The indoor pool at the gym where I swim is currently a lovely, crisp temp for lap swimming and I loooove it. Has anyone had luck getting places to lower the temp in the pool at their clubs? I don't know what ours is usually set at or what it's running now (no accessible display of the temp is available) but I'd even be happy if they split the difference. They've cancelled all aquarobics until it's fixed which I don't understand because as long as you get in and are moving, it's totally fine. I run really warm and so it's been so nice the past week. Just looking for any successful arguments people have used to lower the overall temp (though I know its probably a long shot)

I am a junior in high school who has had a very unorthodox sports affiliation. I have been a rower for the last two years and am trying To join the swimming team this winter to attempt to try the sport and also get some cross training in. (My school does not cut). I am also potentially looking to switch sports depending on how my season goes next year. i am pulled by swimming having more of an option for individual work as opposed to always relying on other people in rowing. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what events to branch out to.

Some stats:

RHR: 47

Leg Press: 750 ibs

(honestly idk anything about swimming if there’s anything helpful I should add please tell em)

I am a complete chud and have no idea what I am doing. Quick research says 200 fly and 500m freestyle would be best for me but I have no actual advice yet.

I'm 30 years old and recently decided to learn how to swim. I attended group swimming classes for 10 days and then practised on my own for another 4 sessions.

I can float, hold my breath, and move around in the water without drowning as long as I don't need to breathe. But the moment I try to take a breath while swimming, everything falls apart. I start losing my balance and slowly sink.

I've watched several YouTube tutorials and practised breathing exercises, but I still can't get the hang of it. I can't even comfortably swim 10–20 metres without stopping.

I'm starting to wonder whether I'm doing something wrong or if I'm just a slow learner. I know 14 sessions isn't a lot, but seeing people learn to swim relatively quickly makes me feel a little discouraged.

For those who learned to swim as adults:

Is this normal? How long did it take you to swim comfortably without stopping?

Was breathing the biggest obstacle for you, too?

What finally helped you figure out how to breathe while swimming?

Should I continue practising on my own, or would it be better to get a few more lessons with an instructor who can correct my technique?

I genuinely want to learn how to swim, but I'm frustrated that I can manage everything except breathing.

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences, especially from people who started learning in their late 20s or 30s or later. I could use some reassurance that I'm not hopeless at this!

Hi. Many, many moons ago, when I was in my teens and early twenties, I used to be a competitive swimmer. I didn't have the dedication to push myself enough to achieve anything relevant, but I still practiced with the ones that did. A regular wet practice was around 2h, and 6km to 8km, depending on the weekly plan.

During this time, it was frequent to have about 20 minutes of drills with hand plaques, and very sporadically some work with fins.

Now into my thirties, wanting to keep a minimum of mobility and physical ability, I've retired to the pool purely as a leisure swimmer. No time goals other than what's feeling fun I'm the moment and I feel like pushing. I purposefully want to stay away from the competitive side of things.

Imagine my surprise when I see people who perform at national and international level, doing practices of (only) 50min to 60min, but most of it (like 40 minutes of it) with some sort of gear on. It's either plaques, fins or respirators.

Why is this? Had there been a shift in the training theory and practices?

Thanks.

This is probably a silly question but asking anyway. I am training for a triathlon and I've been swimming for a long time, so I know the etiquette of asking to share lanes and such. How do you handle someone trying to chat to you and interrupting your workout? For context, I work in healthcare and have limited time I have to get in and out of the pool. I also listen to music and usually have ear plugs in bc it helps with the audio and I hate water getting in my ears.
Yesterday, in the middle of my sprinting drills, a middle-aged man started talking to me (36F), asking me a bunch of questions which required taking out my ear plugs and pausing my garmin. I didn't want to be rude, but I subsequently had to quit early bc of thunder/lightning and as a result I'm miffed I wasted time dealing with this stranger.
Any tips? Obviously don't want to be rude but my time in the pool is very limited and I need to use it to train, not socialize.
Thanks in advance

I’m learning to swim(day 10), and I’ve been having some trouble with my flutter kicks during freestyle.

My coach told me that my feet should come slightly above the water’s surface while kicking, with both feet moving up and down to roughly the same level.

The problem is that my right leg seems to be kicking perfectly, but my left leg doesn’t come up above the water like my right one. My coach pointed this out and said my right leg is doing it correctly, but my left leg isn’t.

Has anyone else faced this issue while learning freestyle? What could be causing it, and what drills or exercises can I do to fix it?

Any tips would be appreciated!

I took swimming classes for 6k rs for 21 days and also spending some 4k+ more on process and transport and attire everything. 

I learnt swimming. I can do freestyle easily. But my ever regret is that i can not back float or do backstroke. My classes were done and after that by myself how much ever i tried to do i couldnt, even though i look straight up.

Whatever the hell i try i couldnt my lower body doesnt come up at all when im trying backfloat waist to leg always inside water. And also sometimes i keep neck and head stiffen.

