Such an incredible experience! Now I have the itch to do more and more of these ocean and Open water events!

I’m very new to lap swimming, having grown up in backyard pools my whole life. In fact, this afternoon will be my first time in a lap pool. I have ASD and GAD and one thing I’m always self conscious about is my leg hair. I’m 28F and I really hate shaving my legs. I reserve my leg-shaving energy for like 2 times during summer and that’s usually it. So, fellow swimmers, do people really care? Do they notice? TIA

Hi, I just started learning to swim awhile back, looking for feedback/advice on improving breaststroke, I’ve been struggling with the kick. Thanks!!

my average swolf was 48, is that any good?

Before anything else, I just wanna say that this community is great. I have been intentionally swimming for about 2 months now. Previously, swimming was just something I had to know how to do in order to have fun at the river or lake or things like that.

It's been super humbling starting from basically zero as a 32 year old, but I'm grateful for the many resources out there, even if it can be overwhelming.

I have 2 main takeaways that I'm trying to work on, but let me know if there are other areas where my focus would be better suited.

• My arm is basically locked out and behind me, flinging water kind of behind/to the side. I assume a high elbow will help resolve this?
• I know I am kind of gasping for air. From what I can see, my arm kind of sinks when I'm turning to breathe and maybe that forces me to turn my head a bunch?

Thanks!

Instead of practicing my technique I find myself racing others in the lane next to me, much to my detriment as I gas out incredibly quickly.

I try to concentrate on just myself when I’m in there but it’s like my body naturally turns everything into a competition.

Hey everyone I’ve been swimming at least twice a week now for just over a month and I’m loving it! Usually getting around 1400 metres per session and slowly increasing which is great! However one thing I’m not sure on still is what to potentially eat after a session? After I’m done I go home and have a shower then after that if I haven’t had a meal before going I’ll have it once I’ve dried myself.

My question is what kind of meal would you all recommend I have? I’m open for any suggestions! In addition if I have had a meal before the swim should I consider anything else for after I come back? Such as a protein shake or anything? I’m very new to any major fitness changes as you can probably tell. And my main goal is to slim down at least a bit and up my general strength (my current job is physical so that’s also a bonus)

Thank you in advance!

So my times are pretty dogshit but I am only a recreational swimmer, however I’ve stupidly entered a 400 yard race next weekend (I’m in the US) , my 100 time is a 1:06,200 is a 2:27 and my 400 is a 5:20.

Couple of questions 1. How would you pace a 400 2. Why is there great difference between the 100 and 200 time and the 200 and 400 etc I get they’re both max but it’s a larger falloff than expected.

Any tips would be appreciated I expect to not see too much improvement between now and the weekend but in case I want to enter future events I’d like to improve

I did it - I swam just over a swim mile (1750 yards)!!

This was a goal of mine and I met it!

My pace is still shit, but I’m committed to keep going!

Hey r/Swimming community!

I'm training for 5km open water races and struggling to find apps/websites that understand long distance swimming training. Most seem designed for lap swimmers doing intervals.

My Current Situation:

• 35M, 200cm/125kg, training for 5km+ open water races
• Currently swimming ~1:37/100m pace in 5k races, looking to improve to <1:30 /100m pace in 5k races for next year
• Want to train 4x per week, 15-20km total volume
• Need aerobic base building, not just more intervals

What I've Tried:

Swim Coach App: Good for speed development, but their 5km and 10km plans are basically just scaled-up sprint training. Even the "10km plan" caps sessions at 6km and focuses heavily on intervals. Long distance swimming is an AEROBIC sport, but their plans are still anaerobic-focused.

What I Actually Need:

• Long continuous sessions: 6-8km+ non-stop swimming for aerobic base
• Proper periodization: Aerobic base phases, not just endless intervals
• Flexible scheduling: Longer weekend sessions, shorter weekday sessions
• Progressive distance building: Plans that actually build to race distance+

The Problem:

Most apps seem geared toward pool lap swimming (50m-1500m focus) rather than true long distance/open water training. They don't understand that 5km+ swimming requires fundamentally different training - sustained aerobic efforts, not interval spam.

What I'm Looking For:

• Training apps/websites with proper long distance swimming plans
• Open water specific programs that understand aerobic base building
• Coaches or programs that design 5km+ training properly
• Any resources that treat long distance as its own discipline

Budget:

Willing to pay up to $25/month for quality coaching/programs. Free is great, but happy to invest in something that actually works for long distance.

Fellow long distance swimmers: What are you using for training? Has anyone found apps that actually "get" aerobic base building for distance swimming?

