Average time for 25m length

Amprodude

i have been swimming for just two months now and I'm swimming 4 nights a week. Didn't know how to swim before that but I am still trying to work on and improve my technique all the time. I have reduced my time from 50 secs down to 24 secs in that time but just wondering what would be the average time for a 25m pool? If I am getting quicker I know my technique has improved. That's how I measure myself. Any advice or tips?

promethius

Amprodude wrote: »

i have been swimming for just two months now and I'm swimming 4 nights a week. Didn't know how to swim before that but I am still trying to work on and improve my technique all the time. I have reduced my time from 50 secs down to 24 secs in that time but just wondering what would be the average time for a 25m pool? If I am getting quicker I know my technique has improved. That's how I measure myself. Any advice or tips?

what are your goals in this?

it's all relative, for competetive swimmers at irish club level, they can knock out 50m in less than 24 secs, but your times are quicker than many AG triathletes. i'd advise you swim one of your sessions with a club under a coach, you're on a steep part of the learning curve and will gain a lot from instruction. enjoy the journey and good luck with it all

Amprodude

promethius wrote: »

what are your goals in this?

it's all relative, for competetive swimmers at irish club level, they can knock out 50m in less than 24 secs, but your times are quicker than many AG triathletes. i'd advise you swim one of your sessions with a club under a coach, you're on a steep part of the learning curve and will gain a lot from instruction. enjoy the journey and good luck with it all

The goal is to see how fast I can swim in a short distance like running a 100m race. Maybe I should be testing myself in a 50m length? But the thing is I havent mastered the flip in the water so it will add a few secs more onto my best. That is I train in a 25m pool.

I have been getting lessons from a swimming instructor as well but I don't think I can get any quicker than that. Its my kick is one thing I could work on as my instructor says I am inclined to use less of my legs and more with my arms but he reckons that's a minor issue. Also, one of my arms was going wider in a stroke than the other so I have managed to correct this and took 5 secs off my best. Still not perfect but 100% better than what it was. Thats what instructor said. Last swim I did three 25m lengths one after the other and 24 secs is the best I can do. I will post back next week to see if this improves.

promethius

learning a tumble turn is a good idea, this will make you a faster more complete swimmer too.

i think the best thing you could do at this point is to train in a group if possible, and keep honing your stroke, there's always room for improvement.

over distances of 100m sprints the kick is massively important, you can make big gains from this i'd say. i'd also train the other strokes too, just to balance out the muscles and help avoid any injuries.

pick out a few races as well, there are masters comps and it would give something concrete to aim for.

for adults swimming however, where it's at now is openwater swimming and triathlon. loads of these on around the place with big participation, was one in killary yesterday with 350 entries. however, the shortest distances for these would be 750m.

enjoy it is the main thing, and watch and learn from the faster swimminers.

Amprodude

promethius wrote: »

learning a tumble turn is a good idea, this will make you a faster more complete swimmer too.

i think the best thing you could do at this point is to train in a group if possible, and keep honing your stroke, there's always room for improvement.

over distances of 100m sprints the kick is massively important, you can make big gains from this i'd say. i'd also train the other strokes too, just to balance out the muscles and help avoid any injuries.

pick out a few races as well, there are masters comps and it would give something concrete to aim for.

for adults swimming however, where it's at now is openwater swimming and triathlon. loads of these on around the place with big participation, was one in killary yesterday with 350 entries. however, the shortest distances for these would be 750m.

enjoy it is the main thing, and watch and learn from the faster swimminers.

ok this week i improved slightly and got my time down to 21 secs in a 25m sprint. Ir takes me about 24 strokes to complete a 25m length pool so that is approx 1 meter per stroke. I find my biggest problem is that i slightly run out of steam 3/4 of the length and slow down slightly. My kick again needs to improve, cant seem to get much out of my legs to propel me forward quickier. Tried using board and worked on my kick but my kick alone gets me to about a 1/4 of a 25m length before i stop without movement. Why is this happening and how can I correct this? If i could correct this it would help me to swim much more effortlessly and posdibly faster. I have a lesson next sunday so need to ask a few questions.

lorcan122

Don't worry about your legs, you just need a small flutter kick, to be faster in the water you need a good catch in the water, your only kicking your legs, to stop them from dragging behind you, and to help your body rotation, which helps you breathe. When I teach people and I do sprints with them, they start to kick really hard, but it does nothing to the speed, it just wastes your energy, and it distracts you from where you should be concentrating, which is your arms and your breathing, if you master these things, you will start to see your time drop. You should listen to your swimming instructor, when he says your legs are a minor issue, he is obviously done a good job if you're getting times like that after a few months.