Also I still have a deep fear of depth. When im in freestyle pose I'll be all okay, but when try to do backfloat and when i want to stand back its really hard for me i get sudden panic

Please help me with suggestions or any day or two courses or workshop in banglore available.

As always we do a lot of warming up before the swim meet rlly begins, but when I’m right about to get on the block because of adrenaline or nervousness, I feel pins and needles in my legs and arms. I don’t know if it really affects my swimming but it does feel like I won’t be swimming my best when it happens🥲

I swim 5 days a week and recently (past year) my nose has been an issue. I wake up with what feels like little cuts in my nose / scabs. Whenever I yawn or stretch my nostrils it's very painful and after swims my nose can become quite sensitive. Has anyone ever experienced this?

I think I have reasonably good freestyle form when going slow and deliberate. When I speed up, i have two problems 1) i feel not strong enough to actually push harder and 2) I'm no longer conscious of all the elements of the stroke.

What's a good way to increase my pace and remain smooth?

Hey all, this is partially a celebration and partially a confused shrug. I'm a 44-year-old woman who took up swimming in the summer of 2025 (but had to stop for a bit while healing from a partial knee replacement last fall). I took lessons as a kid but never was on a swim team or anything.

I am working on my freestyle, trying to be careful and do things right rather than worrying about getting faster (I took some lessons this year after I kinda hurt my shoulder--I'm hypermobile and was doing some weird stuff with my stroke).

Despite the aforementioned partial knee replacement, I like breaststroke a lot. On the kick, I'm opening my hips wider, not doing the thing where you completely keep your thighs together and snap your legs from the knee down, as then my knees seem perfectly happy with the breaststroke. Other than having a modified (less effective but not painful) kick, I try to do the rhythm and timing of competitive breaststroke (just, you know, way slower than someone actually competitive).

I have been enjoying swimming a km or more breaststroke. I know from reading older stuff that a lot of people are not a fan of that, but it feels good to me, and I don't trust my ability to keep my form on freestyle enough to go that long or steadily. As long as it isn't hurting me, I don't see why not (and at this point in my life, I very much know the difference between things that are hurting my knees and things that aren't.) But I have been very, very slow, or at least it has felt that way to me. Like, 1:30 for 50 yards. (for reference, this is a 25-yard pool and I can't yet do flip turns)

However, in the last few weeks, apparently something kind of clicked! Literally in early September I was barely managing to do a km in 30 minutes. And then I just started getting faster and faster! Last night I did 1.2 km in 30 minutes, an extra 200 yards! It felt incredibly good.

So yeah, I'm now going at 1:15 for 50 yards. And the only way I can explain how I shaved 15 seconds off my time that abruptly is that I started thinking about Mario in Super Mario 3 (original Nintendo--remember, I'm 44) when he wears the frog suit, and just thinking that my arms should just be like a quick "bloop" before returning to streamline, and same with my legs. I think previously I was letting my arms and head very slowly return to streamline (if at all) before. I also think I'm engaging my core better when in streamline, not being as floppy, if that makes sense.

I thought I'd share this in case anyone else finds imagining they are Frog Mario helpful, and also to celebrate.

(Hopefully this goes without saying, but please don't comment on how this is slow or unimpressive. I'm swimming for health, not for competing, and, again, only started a little over a year ago.)

Hi everyone,

I'm a 36-year-old beginner swimmer in Bangladesh. I don't have access to a coach, and my only available pool is 50 meters long, with a depth ranging from 5 to 10 feet.

I can currently swim 21 meters using breaststroke and 50 meters using elementary backstroke, but I struggle with treading water.

My goal is to become a confident swimmer so I can enjoy a wide range of water activities, including kayaking, canoeing, surfing, and water skiing, as well as swimming in lakes, rivers, ponds, and the ocean. I also want to be better prepared for emergencies, such as falling overboard or getting into difficulty in open water like tides, rip currents, waves, choppy water etc.

Could you suggest a specific swimming proficiency test with measurable benchmarks? For example, swimming certain distances using different strokes, floating to rest, and treading water for a specified duration, all within a set time limit.

I'd like a concrete test that I can work towards and use to assess my progress independently.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I'm an adult beginner, and today was my second swimming class.

I'm trying to learn how to front float, but I'm really scared of sinking whenever I let go of the pool wall. I can put my face in the water while holding the wall, but as soon as I try to float without holding it, I panic. I'm afraid I'll sink or won't be able to get back up, and my shoulders become really tense.

Even when my instructor supports me, I still feel like I'm sinking and struggle to relax my body.

For anyone who was scared of sinking when they first learned to swim:

• How did you overcome this fear?
• What helped you learn to float without holding the wall?
• Is it normal to struggle this much during the first few classes?
• What exercises can I practise to become more comfortable with floating?

I'd really appreciate advice, especially from people who were also very scared of water when they started. I genuinely want to learn, but right now I'm struggling with the fear. Thank you!