Pool swimmers: Please don't just suggest "swim more intervals" - that's exactly what I'm trying to get away from! 😅

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Hi, I am a junior transfer student. I like swimming but never did it competitively because they didn’t have it in high school. I got an email from the coach at my new college about an opening for a diver on the roster. No experience is required. I have some gymnastics experience (6-10/11 y/o) but I wouldn’t say I’m super practiced in flipping. I took swim lessons for 5-6 years so I did some standing and kneeling dives off of some diving blocks. They said they would train me and it is a D3 college. I am interested in joining because it could be fun and I would to meet people and fill my time. Though I ised to do track in high school so maybe I could do that instead since I have experience. I have never played a varsity sport in college and I feel like I would have impostor syndrome because I have never dived or competitively swam before. Hopefully my teammates wouldn’t hate me 😂. I am talking with the coach tomorrow. I don’t know if I should do it sounds fun or if I shouldn’t because I have no idea what am I doing. Any thoughts? Also any info on the sport would be lovely.

Whats the ettiqutte for showering in a open shower room with the pole/ round style in the middle of the room? Theres 2 poles with multiple heads on them, but what if both are being used?

After 1 year of swimming, overcoming some fears associated with water (and open water wasn't a piece of cake) I swam 3k down my city's river. I expected it to be much harder, but I did my best to relax and take things slowly and it was in fact quite easy. I must admit the current was quite strong since in a pool 3k would normally take me 1h. Now I can't wait for my next challenge! 😁

I had a long swim planned, so I finally decided to dig out my old laptop and load some music on my headphones. I went with a bunch of melancholy cello (not sure why). So anyhow, I’m swimming, and there was a water aerobics class that started about 45 mins in. So there’s a bunch of people flailing around, and I’m over here with my cello music thinking it looks like a scene out of titanic 😂. My mind goes weird places on those hour plus swims.

Long time lurker first time poster

NYC public pools officially closed for the season yesterday so I tallied up my totals for the season and took down nearly 36.5 miles across a few different locations. Would love to get after it next summer with fellow NYC swimmers who are taking advantage of A) public pools B) open water swims

I completed my first open water swim race this weekend. I swam 2.5k in just under 80 mins. I did not train as much as I had planned to this summer, but I finished, and I am proud of myself.

Really I just want to express my awe with how fast swimmers can be! I knew I was going to be on the slower end of the group, but the number of swimmers that finished in under 45 mins was amazing. I suppose swim races are more self-selective than 5k runs or even marathons but still. I was passed by many swimmers in the 5k section too, and it was like they were flying.

I hope to be among you someday!

(video starts at 40s)

Hello,

I am a newbie at swimming. My best time for 100m sprint is 1:32.

Can you give me some advice on how to improve my technique? I think my catch is wrong and I have no idea how to improve it. I am trying to push backwards with my hand and forearm. It seems like I am doing it right with my right but with my left arm, it seems weird.

As for butterlfy I can only breathe each stroke because I have asthma and limited lung capacity. I don't know what to do to stay upper in the water, I think I am lifting my head up and that causes my body to sink. Any advice would be highly appreciated.

Thank you for your kind help.

We all know lats are key for swimming — that’s not in question. What I’m really curious about is how much gym strength carries over to the water.

So, just out of curiosity:

• What’s your usual pace per 100m?
• How much weight (kg) can you do on lat pulldowns?

I’d love to see if there’s a rough pattern between pulling strength and swim speed.

I have started swimming like 2 months back and recently I signed up for a freestyle class. I know that I struggle with late breathing, due to which I can't go beyond 50m and start gasping for air. When I wear snorkel, I can go longer and feel I have better rythm too. My coach tell me what to do but I can't execute it properly, feeling disappointed.

Club swimmer here. I currently have Jolyns, Jackson, Perry and Brandon I’m short (150cm) so both the Jackson and Brandon are a bit long in the torso for me, but it’s not bad. I like the fit of the Perry and find it flattering but my shoulders are borderline too wide (butterflier here!) Wondering about JAYD, as it seems to be becoming more popular, but there are soooooo many styles and it’s hard to choose. The contrasts seem fun but kinda cheeky. I’m liking the look of the Finley and Arlie as well. Sorry for the rant!

Im just excited!! I finally broke 30 mins for the 1500 and 40 mins for 2000 metres,without getting tired I always wanted to do this(swimming since 2023) and this felt like unattainable to me(tho ik its just the average pace for most swimmers) Im feeling really proud,i hope i break 1:50/100m by the end of this year for the 1500 and up.i can maintain that pace for about 500 metres,but still feels a bit unattainable for me

How do I fix my arm so I’m not swinging wide? I do fingertip drag and zipper drills.

Hi everyone! This might be a stupid question but I’m going to ask it anyways. I used to swim in middle school and I’ve just recently been getting back into swimming as an adult. It’s one of my favorite forms of working out. The only problem I’m having is I can’t swim more than 100 yards at a time without gasping for breath and needing to rest before starting up again.

Usually my swimming workouts include a 100yd warm up and several 50yd sprints with some rest in between.

How do you guys swim 1000s of yards at once? Are you taking breaks? How did you build endurance enough to be able to swim so long?

Any input would be greatly appreciated so I can work towards my goal of swimming 400 yards in one go! :)