#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.

#56

I did two laps of the 800m circuit at the lake I went to the other day and was KNACKERED.
Open water swimming is a whole different thing, isn’t it? Not being able to push off the wall really changes things up.

#57

NB want to reiterate my thanks to you for all this info, you are a good egg.

#58

It really teaches you to slow down and keep your breathing steady.

Which one did you go to?

#59

I was at a training conference thing over the weekend in Milton Keynes and just invited myself along when another person mentioned they were going (they’re training for a triathlon).

It was this place, Box End Park -> http://www.boxendpark.com/watersports/open-water-swimming.php

It was a bit of a funny atmosphere - Sunday morning and lots of LADS training for Iron Mans etc. but I could just be being overly judgemental. Nice lake!

#60

Haha. I know that place - my old school friend who is doing the Blenheim Palace triathlon with me in a couple of weeks was there on Saturday morning.

#61

Big fan of swimming in the sea. Used to regularly swim out to a buoy about half a k out in the estuary and then swim back but I’ve stopped doing this after a time last summer when a very strong current sprang up and I almost didn’t make it back to the beach. I just swim along the shore and back now. Still fab. The TV says I look like a big pink seal. Not sure how to take this.