You are doing the right thing as well, doing swimming 4 nights a week should be helping that time drop, but you have to have a programme what is suited for sprints, not long distance, if your programme is not suited for sprints it will be hard to drop the time down, and of course some people are made for sprinting and some for distance, sometimes it comes to your body, nothing you can do,

Amprodude

lorcan122 wrote: »

Don't worry about your legs, you just need a small flutter kick, to be faster in the water you need a good catch in the water, your only kicking your legs, to stop them from dragging behind you, and to help your body rotation, which helps you breathe. When I teach people and I do sprints with them, they start to kick really hard, but it does nothing to the speed, it just wastes your energy, and it distracts you from where you should be concentrating, which is your arms and your breathing, if you master these things, you will start to see your time drop. You should listen to your swimming instructor, when he says your legs are a minor issue, he is obviously done a good job if you're getting times like that after a few months.

You are doing the right thing as well, doing swimming 4 nights a week should be helping that time drop, but you have to have a programme what is suited for sprints, not long distance, if your programme is not suited for sprints it will be hard to drop the time down, and of course some people are made for sprinting and some for distance, sometimes it comes to your body, nothing you can do,

Thanks Lorcan, just wondering what would be a good programme suited for sprints? I usually spend a good bit of time doing a few sprints followed by a few slow relaxed swims to rework and master technique, not sure if this is a good technique but it does help me to concentrate on what I should be doing with the stroke. I also do backstroke and breaststroke to build up other muscles so that I don't injure myself.

lorcan122

When I mean a programme, I mean like certain drills, timed swims and stuff like that, ask you swimming instructor to do one up for you.

Amprodude

This week I managed to get my time to 20 secs for a 25meter length in 8-10 lengths flat out. I think my technique has become more smoother and Improved. I am very happy with this and if I can improve again I will be over the moon. Still working hard on my technique and trying to improve on it. I am going to spend time on backstroke and breaststroke times now and will try to bring them times down further.

Amprodude

lorcan122 wrote: »

When I mean a programme, I mean like certain drills, timed swims and stuff like that, ask you swimming instructor to do one up for you.

Ok I will ask for one on my next lesson.

Amprodude

did a 25m freestyle sprint 3 days this week and my fastest time is 19 secs. I am very happy with this and my other attempts have me finishing at 20-22secs. I have a problem with my nose in the water though, its always blocked and cant get enough air out through it underwater so im always out of breath quick eventhough im relatively fit. If i swim slow pace im fine but not if i increase it to the max.

Any suggestions?

Killgore Trout

Amprodude wrote: »

did a 25m freestyle sprint 3 days this week and my fastest time is 19 secs. I am very happy with this and my other attempts have me finishing at 20-22secs. I have a problem with my nose in the water though, its always blocked and cant get enough air out through it underwater so im always out of breath quick eventhough im relatively fit. If i swim slow pace im fine but not if i increase it to the max.

Any suggestions?

I always breathe out through my mouth.

lorcan122

Everyone has a different way to breathe in the water, I myself use my mouth to exhale, I have also found when teaching people to swim, that people who have broken their nose find hard to exhale using their nose.

Amprodude

lorcan122 wrote: »

Everyone has a different way to breathe in the water, I myself use my mouth to exhale, I have also found when teaching people to swim, that people who have broken their nose find hard to exhale using their nose.

I think I will have to breath through my mouth in future, I can't breath out enough air through my nose eventhough I never broke my nose but my sininus have always been at me.

