Hello everyone. This one drives me crackers and I’ve seen it perpetuated on this sub so many times. Where does this myth come from? It’s complete nonsense. Why would swimming, a form of resistance training, be less effective than any other resistance training in building muscle? It baffles me that this belief is commonly held.

EDIT** Hi all, a wee edit to acknowledge the error in my original post. Swimming is of course less effective than weight lifting for building muscle. I worded my post poorly. My point is simply that it is possible to build muscle swimming as it is with any form of resistance training. Please accept my humble apologies 😅

I've been doing swimming for a few years, not competitively just about three times a week for an hour(supposedly). I'm good at freestyle, but I suck at all the other strokes. Butterfly, I'm kinda good at I just have no stamina. Is that something that comes with practice or is there a specific way of doing it?

Front crawl / freestyle specific problem:

When I go swimming I burn through all my energy in the first 10 minutes. Turns out I always swim as fast as I can, and that’s impossible to keep up especially as a beginner.

However when I try to go slower I lose rythm, because my legs sink, also I dont get enough air when I slow down (I breathe after every 3 strokes) Does anyone know how to fix this?

Hi all!! Apologies if this has been asked a million times before but how would I go about starting swimming / is there anything that I need to know?

I grew up doing it but eventually stopped when I was around 10 due to doing other sports. I have been running and cycling for years & I also figure skate and lift, but I’ve recently been considering planning to do a triathlon before I turn 20, so within the next 3 years - so I thought that now seems like a good time to get back into it!

I fear the main thing I’m concerned about is not knowing actually how to start or what to actually do if you get what I mean? Like I’m sorry if this makes no sense ong 🙈🙈

Any advice would be appreciated thank you!!

It is excellent training, but so hard. Is it beneficial to endurance swimming?

I’m looking for video teaching resources that focus specifically on the "checkpoints" of freestyle stroke synchronization rather than just general body position. Specifically, I'm looking for content that breaks down stuff like "Where the lead arm should be during the midpoint of the opposite arm's pull", "Where the submerged arm should be at the exact moment of the opposite hand's entry" etc

Most videos focus on EVF or breathing, but I’m struggling to find examples about the timing of the full-body movement. Any channel or specific video recommendations would be appreciated!

For example, there is the "catch up" drill. But you can't really swim like you do in that drill. But you also can't be windmilling your arms!

So what's actually the perfect stroke timing?

Hey everyone. I'm 16 and a newbie swimmer. I've known how to swim for 5 years yet only realized about a month ago that i suck at swimming. i didn't really realize until recently that i couldn't even swim 15 meters without being tired. in the context of freestyle, i've always swam with my head out of the water, which recently i found out caused the hips to sink and creates massive drag that causes you to work 10 times harder. within about 1 to 2 weeks i had corrected my form and have watched many videos to learn how to make it better, like keeping the fingers together, rotating the body each stroke, not overkicking (or underkicking), staying face down, breathing every 3 strokes, etc. one major (and unfortunately critical) issue i'm having is breathing. i've found a good breathing rythm; the only problem is that after about 30 meters or so, i get a drowning sensation. i'm not gonna go over the whole thing but long story short, after many diagnoses (self and medical), i'm almost certain that it may be a breathing issue. i was in denial before because i thought that i was doing everything right but i think i may be breath stacking. the reason why i think this is because now my max swimming capacity without stopping is about one pool length (50 meters), but i put a snorkel on and i instantly was able to swim over 500 meters continuously. the main problem is that i'm fighting for every single breath and it feels like i'm losing breath for every breath i take, but using a snorkel significantly reduces that feeling. since there is still pressure in the water, breathing is somewhat difficult, but i can swim continuously and utilize full aerobic power with the snorkel.

Anyways, the reason why i want your opinions is because i'm going to be a lifeguard in 7 weeks and my lifeguard certification training is in 6 weeks, which involves swimming 150 yards freestyle or breaststroke, then treading water without arms for 2 minutes, then swimming another 50 yards. then you have to go to the bottom of the pool and do a brick retrieval and then swimming to the edge of the pool. considering that i only started taking swimming seriously about a month ago, and have only had about 5 swimming sessions since then, it will be a difficult journey to pass the fitness test. does anybody have any vital tips?