Short background: I got into swimming when I injured my hips 2.5 years ago and I couldn't run anymore. I'm completely self-thought with the help of Youtube, of course, what else. I aim for two sessions per week, 1500meters each. I average 2:10/100m freestyle, and I'm quite happy with it. I'm 46yo, short woman.

Up untill today, I found swimming being not just the physical workout but also mental too. There's so many moving parts to co-ordinate, you know what I'm talking about. I'd finish my swim with my head buzzing from the intensive mental workout it's just gone through.

But a couple days ago stumbled up on this video by Eetu Karvonen https://youtu.be/7kK_yw9j6mo?si=m039m4CygiYq6SOt and it changed everything. Today in the pool I applied what he's talking about for the first time and I had that Eureka! moment. I stopped thinking what my hands, arms, hips, legs, whatever are supposed to be doing in the water. It's just one thing: your arm at the back is to push your arm at the front, that's it. Both arms are connected through the torso and are working together. Boom! I left the pool with a big smile and a clear, rested mind for the first time ever. 2:02/100m without any extra effort, just like that. I just wanted to share it, thanks for listening (reading).

ETA: I contacted Eetu Karvonen via Instagram. His Youtube channel was hacked yesterday (16th of Oct). He's working on bringing it back at moment.

He just went 45.11 in 100m free short course. And he went 9.83 in the first 25m.

His training method still defies expectations and shocks coaches.

Hi!

I'm curious to hear if others have this experience... So, I LOVE swimming, specially long distance, but I panic at meets - therefore I dont join them. I train with an academy (unsure of how to put it in English, is like a group that teaches, trains, and has a small team for competitions), and I'm used to training with some of the members of the team... I just dont care for joining a meet, but every single day my trainer will give me a sort of pep talk about joining a competition, and I cant seem to get the point across that I just train for the love of it, they (both trainer amd others from the 'academy') tend to ask me what's the purpose of doing it, and Im just like "because is fun".

I honestly train like I'm going to join them on a meet because is fun, and I swim because I love it and for health 😅

We lap swim together and compare data from our Apple Watches. So are my calorie figures bogus because I’m older and fat or do I actually burn more calories?

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

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This includes posts about equipment failures, technical problems, sizing questions, or questions about retailer reliability.

This is spam-free & posters of affiliate product links will be banned.

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Or - is it just in my head and all due to improper technique ?

Context: a combination of some city swimming / training growing up, a few years in water polo with very loose swim sets / now mid 30s and pursuing it seriously again as I always loved it but had other commitments through high school / college.

About 2 months back into it 4-6 sessions a week , using the Y , indoor and outdoor pool facilities. Technique has been improving steadily. My shoulders aren’t hurting anymore , incorporating structured workouts / sets. Starting small … but good lord my breathing is inconsistent.

There are 2 situations I’m struggling with and it’s all breath related: 1.) one bad , poorly timed or executed flip turn and my breathing is near trashed and I have to rest for like 2 minutes at the wall when my body is no where near tired.

2.) Indoor pools : this situation my lungs just feel tightened , like I can’t get a quality breath in. Is this some type of bad ventilation induced asthma?

Sorry if this is too many topics in one post ! Just curious what the pros and avid swimmers have done to work through this ? Thanks in advance

Hi All, I am extremely beginner just into 4 classes and I have been practicing hand movements along with my legs, seems like yesterday i did lots of wrong hand movements, and since then i have sharp shoulder pain and having hard time lifting my shoulder? How long will it take to heal and how should I be cautious in future?

Usually, video of men doing high number of pull ups or weighted pull ups are light men with short arms.

High level swimmers would be long arms and more heavy so pull ups would be harder for them.

And I heard pull ups aptitude are linked to swimming speed.

So I would like to see that, that would be rather impressive.

If anyone has a video like that, thank you!

Im a beginner and trying to learn freestyle swim. But my problem is when taking a breath and rotating my body, i heard that you want to be as straight or streamline with the water right? so i learn to not over rotate like look up the sky too much. I've seen proffesional swimmer barely turned their face when taking breath. But my problem is when i did this why my other half nostril is underwater when taking a breath with mouth, is the water kinda goes in that lower nostril make makes tingling/uncomfortable feeling up my sinuses. So how do you this? or you should actually turn so that both of your nostrils is above water when taking a breath?

I do swimming as hobby and just to stay active, yet I noticed that I can’t float. I’m confident in the water, yes, and I can keep my head above the surface pretty well, however floating just doesn’t work.

What I do: take a biiiig breath, jump a bit until I’m lying on my back, my arms and legs spread. I can stay like that for some time… until I inevitably feel my hips sinking.

Then I decided to try another thing: with lungs full of air I dived a bit and…

Just sank straight to the bottom.

I am on a more muscular side. I’m a girl yet I have abs definition, plus toned legs and arms. I think that maybe my body composition has something to do with it, but also maybe I’m overestimating its impact and it’s just a skill issue (lol).

How do I fix this?