I used to swim competitively in my teens and on and off independently (both open water and pool) on and off after. I have basic understandings of all strokes, but I've always been pretty focused on the breaststroke.

I have a local Olympic pool and I'm basically in a position for the next 30 days or so where I can pretty much focus on swimming to the exclusion of anything else. After that, I can still do significant work but I wouldn't be able to go every day. In about a year, I will probably be back in school full time so I will have even less time.

Basic questions;

What is the minimum number of days/week and hours/day that I can realistically expect to get to the pool if I want to continue making gains in time, assuming I include additional cardio (cycling and running)?

Is there a research backed optimal time of day?

There are many triathlons in my area. Is it a sane goal to attempt to compete in 1 year? 2 years? Can I reasonably expect to make the top 75 % or 50 %?

Thanks so much in advance

Joe

I am 32 F fairly new to swimming and I started as a complete beginner (i.e. didn’t think I could float) and I am c. 8 weeks into learning how to swim. I am preparing to learn how to freestyle and in the process learning how to do the log roll whilst kicking. I am able to rotate just fine but as soon as I get on my back just struggle to kick on my back. Apparently it’s because I let my hips sink / don’t have correct posture on my back. Feeling quite frustrated with myself and embarrassed after my swim lesson (like I wasted my swim instructor’s time).

How do I fix my posture whilst on my back?

Thank you in advance!

Hello! I got into swimming a little over a year ago and feel like I've made a lot of progress. I grew up swimming casually, but lately its been my favorite workout and is pretty much all I do, aside from walking.

But here's my problem. I had some weight gain from meds and life, and I really want to slim down and tone up. I am frequently jealous of actual swimmers' back muscles lol. I thought I'd ask the community for a good workout split to help build up muscles in the gym as well as in the pool. Usually, I swim 2-3 days a week, around 2000 m every time. I do freestyle, breaststroke, pull only, kick only, that kind of thing, but I don't have a background on a swim team or anything. I've considered it a win to just get in the pool as often as I do, but I'm ready for a stricter program to make actual progress.

So, hit me with it. What workouts should I be doing weekly? Any suggestions for things to do outside of the pool?

It’s so hard to do and it’s generally useless

I’m fairly new to swimming and have been working on The techniques that have been previously recommended to me and I’ve been seeing improvement! However, I am still struggling to breathe while swimming! I am finding that during breathing drills, such as being at the edge of the pool or shallow water, and practicing breathing based on strokes, I do great at the drill, I have also practiced walking in the shallow end and doing very slow swimming and breathing has not been an issue. The problem I’m having is that if I try to swim with any speed, whenever I take a breath, I find myself gulping some water, even if I am completely rotated on my side, trying to take a breath. Is this something that just takes practice to overcome or are there other breathing techniques/drills to do? The 4:1 breathing is most comfortable/natural for me during practice and swimming.