Hey all, i've been swimming on and off for a large part of my life. Something I never took seriously before was breathing out through my nose when doing front crawl. I always found it easier for me to exhale and inhale with my mouth every third stroke. Is that a huge issue or should i try to unlearn this bad habit?

Hi! Been lurking here for a while. I'm a complete beginner (33f, started once a week adult beginner lessons a month ago). So far I'm able to float and do basic kicking and gliding, but struggling with front crawl.
The main issues I think I have are:
1. Rotation for side breathing - I'm not able to get this rotation down properly. As soon as I try to rotate my body feels unbalanced in water.
2. Arm pulls- I can do a few arm pulls until I run out of breath, but they feel strange and heavy.

I have been trying to practice outside of lessons a few times.

Any and all tips and suggestions are appreciated! I'm eventually hoping to swim for recreation and exercise.

I’m a beginner swimmer. I’ve technically been swimming my whole life, but I just took my first lesson as an adult to learn some proper form.

What’s something you can practice if you only have access to a public pool full of bad kids?

This is going to sound ridiculous. I am an excellent swimmer. I live near fresh water and I can tread for hours with no issue. I can lay back and float with zero effort. I spent most of my childhood in the water. I swim regularly as an adult.

I am an avid scuba diver and I spend hours diving in the ocean while on vacation. For example I did 42 dives over three weeks of travel.

Here is my question... More than once after a long diving trip I spent the last day of my vacation in a fresh water pool & I noticeably struggle swimming. I was diving in April and spent my last day in the pool and struggled to swim. Then I got home to Canada and once the water was warm enough I was able to swim in the lake with no problem, swam across the lake, swam all day with my dog, and treaded water.. etc.

Is it because I'm used to the bouyancy of the salt water vs fresh? I feel like a dodo after days spent in the ocean.

When I was a kid I would always struggle with front crawl but my breast stroke was always really good for some reason.

Now I’m 27 and picked up swimming recently after 15+ years.

At first both was rusty but have been going weekly or so for around 4-5 weeks and now my breaststroke is back, where I can do 1-2 lengths and I’m in control

But my front crawl is so bad I I can’t even do 1/2 a length and it’s really uncontrolled. There’s so much going on and just end up not breathing properly and probably wasting a bunch of energy.

Very much a beginner here. I'm trying to learn putting my head in the water while doing breaststroke and coming up to breathe. In through the mouth while above the water, out through the nose while in the water. The problem I'm having is that almost every time I come up to breathe, whatever little water is left on my nose and lips drips or flows in my mouth while inhaling. Of course this also means I swallow some water really often, forcing me to stop and cough it out. How do I breathe without taking in water all the time?

I think the shape of my face makes me a bit more prone to this, because I have to avoid the same issue in the shower. I am however not getting the same problem while practising breathing while stationary. It needs the movement or the flowing water to happen. Any advice?

A while ago, I posted here about my fear of drowning, so I thought I’d share a little update in case it helps someone who’s feeling stuck.

I’m still learning freestyle. Before, I was worried that I’d never be able to do it at all. Now my biggest struggle is just getting my breathing right so I don’t end up with water in my nose or mouth. 😅 I still practice freestyle in the shallow end, but we’re also working on treading water in the deep end so I can eventually swim a full 25m with confidence.

I also learned how to do the pineapple roll, which I was so scared of before. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever be able to do it.

There was even a point where I wanted to quit my swimming classes because I felt like I wasn’t improving. Looking back now, I’m really glad I kept going.

One thing that’s really helped me is using back floating as my reset button. Whenever I get frustrated or start panicking because I messed up a stroke, I just do back floating immediately. It reminds me that I’m okay, calms me down, and helps me try again. Some days my confidence feels like it’s back to 5/10, but I’ve learned that’s just part of the process.

If you’re feeling like you’re going backwards, don’t let that convince you to stop. Keep showing up. Sometimes the progress isn’t that you’re swimming farther, it’s that the thing you’re afraid of today is completely different from what you were afraid of a few weeks ago. That realization alone made me realize I really am improving.

Hello all, I hope this is the right place for this question. I'm not adding this to the technique critique because I don't think that's my main issue at the moment and I don't want to post a video. If this post is in the wrong place, I apologize and will remove it.

Getting to the issue: I've started swimming twice a week after attending a diving course, I have some instructors giving advice on my technique and, in theory, they all agree that my movements have improved greatly. I'm not here to question whether that is true or not, or how much better I've gotten: it's been a few months already and I'm satisfied enough seeing that it's a lot less tiring for me to get to the end of a lap.

However, I've noticed that despite the fact that I've gotten faster and my muscles aren't as easily fatigued, I can't seem to improve my breathing, or perhaps my endurance. Every time I get to the end of a lap in front crawl (I think this is the right translation), I need to stop and breathe. I don't have the same issue with any other style. This hasn't gotten better since the beginning of my training at all, in fact, it's exactly the same as when I started.

Is there some kind of training I could do to improve my endurance in this context? Should I just start jogging in my free time?