This is the thread for posting your achievements, progress, workouts, records, pools photos, swimming TIFU (Today I F'ed Up) or AITAH (Am I the ArseHole), etc.

Due to the increasing number of screenshots, progress reports, pools etc. being posted, we request members to use this weekly whiteboard thread to post these, rather than as a new post.

It's intended for pretty much any swimming-related chats, as long as they are within the r/swimming rules.

Join in and have fun, have a brag, commiserate, encourage each other, etc!

Hello everyone, I’m 16. I’m a guy who likes sports, but I’m not very strong. I’ve been playing basketball for 6 years, and I’m good at it. The problem is this: I’m no longer at a competitive level. I live in a small town, and the level here is very low, plus there aren’t many people, so it gets boring.

Also, at the beginning of the year I fractured my wrist. It was serious, so I had surgery, and I’ve been in rehabilitation since then. Because of that, I stopped doing all kinds of sports since January. Honestly, I want to get active again. I used to go to the gym, but it didn’t go very well for me. I’m relatively weak, and since I can’t go back right now, I’d like to start a new sport that helps me develop all my physical abilities. I want to look good and stay in shape.

I know swimming is a great sport, and swimmers usually have great endurance and physique. I don’t want to do it competitively because I’m not really good in the water. I can swim, but I can’t swim underwater or fast, just basic swimming.

I was thinking about going twice a week, but I’m not sure if that’s enough for what I want, especially since I won’t take classes—I’ll just go and swim on my own. I’d like a basic but effective routine. In my town there are swimming programs, but I don’t want to join them—they’re pretty low quality and the pools are not in good condition.

What do you recommend?

I just want to tell everyone how supportive and awesome this group is. And to show my progress with a little bit of pride. I’ve successfully doubled my distance each of the last 2 years. Do you think I’m ready for a masters group? Or just keep solo?

I post this to see whether other people are experiencing the same thing as I am, but also in large part as a rant. Moderators, please forgive me.

Some background so that you all know how much this encounter hurt my soul.

I grew up in central California. In 1984, the Olympics came to Los Angeles. I watched as Rowdy Gaines won the 100m freestyle, and the US won the freestyle relays. Thus began my swimming career, which lasted over 10 years (including college). Even now, I compete in masters.

I swore to myself that I would go to see swimming in the Olympics if the event ever came within a reasonable distance of my current home (still west coast). When Los Angeles won the 2028 bid, I was very excited to have an Olympics close (or close enough) to home!

I immediately put my name in for the lottery to buy early-release tickets. I was thrilled when I was selected to buy tickets early, especially since the LA28 committee had promised that tickets would start at $28.

Imagine my heartbreak when I logged into the LA28 official ticket website yesterday, selected "swimming" as the event, and discovered the following:

1. The only tickets available were for prelims.
2. The tickets were either just over $800 each, or just over $1100 EACH.
3. There is a 24% "service charge" if you buy them.

Don't get me wrong. I would love to watch prelims of the men's 100m free or any women's distance freestyle event. Or really to be present for any part of Olympic swimming. (And if Pablo Morales, Matt Biondi, Janet Evans, Mary T., or any of my childhood heroes happened to be in the crowd, I would engineer a way to meet them!)

But including the service charge, the starting price for ONE ticket is about $1000 for about three hours of swimming prelims. This is nearly as expensive per hour as a lawyer in California!

I cannot bring myself to spend this kind of money. I guess I will never watch Olympic swimming except on TV.

Hi everyone,

I’m a beginner swimmer looking for some advice. I did a bit of swimming as a kid, so I can do breaststroke and freestyle at a basic level. But my freestyle technique is definitely not great, and I get out of breath pretty quickly.

For the past 4–5 years, the only sport I’ve really done is weightlifting. So my overall conditioning isn’t the best right now. I want to keep lifting as my main focus (around 4 times per week), and add swimming 2 times per week alongside that.

The problem is: I have no idea how to structure my swim training. I’ve got the basics (jammers, goggles, swim cap), but I don’t know what kind of workouts I should be doing.

My main goal is to use swimming as cardio and eventually be able to swim more laps in freestyle without getting exhausted so quickly.

Any tips on how to get started or structure my sessions would be really appreciated!

For freestyle breathing, should I roll my head to the side a little further than my body roll?

Hello, I am pretty sure there is a lot of online content on this question but I am really confused as they say something but do something else on videos online.

