drowning, and I end up touching the floor. If I try to paddle with my legs, then I can float or even more a certain diatance. When I am facing down, I float good. I hold my breadth, and my body floats, though not that properly but I manage to not touch the floor. I try to move my arms like swimmers, and my feet so that I can swim, but I fail.

This actually demotivates me and I have to make up my mind and push myself to go to the pool.

I want some suggestions of what am I doing wrong. How can I progress, how can I learn to float, how can I learn to paddle with feet, and finally swim like a profession. How does the path look like?

I’m in my late 20s and planning to start swim lessons. I am a beginner with 0 skills so far. I’m deciding between private lessons and group lessons. The challenge is that adult group classes are rare and fill up quickly and require registration 1–3 months in advance. The earliest beginner classes are in September, with another session in November. I also found a private instructor who charges $35 for 30 minutes at my community pool.
Since I have to register before knowing how quickly I’ll progress, should I enroll in beginner classes for both September and November? There are also two beginner sessions in September (weekday and weekend). If I take both (about 10 classes total), is it realistic to move to Level 2 by November? Or would it be better to invest in private lessons instead?

I’m attaching the descriptions of both the beginner classes available in September let me know if this is good or should I go with a private instructor or do both. Thank you.

Beginner level 1 : confidence in water, floating, breathing, forward movement.

Another beginner level 1 : teaching beginning swimming skills, trust and submersion, body position and air recovery which are white and red levels of starfish swim school.

I have had a very severe physical anxiety and i have ended up in the ER twice, I signed up for swimming sessions for my health because i heard a lot of great things about it , the first sessions were very rough , the water was very cold , but once my body adapted i have gained confidence , feeling long term relaxed after each session , now am barely have any panic attack , or any scary symptom and am thankful for it , it's almost like going to therapy without meds or talking!

i want to add swimming into my routine either after an upper or lower body day. my main goal is getting stronger/putting on muscle. i was doing a lot of running, but need a lower impact alternative

I have been a competitive swimmer for like my whole high school and college career, but now with work I have to move like in a farther area and I can only swim like 1-2 times a week.

I mean I've already accepted the fact that I'm gonna be slower, although I wanna see your experiences like how much did it affect your performance? Like I wanna gauge my fitness level during this time.

TLDR: 33f - Zero experience swimmer taking group classes at their local rec center. I'm unsure if the expectations of being able to front crawl, back crawl, and float/ tread water after 4.5 hours of instruction (3- 45 minute sessions/week for two weeks) is normal. I still can't do any of it well.

I'm your classic "omg I almost drowned in a pool" experience. My mother can't swim due to a similar childhood situation. I've never seen my father get into a pool lol. I decided at THIRTY THREE that I need this survival skill. I signed up for adult swim lessons at my community rec center. It's a group class, 6 students, 1 coach.

Within 5 lessons we went over front crawl, back crawl, float/ tread water. We also covered breast stroke and elementary back stroke, although those aren't required to test into level II. The 6th session is the test, so not quite a lesson.

The problem? I struggle incredibly hard with the basics. Im taking in too much water and lifting too much to break in front crawl, not breathing well through my nose under water (thanks yogi training!), I immediately sink in back crawl, and I can't tread or float.

If you've taken group classes, was your experience similar? How many sessions did you do? What was taught in your class? What did you feel you took from the class?

I'm opting out of the test today. I signed up for the next set of 6 classes to redo and practice more. This just seems so incredibly HARD.

What's the etiquette around doing laps in a standard public pool, with no lanes or markings, if there are people in it but not swimming laps? Think the pool you'd encounter at a hotel – 25 m long but not particularly wide, perhaps only as wide as two lanes would take up.

This weekly post ( on Thursdays) is for ALL gear related questions -

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I’m taking up lane swimming as a hobby after a lot of on and off. I love the water and I’ve been swimming since I was 6.

I don’t have the googles or caps or anything fancy. Just my swimming shorts. I love swimming laps in a lane. Will I be judged?

Thanks

Doing my first sprint tri this weekend. Swimming is my weakest and I’m pretty nervous about getting kicked in the face during the swim.

Does this inevitably happen to everyone who does triathlons? I told my husband “I’ll be ok because I’ll be swimming in the back and to the side” and his reply was, “Yeah, you and everyone else.” 😳😂

My instructor wants me to do front sculling, head above water and without any kicking whatsoever in the legs. I'm literally unable to do this,. my legs just sink until they touch the bottom of the pool, no matter how hard i try to brace my core and push my chest down into the water.

Is this something that everyone should be able to do regardless of body composition / buoyancy?

I'm a relatively muscular and lean guy and I know that I have terrible buoyancy - if I curl into a ball with my lungs full of air, I'll still quickly sink towards the bottom of the pool. Is it possible that I just can't do this drill?

Hi, does anyone knows how fast am I supposed to be as a new swimmer to compete? For freestyle 50 or 100m

Edit: not in a club currently, independent swimmer who dominated technique through TikTok and advices

Just wondering if anyone has any words of encouragement for this situation.

My daughter now understands because she always swims exhibition for the swim meets on her summer rec team she will never qualify to earn points from the meets for her team. She is one of if not the slowest in her age group for each stroke so it's not like the coaches are wrong for not submitting her times. They want to win and they can only submit 2 relay team times and 3 individual times for each event. Those spots all rotate through the top 12-15 kids in her age group. The team is enormous and filled with tons of year round club swimmers, so even if she was naturally fast it would be hard to compete with people who train all year.

The problem is now she says her being there doesn't matter and it's like she's not doing anything to contribute to the team. I said that the most important thing is she's having fun swimming and that she has to look at the improvements in her times over the season. We definitely are excited for her when she's improved her times and tell her how proud we are of her hard work. But that's different than actually feeling like she's contributing to her team.

I am swimming for 2-3 months and I am a beginner swimmer (24M) .I can do 25meter in 16.5 sec and I tried to exert force,no breath during sprint,and other things that can lower my time but none of it was working.Its like I am struck at 16.5sec. My continuous swim has increased but not my speed. Plz help me!!!

I was at the beach and at the pool today, got water stuck in my ears, and tried jumping around.
Its been almost 12 hours since i got out of the pool and I can still feel the water moving inside my head or ears, not sure.

I also have a stuffy nose, could this be related?

Is there anything I can do? Should I look help before its too late?
How long is some water being stuck in your ears okay?

I’m training for my first Ironman and I’m training for the swimming portion and realizing I have no idea what I’m doing.

My question: I’m learning the front crawl and how to breathe with my face in the water but the thing is, I can do the side stroke forever. I don’t know why, maybe it’s the way my body is shaped but when I do the side stroke I can easily swim a mile with it. I realize it’s not as fast or competitive of a swim style but it just works for me. Is there a certain way to swim the Ironman? It seems like everyone just does the front crawl and I don’t really want to be an outlier or get called out for doing it wrong. Is there a mandatory way to swim the Ironman or does everyone just do their own thing?

I’m dealing with a shoulder issue (shoulder impingement combined with bursitis). According to my doctors, one of the contributing factors is my freestyle technique during swim training (3,000 - 4,000 m, three times a week).

They believe that when I breathe to my left, I tend to push my extended right arm slightly downward. This gives me a small upward lift while taking the breath. It’s probably not something I do at the beginning of a session, my coach says my technique is generally quite good, but rather something that creeps in as I get fatigued.

Have any of you dealt with this or know of drills or exercises that can help eliminate this movement pattern?

One thing we’ve already changed is that I’ll be using paddles much less (or not at all), since they increase the forces acting on the shoulder and could make the problem worse.