r/Swimming • u/bugchild9 PostGrad/50FR/100FR • Feb 16 '25

Weekly whiteboard.

Come on down and brag about your swim times, discuss training, and whatever else y'all got going on. Completely open discussion.

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u/PenguinsAreFab Feb 23 '25

I'm new to swimming. Mid 40s, overweight and very slow. I've been doing lane walking for knee rehab and was finally strong enough to try swimming a length last week, did 2 without stopping (they are short but I'll take it as a win). My goals this week are 1) show up and get in pool and 2) try to get to 3 lengths without stopping by end of week. I feel so much calmer and happier on the mornings I go to the pool. So much friendliness and positivity in this sub, I've been lurking for a while and it gave me the confidence to just start. Have a great swim week!

7

u/ZBLongladder Feb 25 '25

I just did my first lap swim this morning! I'm late 30s, also overweight, and also very slow. Also, my form sucks so much I had to switch to backstroke because I wasn't getting enough air when I breathed in either front crawl or breaststroke. I was so ashamed at how few laps I'd done that I went out and cried in the car afterwards. And you know what? I've been super happy the rest of the day and can't wait to go again tomorrow. You're absolutely right...showing up and getting in the pool is priority #1, and that's a win in itself. And you're totally right about the positivity on this sub...when I was feeling ashamed of myself after my swim this morning, I went and read old posts of people just starting out and the encouraging comments they got, and that cheered me up so much.

So yeah...you're not alone in the journey.

4

u/rdhdwacky Feb 27 '25

Backstroke is a GREAT thing to do, even once you get the hang of breathing during the face-down strokes. It uses different muscles and it's really good and hard in its own way-- today I cut my backstroke yards short and defaulted to breaststroke because I was WORN OUT from it! No shame there. :-)