One question, when I am using my arms to swim, does it help to have your arm as close to your head when taking a forward stroke? I am talking about freestyle here.

okane1

Your arm should enter the water in line with your shoulder, do not let your arm cross over your centre line. Keep your elbow high on recovery (out of the water).
When pulling, keep your elbow high, this will give you the best lever.

lorcan122

In theory yes you arm should be close to your head, however some people like to swing their arms when swimming, and if you get them to change they will be slower, this swinging motion however is a good technique if your are in open water. It all depends on the person but the majority have a straight arm entry into the water.

paddy no 11

How many people die worldwide everyyear swimming butterfly? Its murder i tells ye. 2 lenghs butterfly = 10 freestyle.

Amprodude

okane1 wrote: »

Your arm should enter the water in line with your shoulder, do not let your arm cross over your centre line. Keep your elbow high on recovery (out of the water).
When pulling, keep your elbow high, this will give you the best lever.

lorcan122 wrote: »

In theory yes you arm should be close to your head, however some people like to swing their arms when swimming, and if you get them to change they will be slower, this swinging motion however is a good technique if your are in open water. It all depends on the person but the majority have a straight arm entry into the water.

Any suggestions on how I can improve my swimming stamina? I am reasonably fit but always run out of steam when i go swimming. After 2 lengths i have to get my breath back.

Burkatron

Amprodude wrote: »

Any suggestions on how I can improve my swimming stamina? I am reasonably fit but always run out of steam when i go swimming. After 2 lengths i have to get my breath back.

Get your technique assessed by a decent instructor! If they're happy with your stroke & breathing mechanics try the 0-700m (or similar) programme it's on the same site as the 0-1 mile programme, just not linking of my phone!

Killgore Trout

Amprodude wrote: »

Any suggestions on how I can improve my swimming stamina? I am reasonably fit but always run out of steam when i go swimming. After 2 lengths i have to get my breath back.

You're focussing on 25M sprints as fast as you can go. Imagine trying to run a 10K on 100m sprint pace.

You need to slow it down to start getting the distance up. Getting the distance up will improve your stamina.

Amprodude

Burkatron wrote: »

Get your technique assessed by a decent instructor! If they're happy with your stroke & breathing mechanics try the 0-700m (or similar) programme it's on the same site as the 0-1 mile programme, just not linking of my phone!

He is happy with stroke but I am out of breath normally after two lengths so I switch to backstroke and breaststroke then and vary the exercises after that. I usually do 80-100 lengths in a session but usually stop up fully 3-4 lengths to catch my breath for 30 secs and then off again.

Burkatron

Amprodude wrote: »

He is happy with stroke but I am out of breath normally after two lengths so I switch to backstroke and breaststroke then and vary the exercises after that. I usually do 80-100 lengths in a session but usually stop up fully 3-4 lengths to catch my breath for 30 secs and then off again.

You've been swimming all of 3 months & you're doing 80-100 lengths a session? That's some going, fair play! IMO you need to structure your programme better! You need to work on technique & consistancy before speed! If You're switching your stroke up every few lengths consistancy isn't going to happen!

You're also spending far too much time in the water at your stage. It's quality time over quantity, the longer you spend in the water the more tired you will get & your technique goes out the window! This breakdown of technique leads to mistakes which breaks neural adaptation meaning it takes longer for you to perfect your stroke!
Shorten your sessions to 15-20 minutes of focusing on 1 stroke & build on it from there. As I mentioned in my last post (I'll link as I'm on the laptop this time) the 0-700m programme followed by the 0 (700m really )-1650m would be ideal if your technique is on point! Get this 1st then worry about sprinting!

Amprodude

Burkatron wrote: »

You've been swimming all of 3 months & you're doing 80-100 lengths a session? That's some going, fair play! IMO you need to structure your programme better! You need to work on technique & consistancy before speed! If You're switching your stroke up every few lengths consistancy isn't going to happen!

You're also spending far too much time in the water at your stage. It's quality time over quantity, the longer you spend in the water the more tired you will get & your technique goes out the window! This breakdown of technique leads to mistakes which breaks neural adaptation meaning it takes longer for you to perfect your stroke!
Shorten your sessions to 15-20 minutes of focusing on 1 stroke & build on it from there. As I mentioned in my last post (I'll link as I'm on the laptop this time) the 0-700m programme followed by the 0 (700m really )-1650m would be ideal if your technique is on point! Get this 1st then worry about sprinting!

