Swimming for cardio advice.

mucklebones

Hello,

Bit of background. I have been bodybuilding for a year now which I love and have always done 30 mins of cardio on weight days 3 days a week and 45 mins of cardio on days I do not lift.

I have a sacroiliac joint problem and have had to give up cycling, and if I am honest I can jog for 45 mins but my body does not like it much. Now I can swim but I get even one lap down the pool and I am breathless. I am guessing a lot of this is down to technique?

Is it worth paying for some 1-1 sessions to get my technique right, anyone know any good beginner routines? How long might it take to see an improvement in my swim cardio?

Bought my new swim suit and goggles today. Really want to get in the pool but feel I dunno a little .... lacking in confidence I guess.

Any advice would be really welcome. Thanks in advance.

mcfisco

Technique in swimming is everything - so I'd say, yes, get some coaching

ifonly_

I'd get a couple of lessons then just practice practice practice. I couldn't swim 1 year ago and can now do 1500m as part of a triathlon open water. Key things for me were relaxing, you can breathe properly when tense. Also keep it all slow, don't rush the strokes. Smooth long strokes help you keep your breathing more regular.

Google total immersion, and have a read of the info around that. Some useful videos on youtube as well.

Idiophreak

As with running and cycling, part of the battle is picking the right pace...go nice and slow and you can go for much further.

Technique is the other part of the battle. If you don't want to pay for 1-2-1 coaching, have a look for local swimming or triathlon clubs, where there will be coaches on hand to give you some pointers.

FWIW, I had to train my crawl for a tri last year...through nothing more than practice and determination I went from 1 length to 60ish in a couple of months...think it could have been faster with coaching, though.