Swim Tips? (asthma & shoulders)

[eclectic]

Miranda
I am a swimmer
I am asthmatic
I can relate

I started swimming again about 7 years ago after a VERY long hiatus. Luckily I started swimming under an amazing coach (she just got back in Jan from Guam where she was a coach for the USA jr Pan Pacific team) Just had to put that plug in She is a coworker of mine at the school I teach at.

ANYWAY if you really want to learn how to swim and to do it correctly take some lessons from a reputable coach, watch Total Immersion videos, AND buy a good swimming snorkel for about $30. Swim w/ the snorkel until you have the body roll, arms and kick memorized, that totally takes care of the asthmatic panic that can set in. Wearing swim fins helps a lot too.

Now after 2 years off I started back in Sept and wore the snorkel and zoomer fins again for 3.5 months and I was swimming 3-4 days per week - I just dropped them in Dec. Today for my last 500 I put the snorkel on again because I was wheezing.

Re shoulder pain. I am guessing this isn't a repetition injury. Again - learn the drills and concentrate on them before trying to do the full stroke. Once you get the body roll down, your arms will come out of the water better, and eventually the breathing will come naturally. My guess is right now you are working way harder than you need to because you aren't efficient yet.

Wear the snorkel, do lots drill laps, get efficient, then learn the breathing - it works.

[eclectic]

I forgot to add re the breathing under water. Did you take any lessons when you were a kid? Do you remember the old bob and breathe?

just stand there, take a breath, squat down under water, breathe it all out, stand up take another breath, squat and breathe out. Just repeat that slowly to get used to breathing out under water.

Another way to do it is hold onto the side of the pool w/ both hands, float your legs back, put your face in blow out, roll to your side trying to leave one ear in the water, roll back face down, breathe out.

BUT still wear the snorkel when doing the drills and doing the full stroke - the breathing will come naturally later on believe it or not - I have seen it work time and time again.

BTW keep us informed of your progress