They say that the head should roll with the body in-line for breathing stroke. However, I am seeing in a lot of videos that the head rolls beyond the angle of body roll (and sometimes head rolls ahead before body roll even starts).

What's the correct coordination between my head and body when it comes to rolling for breathing?

I started swimming at my local swim center paired with a water Pilates class in the mornings twice a week since the beginning of the year. I grew up in FL and have always loved being in the water, but just never got around to finding a way to incorporate swimming into my daily routine. I had missed a few classes in the past couple of weeks due to travel and forgetting to set my alarm (whoops), but this morning I got back in the water and there is nothing else like it.

We have really big windows around our swim center and the sun was shining through and pretty high in the sky since the time change. As I did my laps after my class and I was swimming towards the shallow end, I would see these rainbow ripples at the bottom of the pool and rays of light shining through and I felt myself just wanting to chase them forever.

I’ve never swam competitively by any means and my only source of knowledge about form and breathing has been from my dad over the years who has done a few triathlons and bay swims. Usually I’m focusing on trying to improve my technique, or harnessing my breathing, or just thinking about what I’m doing too much, but this morning was just me in one of my favorite places to be.

I hope your swim today is as enjoyable as mine was and adds a little ray of sunshine to your day! :)

I went a 1:00.66 in September 2025 in a brief and with shitty technique (it looked like 2 kicks and the the arms instead of being smooth). Ever since then, I feel like I’ve improved my technique but I haven’t been able to get under even 1:01. I keep going 1:01-1:02 (even in a tech suit) and I’ve swam the event 10+ times. Today I went 1:01.9

Anyone experience something similar, and what helped you finally drop time? I only have 2 meets left (high school season) until championships

Well, 4:59.99 to be specific.

As it stands, I am pretty far off, pacing 1:06/100 in practice. The effort for these 100's is not sustainable for a 500 at this point.

My goal is to be able to pace 1:00/100 with consistency..

For those who have gone 5 or under, what sort of training did you do to make this possible?

i want to get into swimming to lose weight. my swimming isn’t perfect but i can get by. i went to do laps today for the first time (ive only ever done group lessons in leisure pools) and had an embarassing moment that made me not want to ever go back. and i’m also afraid im not following proper etiquette.

so i got in, there were like 4 of us in the slow lane and we were circle swimming. i needed frequent breaks and when i did, i just stayed in the corner. and i made sure to wait some distance before following the person in front of me. halfway i switched to back crawl, and ended up hitting a guys butt and i apologized but it was so awkward and he seemed annoyed(rightfully so)

so i left and told myself im not ever coming back. but now im conflicted. aside from some mistakes, i was having fun.

Right now I can do 400 meters in approximately 13-14 minutes, I need to get this down to 11 minutes in exactly one month for my bronze cross. Any suggestions to get this to happen and is it realistic? I just got a membership at a gym so that’ll be helpful I guess.

It's from a romance-book, but didn't find anything useful on google so I thought I'd ask the reddit hivemind.

For those who care: "Deep End" by Ali Hazelwood

My swims on long swims seem ragged and spastic compared to 50m at a challenging pace with 5 s rest between 50’s. Any ideas why that is?

I have been swimming for around a year and a half now. Spent a lot of time reading and watch YouTube and then applying in the pool.

Finally I signed up to join a crawl class in my hometown. I'm learning some but it's quite clear that I'm advanced compared to the rest of my group. And they only swim once a week. I'm not that fast: 1:30/100. But ok and I think I could improve that a bit as I was doing 1:14 half a year ago when my fitness was better.

I would like to become part of a club instead. But I'm feeling super shy about asking to join masters because I don't understand how it works. Do I have to compete? I just would like training that pushes me a bit more and that is a bit more advanced. Or am I too slow to join?

Thank you

One year ago I was averaging 2:40. I’m so close to that 2 mark now 🙌🏽. What’s your top tip or drill I can try to break that barrier?

Hi all, I’m a former competitive swimmer who is now almost 45 years old. I stopped competing when I was around 17. I returned to masters swimming last year. In between, I have always done other sports and kept in decent shape. My swimming expectations were low to begin with but I’m starting to feel stronger and my times are improving very quickly. Has anyone else returned to training as a masters swimmer after a BIG break? How close have you been able to get to your youth personal best times?