#36

what’s you favourite water slide (flume)?

#37

For all those saying that they struggle with swimming or find it too knackering: keep at it, and if you can, have a few lessons on technique.

It’s a bit like running in that when you start out it is a struggle and it does feel horrible, but the more you do it, the freer and easier it becomes, and like running, there is a point at which you can kind of cruise up and down the lanes without getting out of breath and without having to concentrate too much on what you’re doing. This is when your mind can switch off and when it becomes relaxing, physically and mentally.

If I was to offer some quick tips on technique they’d be:

Front crawl: SLOW DOWN and stay long. Too many people crash through a length, splashing everywhere. It’s far better to slow down your cadence and make sure that you use the full extent of your reach. An easy way to help with this is to breathe out when your face is in the water and to stop ‘windmilling’ your arms: your hand should enter the water in front of you just as your other arm starts its pull. Too many people put their hand in the water when the other is down by their hip.

Your feet should barely break the surface of the water, but also, your legs shouldn’t drop. To help this, don’t hold your head too high when breathing.

Breaststroke: The problem with breaststroke is that you can have really bad technique and it doesn’t knacker you out (unlike front crawl), so it’s often the stroke that people do without really thinking about whether they are doing it right.

Again, stay long. Keep your heels just below the surface of the water. The best way to do this is to snap your ankles together at the end of a kick - don’t kick out and down, but back and together. Bring your heels up to your bum, rather than your knees up to your chest. Don’t lift your head up so much that your bum drops down - it’ll slow you down and can cause you problems with your back.

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Swimming
#38

Good advice, thank you!

#39

What does stay long mean?

Only found out a few months ago that you’re meant to blow out through your mouth when your head’s under. Think I used to just hold my breath. No wonder I’ve always found it impossible to swim properly. Swimming’s knackering.

#40

print it out, bring it to the pool

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#41

I’d advise watching a few youtube videos beforehand - it makes it much more understandable.

#42

Yeah, so many people try to breathe out when their head is out of the water - it makes it much more tiring and slows you down as your timing goes out of whack and your legs inevitably drop.

When I say ‘stay long’ I mean that you should aim to be as flat and narrow in the water as possible. Reach out with your arms and stretch your legs out and keep that feeling in your head. For front crawl your legs should be long and bend from the hips, not the knees, and your hand should enter the water inside of your shoulder line, with your body rotating slightly to extend your reach, and then hold it there, until your other arm is passing your head on the way back.

A lot of people don’t reach out with their arm and bend from the knees, which makes their legs drop in the water. It should be a long, relaxed stroke, not a windmilling splash.

#43

What I don’t get is how you’re supposed to breathe that slowly. It must be the only physical activity in which you’re meant to draw out your breathing like that so unnaturally

#44

Baffles me. How can you get enough air in that little snippet of time you turn your head out of the water? I just need to breathe in again straight away

#45

Slow your cadence right down.

Quick, deep, intake of breath and then slow, long breathing out when your face is in the water.

for normal swimming it’s perfectly okay to breathe every 2 or 3 strokes (3 strokes is preferred as you’re breathing bilaterally, which offers better balance to your style).

Your breathing rate should be about the same as if you’re going on a steady run.

#46

Went down a ‘Fun slide’ a few months back. didn’t realise it was pitch black. Not enjoyable, got battered about all the way down, really disorientating. Then got spat out at the end and thought I was going to drown in the splash pool ending. Lifeguard and loads of kids just stood around looking at me like I was a twat.

#47

Haha

#48

honestly. Never again. My kids were like “was it fun dad, can we do it” Yeah it was ace kids. Maybe when you’re a bit older though eh…

#49

Does anyone swim in open water (semi-)regularly?

Where’s good in/near London?

#50

What part of London are you in? I’m assuming that a Lido isn’t what you’re after?

If you’re in north London, I’ve been swimming here since the season started, and it’s lovely and clear and peaceful. You have to do an induction first, but after that you can turn up on Saturday or Sunday mornings or Thursday evenings when you want:

https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/london/hackney/west-reservoir-centre

I don’t really like the Serpentine (it’s really grim) or Royal Docks (not that pleasant), but Hampstead Ponds are lovely, if a bit crowded on a hot weekend. Denham Lake is meant to be good, out by Uxbridge, too.

I’m sure that there are places near Windsor/Thorpe Park that also let you swim in them, as well.

Exercise/gym thread
#51

I don’t know how I didn’t know that existed.
I’m in Dalston so that’s very easy for me - I also used to live in Seven Sisters and regularly cycle past the reservoirs - just never put 2 and 2 together. You’re a hero marckee!

I love lidos, but I’ve rinsed London Fields lido a bit and it’s now getting pretty busy almost all of the time.

#52

ive started swimming again recently. used to be really good when i was a kid, got my gold swimming badge and all that, but since going to uni a thousand years ago i stopped except for when i was on holiday. these days im fatter and my asthma is worse, so it takes me longer to recover from two lengths than it does to swim them. feel like my technique is still good tho coz i go with the gf who is way fitter than me (she can do about half a dozen lengths to my two or something) but she reckons im faster than her when i get going. tend to do breaststroke coz im worried about bumping into stuff. used to be fucking mint at backstroke but dont have the guts to do it in a normal swimming session, even tho id defo find it easier

#53

The reservoir has two swimming loops set out - a 400m one and a 750m one, and also you can swim within the pontoons that form the ‘dock’ as well, which is about 90m long, so there’s a range of distances you can choose.

It’s open for swimming from 7.30-9.30am at the weekends, and is never that crowded. You will need a wetsuit though if it’s below 16 degrees (which it usually is).

https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/london/hackney/west-reservoir-centre/open-water-swimming-stoke-newington-west-reservoir-centre

#54

My problem with swimming is my technique is more than likely all wrong, so I get out-of-breath knackered way waayy before I’ve actually gotten tired, if that makes sense.

1 Like
#55

I would like to improve my swimming I am not very good and seem to sink far quicker than most. Thought I could do it on the cheap and learn from youtube etc. but I think you really do need someone there correcting your technique and pushing you.