Swim Lessons 4, 5 and 6!

I have been a bit lazy with my blog recently so I am jamming my last 3 lessons into this one blog. Which is actually okay because I took 2 lessons in one day to make up a day a missed, and then took my last lesson this past Saturday.

Lessons 4 and 5 - From Two Saturdays Ago

This day I took 2 straight hours of swimming to make up classes that I missed because of my Hairspray performances. This was a fun day! Why? one word: FLIPPERS!!!

Whoa! These came in pink! I had blue ones...

So this day, my swim instructor wanted me to work on the Butterfly stroke. And to do that he wanted me to really get this Dolphin kick down. So he had me swim MILLIONS of laps both on my belly and underwater with my arms glued to my sides, and on my back above the water with my arms reaching above my head.

It would have been helpful if we had a Dolphin to help teach me

Let me tell you! I was loving this! First of all - these flippers made me super fast! Second of all - it felt like I was really working my legs and my core muscles (hello bikini season!) and Third of all - I felt like a Mermaid!! Which if anyone knows me, that is what I truly want to be when I grow up!

The Little Mermaid was also on repeat in my house until I was 7

Butterfly Stroke

So the Butterfly is hard! I knew it would be hard, because everyone says it is. And here is what I experienced with it: 

• Once I tried to add my arms with my practically flawless (my words, not my instructors) Mermaid/Dolphin kicks, the kicking turned into spastic flutters
• These spastic flutters were because I couldn't get my head, and more importantly my mouth above water to breathe
• My flawless Mermaid/Dolphin kick wasn't as powerful as I thought
• I have no idea what my arms are actually doing

I probably should have referenced this first

So, it turned out that I need more body undulation in my kick to help get my torso and head above water to breathe. Also, now that I am reflecting back on it, I think I just needed to do everything much faster. Especially the movement of my arms. Stroking through the water seemed to work okay but I was too slow when circling them back around again - hence the frantic kicking and almost drowning. I seriously sucked in and swallowed a BUNCH of water that day. Which I try not too think about too much...cuz you know...germs and stuff... BUT! I am still alive and kicking!

Breast Stroke

The second hour was dedicated to the Breast Stroke. Still trying to get the rhythm of this one down. I was told by my instructor to "Coil and Glide" so basically crunch up in a little frog-like ball and then kick back with the legs and shoot out with the arms and glide. And then when I feel like I am not gliding anymore to coil back up like a frog and start over. But instead I felt like I wasn't going anywhere. But somehow I made it to the end of the pool.

What I looked like...but swimming...and not a cat

This stroke was a little frustrating because I couldn't seem to move my legs and arms together. But maybe I was over thinking it too much. Or maybe I was tired from the Butterfly and all the Mermaid kicks. We ended the day by jumping (diving for me) into the deep end. No belly flops this time! 

Lesson 6 - Last Saturday

I had a great last day of Swim Lessons! I personally did not do well with swimming at all. I don't know why, it was just an off day. 

We started off with swimming in the Freestyle Stroke. He had me swim laps, and had the rest of the girls swim to the middle of the pool and then back. For some reason I could not get my breathing rhythm right, my arms were being slow and lazy, and I was getting fatigued really easily. He noticed that my arms were not doing what they were supposed to do, so he gave me hand flippers and a floaty thingy(technical term) to put between my thighs and told me to do laps with just the arms working.

Boy this was tough! But I liked this extra challenge because, with my legs floating behind me, I just had to worry about the mechanics of my arms and my breathing. I did notice that I never really pull my whole hand out of the water when I bring it back to the front. I could tell this because the hand flippers would catch the water and really slow me down, which would mess up the rhythm. Took me a while to get the hang of it, but I eventually did. These were cool but had more of a Creature from the Black Lagoon-y than a Mermaid-y feel...

Yep, pretty much the same kind of hands. But I didn't attack any damsels. 

There were only 5 of us in class so for the last 30 mins of class my instructor let me hang with the group this time. We did some conditioning and water aerobic-like exercises (treading water) and talked about our class placements for the next session. He said I can sign up for the Intermediate Class in the next session! 

Unfortunately, I am a little busy for the next 2 months. The holidays, my teaching schedule and my Prenatal Yoga Certification Training (starts this Friday!! OMG!!) make it impossible to attend class this next session. Hopefully I can sign up for the Intermediate Class in January and continue to work on this! And maybe some day I can get a Mermaid Tail so I can finally live my dream!!

Basically me, but I wouldn't lie in the sun
cuz I am pale and burn WAY too easily!

Day 3: Diving!!!

This past Saturday's class started off with my instructor telling me to 200 meters of Freestyling. Which I found out that each lap (swimming to the other side of pool and then back) was only 50 meters! So I had to do that 4 times which was killer on my arms and legs! The rhythm of breathing did go better this time, I was better about turning my head to the side and rotating my body enough to take in the air with out lifting my head up. But on lap 3.5, I definitely tried to breathe while still under water! Yikes! I think as I got tired my breathing would increase, just like when I run and start to pant - I got a bit out of sync!

What I looked like when I tried to breath underwater. Not an exaggeration...