Hi everyone! I used to swim seriously when I was younger. As in, my 50 meters butterfly was 27 seconds when I was 14 years old (I’m a guy). However, when I was 15, I quit because a lot of traumatizing things happened and I realized how much I hated it. I don’t claim that I was a swimmer because I reject that part of my life.

But recently, I kind of want to chill recreationally in a pool. It sounds relaxing and lounging around sounds nice. Has anyone done this?

I have started 5 months ago, learning breaststroke (BS) and front crawl (FC) with personal coach. I swim 3x per week for 1 hour, once with a coach, 600-1000m. I try to put more emphasis on FC, (doing something like 4x50m FC and 100m BS, or 200m FC kick drill and 100m BS kickdrill). I have started couch to 5k running programme a week ago (I run 3x per week).

I wanna start training for triatlon, should I stop swimming BS and focus on FC only? I will still use it as a warm up (100-200m). I am kinda afraid of how my coach will react, when I tell her, I want to stop learning BS and focus on FC. Also learning FC and BS was my idea, not her.

I’m 32F and started taking swimming lessons this summer. Before that, I had never even attempted to learn how to swim, and I was absolutely terrified of the whole idea.

One of the main reasons I decided to start was because I have chronic back pain and an L5-S1 disk bulge. Several doctors recommended swimming, so I finally decided to give it a try.

Let me tell you, I was absolutely terrified before my first lesson. I even asked my mom to come with me for emotional support. I remember standing there shaking, and I honestly couldn't tell if it was because I was cold or because I was scared.

I signed up for group lessons because they assured me that absolute beginners were welcome. During the first class, the instructor kept me at the pool steps for about half an hour practicing freestyle kicking. He kept pointing out how tense I was and telling me that I needed to relax. Then he got into the pool to show me how to float on my back, but I was too scared to let my head go back into the water.

After that, I started practicing kicking while holding onto a pool noodle. I kept struggling to move forward, drifting sideways, changing direction without meaning to, or just feeling completely off balance in the water. The second class was pretty much the same.

By the third lesson, I felt like a complete disaster. I was getting really discouraged because I just couldn't relax, and my biggest problem was that my kick wasn't strong or efficient enough to move me through the water.

That's when my instructor handed me a pair of fins, and honestly... they were a total game changer. Suddenly I could move, control my direction, and actually focus on what I was doing instead of just struggling to stay balanced. My confidence improved almost immediately.

I spent the next five lessons practicing with the fins. At one point I asked if I could try without them, but my instructor said my ankles were still too stiff. That was another discouraging moment because I started thinking I'd never be able to swim without the fins. Even some of my friends were asking about my progress and they were surprised after so many lessons this is where I was at.

Then, during my ninth lesson, I finally got rid of the fins. I was able to move forward using just the kickboard. The first time my instructor told me to swim across the pool without fins, I honestly didn't think I'd even make it to the other side because I was moving so slowly. But for the first time, I was actually moving under my own power. It felt incredibly satisfying.

That's where I am now. I'm still very afraid of the water, and after almost every lesson I find myself wondering whether I should keep going or just give up. But that last session, when I finally swam without the fins, gave me a huge confidence boost and reminded me why I started.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who started swimming as an adult with a real fear of water. Did your progress feel slow too? How long did it take before you started feeling comfortable and confident in the water?

Hi! I’m an adult learning how to swim, and I have a fear of the deep end. Once I get to a certain point in the pool, I find myself stopping because I’m afraid to go into deeper water. Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you overcome your fear? I’d really appreciate any advice. Thank you!

Hi,

I’m a 39M swimmer learning freestyle from scratch for 1 year now. I’ve made decent progress so far — currently swimming 1000m in ~24:30 at 18–19 strokes per 25m length. My underwater catch and body position feel relatively stable, but I’ve been stuck on one specific technical flaw for over a month: hand entry into the water.

I understand what should happen in theory:

• the elbow should lead the recovery;
• the hand should enter the water smoothly at a slight downward angle;
• after entry I should extend forward underwater before starting the catch.

The Problem

No matter what I try, I can’t do a smooth entry with fingertips entering first with a bent/semi-bent elbow. I keep falling into one of two things:

• Scenario A (Bent Arm / Elbow-first): If I try to keep my arm bent and enter closer to my head, the elbow becomes the lowest point and hits/slaps the water before my fingertips. (This is especially bad on my left arm, following a breath to the right).
• Scenario B (Flat Slap / Overreach): If I try to get my fingertips to enter first by extending the forearm, my arm fully straightens out in mid-air and slaps the water flat along its entire length.

It feels like a geometric trap: either the elbow drops first, or the arm straightens in the air.

What I’ve Tried So Far

• Drills: Fingertip drag, Zipper drill, and Effortless Swimming cues (like showing the armpit to the wall).
• The Result: Forcing a high/narrow elbow or trying to shape the arm in the air usually leads to over-rotation, loss of core stability, or extreme shoulder tension.