Before i read this post now, I went to swimming pool this evening and for the first time ever I swam 40 lengths freestyle without stopping up at all. Without sounding arrogant here, I was impressed with this myself as i never did it before in one go. The key for me here was slowing down my pace a bit and it did wonders for me. I also concenteated on my breathing and tried to make it more relaxed and that also worked for me. I did 10-12 lengths after that at my fastest pace with breaks every three lengths and the rest of my session went back to my slow relaxed technique. I stopped up at my 100 length for a break and went back then and finished up doing 135 lengths in total without a stop up. I think thats not bad. I will take all the advice been offered here though and vary quality over quantity.

blueskys

First, your making great progress for a beginner, well done!

As mentioned above, don't worry about your kick so much, the kick shouldnt
take up more than 15% of your total effort. Swimming is about technique, technique, technique. Your real power and speed comes from a smooth stroke, so think smooth and long. Power is generated really from the hips, so dont think its all in the arms either. Also you should work on bringing your strokes per length down, this is more important than banging out endless laps of the pool.

Have a look at the video below, watch how the water flows over his head during the stroke,(i.e have your head in a natural position looking at the pool floor below, rather than at the far end of the pool, which leads to dragging of the legs.When you breath, roll your body rather than the head) the minimal effort in the kick, the lack of tension in the stroke, the way the hips push the stroke forward. Look up the total immersion tutorials on You tube, they are very helpful and will guide you with regards to the fundamentals of a good swimming stroke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJpFVvho0o4

Amprodude

Thanks for all advice on here. Delighted that I can get tips and help from you guys/girls. Much appreciated.

Today I did 5 fast laps today freestyle and on two occasions I did 19 secs for 25m length. The other three were 20 secs but I feel it is taking me less effort to do this than before with few lesser strokes and i''m fitter now with additional gym work over last few weeks so its all helping. I did 125 lengths in total mixing up all the strokes and varying the training from fast to slow. I had the energy so I swam for as long as I could.

Instructor gave me a training program for things to try out. Instructor was happy with my last lesson and said my freestyle is now perfect. My breast stroke is almost there he said only a few minor things to clean up. It takes me 30 secs to do a 25m length with breaststroke so plenty of room for improvement. Backstroke is my slowest and still needs a small bit of work and fine tuning. It takes me 35 secs to complete a length with this but two weeks ago it was 45 secs and when I learned the stroke first it took me 75secs. Instructor started doing butterfly with me in my last lesson but still haven't grasped it yet. Aim now for next few weeks is to work on both strokes and get them down to under 20 secs. Not saying I will achieve this but I will try and train hard and see how I get on. One or two changes to my technique can knock secs off my current times as I've discovered with my freestyle.

harry999

Wow Amprodude

You have made some great progress - I wish I could do similar.

I usually go swimming for 20 to 30 minutes 4 mornings a week & try mostly to concentrate on technique.

I do the 25m in around 24seconds but I'm not improving much from this time. I've been doing this for the past 4 to 5 months. I also swim with a club once a week, we get a session to complete in 1 hour. I feel I'm def not improving much at club as not told what actually doing wrong & therefore I'm making the same mistakes again & again.

I have asked a few people to watch my front crawl stroke & they have said it is good.. I think I'm not using the hips enough to power through the water & I need to kick the legs more from the hips.

Could you please pm me the details of your instructor & if anybody else knows of good swim instructors in Dublin, please post details.

Any ideas on how to improve more would be much appreciated.

harry999

Hi,

I been told I need to raise my hips as I swim - is the best way to raise the hips by lowering my chest(or push my chest more into the water) and this should then bring up the hips?

I think the lowering of the hips is at present causing me major drag... Thanks

okane1

harry999 wrote: »

Hi,

I been told I need to raise my hips as I swim - is the best way to raise the hips by lowering my chest(or push my chest more into the water) and this should then bring up the hips?

I think the lowering of the hips is at present causing me major drag... Thanks

You should balance the water on your chest. Your chest will act as the center of gravity during a swim.