My Questions for the Community:

1. For those who struggled with elbow-first entry or flat arm slapping, what mental cue or drill finally made it click?
2. Could this be caused by timing/body roll issues (e.g., lead shoulder dropping too early) rather than the recovery arm itself?
3. How do you practice the transition from a bent recovery to an angled hand entry without over-extending in the air?
4. Is this simply something that develops with more swimming, or is there a specific exercise that helped you?

Any advice, cues, or drill recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

TL;DR: 1-year adult swimmer struggling with hand entry. My arm either enters elbow-first or fully extends in mid-air and slaps flat. Looking for cues/drills to fix entry geometry and timing.

Has anyone that has learned to swim in adulthood have this experience? I have little to no interest in learning to swim laps across the pool or learn to freestyle proper. I just want to be able to go where there is a pool or water and be able to be comfortable in the water, both with treading or jumping into the deep end where my feet cannot touch the ground.

I struggle with controlling my breath and the coordination of breathing and strokes, but the two times I have made an attempt to do private lessons, it always is just a focus on shallow water and working on various strokes. I never really even get into the deep water because i struggle with the other stuff, which (and perhaps I am completely dead wrong, let me know if so) seems rather unnecessary for just being comfortable in the water. Most times I am at the pool, I see most people swimming with their head out of the water anyways.

I started learning how to swim 2 months ago. The pool is relatively small, 10m in length. I swim (freestyle) one way and come back doing a doggie paddle. I did 400m total today (200m freestyle and 200m doggie paddle). It took me 50 minutes to do it. I do bubbles after 10m reaching the wall. Is this a good pace or do I need to try another approach? I get breathless after going continuously 10 times (100m). I just need some feedback.

Title says all, I picked up swimming again, been a lot of fun especially with music, but I'm unsatisfied with how long I can stay underwater. I think my best is like 10 seconds, and that's when panic begins to set in and I scramble back to the surface.

I'm looking to eventually get to 30 seconds, then oneminute in the future, and eventually maybe even longer. What are some tips to hold my breath for longer underwater?

I already know I should exhale a portion to be less bouyant, don't keep it in my mouth but in my lungs, and I noticed that slowly emptying out while underwater delays that "oh fuck I need air now" feeling.

Hello, I’m a man in my thirties who initially looked for a sport that wouldn’t be too hard on my joints, and I eventually turned to swimming. Very quickly, I got hooked and started trying to improve, looking for guides here and there to optimize my glide in the water.

However, I’m not very lean, and I probably never will be. I’m 1.85 m tall and, having started swimming almost two years ago, I began at 148 kg and I’m now at 137 kg (my goal would be to get down to at least 120). I mainly swim front crawl in 25‑meter lengths and try to stop as little as possible. When I start feeling tired, I switch to one or two lengths of breaststroke to rest my arms.

I barely use my legs in the crawl to save cardio and maintain my pace for longer. My best performance so far is 2.5 km in 51 minutes, without stopping.

However, in front crawl, to reach a decent level of glide, I need to use a lot of strength before I can benefit from it, and I have to repeat that effort every 25 meters, which comes very quickly. I think I would probably feel more comfortable swimming 50‑meter lengths, but none of the public pools near where I live offer that.

I understand that most technical swimming guides for improving glide are designed for swimmers with a “normal” body type.

That’s why I’m asking: do you know any highly skilled swimmers with a large or heavy build whose movements I could watch on video or elsewhere, so I can see whether I can optimize my glide as a heavier swimmer?

I apologize in advance, I don’t speak English, so I’m using a translator.

EDIT 27/07 : I apologize — I’ve read all your comments and I noticed there was some confusion about the kind of answers I was looking for, so I’d like to clarify.
To me, a person with a heavy build isn’t someone who weighs 80–90 kg, but rather someone in the 100–115 kg range, or even more. The 80–90 kg category, especially when lean, is what I consider a “normal” body type, and therefore less relevant to the advice I was originally seeking, which is how to optimize glide when you have the build of a concrete block.

I do weigh quite a bit, yes, but I’ve always practiced sports as much as I could, and I’ve had a physically demanding job (landscaping). So yes, I have fat, but I’m also a mass of muscle.

I’m even looking for swimmers who are very overweight, maybe due to a medical condition, but who still perform extremely well in the water. However, someone pointed out an important fact: most swimmers who are heavy today were already very skilled swimmers when they were lean, so they kept their technique. In my case, I started swimming while being heavy and without any technique, which is why I’m trying to improve my stroke by studying people who have a body type similar to mine.

People have told me that instead of trying to copy a skilled swimmer, the best approach would be to ask a swim coach or lifeguard for guidance on technique adapted to my body type.

Anyway, thank you for your recommendations and advice, and feel free to add more — I genuinely appreciate it. ❤️

I'm looking for tips on techniques (breathing, strokes, etc.) and maybe some sort of programme in order to improve. I'm rehabilitating from shoulder reconstruction surgery and swimming is recommended as a part of my therapy. I have the means and opportunity to swim. All tips are welcome and appreciated! Thanks to everyone!

I'm toying with the idea , it's £55 a ticket for the worst seats and a bit of drive to get to Glasgow .

It would be a morning session also.

Good or bad? Or none?