After that, I was handed a kick-board and was told to work on my kicking for 200 meters. Now this was hard!! After one lap I was ready to take a nap and massage my legs! But I kept on! Taking mini breaks in between each lap. Thankful that I was told I could keep my head out of the water during this exercise. I switched it up each lap by kicking really fast one way and then gentle kicks coming back. I noticed the faster I kicked, I was more on top the water and when I kicked slower, my legs would sink deeper. Hmmmm... good to know! See this neat little video below about how to use a kick-board! I have just used the style where I am on my belly and holding on to the board with outstretched arms. But I  would love to try the backstroke style!

Diving!

After I finished that, my instructor took all of us down to the deep end of the pool. We was working with the very beginner students, showing them how to sink down in the water, maybe even to the bottom, and then push off the floor and swim to the top! While he did that, he told me to try diving! So first he said "Show me your dive" So I dove. Now keep in mind the only diving I have ever done is off a diving board at the community pool. Which was straight down. And beautiful if I do say so myself! But this class is focused on lap swimming and/or racing so it is important for the dive to go out rather than down. And he had me start kneeling (we didn't have the starting dive blocks like the pros). So I tried it - Go for the distance!!!

wah-wah-waaaahhhh

Not quite what I planned... It kinda hurt, my face, neck and chest. I think the fact I was wearing a one piece swimsuit helped the stinging from happening on my stomach! I was a little embarrassed about belly flopping, but you know what? We all do it at least a couple times in our lives so I shook it off and tried it again! It went better, but I still dove a little too deep. While my instructor was working with the other students, he had the life guard, AJ, give me advice and pointers which really helped.

AJ had me start sprinting (swim-wise) to the other end of the pool after I dove, then get out and walk back, and do it all again. We did this about 8 times. Sometimes I felt that my dive was more shallow and other times, it was definitely too deep. I knew this because when I tried to get to the surface to start my freestyle...it wasn't there! I was still very much under water and it seemed like feet away from the surface. AJ suggested that I try doing the streamline or Dolphin kick (remember my Patronus!!!) after my dive to help get me to move further in the water and it will help me break through the surface easier too.

This did help a bit, but I kept diving too deep. I tried to correct this only by doing 2 more belly flops. Oh well, by the end of class I was exhausted and just kept getting worse. But that's okay! It is something that I am ready to tackle next time!!

Next Week

By the way, I have to skip next Saturday's class because I am in a community theater production of "HAIRSPRAY" where I get to play the mean and snobby Amber Von Tussle!!! Awesome!! But anyways, we are in our tech week so I will be making up my missed swim class at a later date! So I will blog then! But in the meantime if you are interested in checking out our show here is all the info!!! Click here for tickets

Second Day of Swim Class!

So last Saturday was my second day of swimming lessons, and I was able to find my way to the pool without getting lost!! Yay Woo Hoo!! High Five!!

For about the first 5 mins of class I was the only one there from my class. So my instructor had me start the drills. Up first was the Freestyle Stroke.

Freestyle

He coached me to take a breath in by turning my head to the side about every three strokes so I can get used to breathing on each side. To recap, in case you forgot, when the head is in the water ALWAYS breathe out through the nose. Then turn the head to the side and breathe in through the mouth. As I was doing my laps, I would notice I would breathe out through my nose and then at the end of my exhale, push more air out through my mouth! What? Why am I doing this? I still don't know why. Maybe it is a weird habit I have that I never really noticed. Because of this weird habit, breathing in through my mouth was a little more difficult. I was already exhaling out the mouth and to reverse that....it was weird. I don't know how to explain it. Maybe try it out and see if you have the same issues I was having. It was like I didn't have enough time to take a breath in before having to put my head back in the water. Also, I was told I kept picking my head up, rather than just turning to side for the breath in. To help correct this, my instructor showed me how to fully rotate my body to the side with my stroke when I needed a breath. He even gave me a dumbbell-floaty to hold on to practice.This helped a lot! But after a while I would get fatigued and my breathing would get messed up and then so would the rest of my form.

Very sound advice that I find useful

My classmates did show up for class after a few minutes and we had about 5 more ladies joining the class! He went through the basics with them and since I am a little more advanced, had me swimming laps in the Freestyle, Backstroke and Breaststroke and would give me some more pointers every few laps.

Backstroke

I like the Backstroke. I get to keep my head up out of the water and I like swimming on my back. Makes me feel like a Mermaid....not sure why... Any-hoo. This stroke was a little easier for me since I didn't have to count my strokes and alternate sides while breathing. But one thing that made it difficult was the water splashing on my face and sometimes the waves would come up over my head. And of course I would get a bunch of water up nose! I kept trying to exhale, thru the nose every time this happened, but it always caught me off guard! Something I need to work or get used to. 

See? Water all over! and in 2 seconds, straight up the nose!

Breaststroke

Okay this stroke was weird for me. You have to bob your head up and down in the water as you bring your arms forward and then sweep them out and around. At the same time your legs are doing this frog kicky-thing (technical term by the way). The first two laps of this, I wasn't getting the feet right. I kept flutter kicking them rather than froggy kicking them (another technical term). He gave me some pointers and I did two more laps. Basically, I have some muscle memory habits that I need to recognize and re-teach. I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time on this stroke because it was the end of class and lets be honest, I started to swim REALLY slowly by the end of this hour. 

I think I am the latter...

To sum up last week's class. IT WAS EXHAUSTING!!! I have no idea how the Olympians do this. I am pretty sure I wasn't even going an 1/8 of their speed and I was out of breath and tired and pretty sure I almost drowned a few times. But I did have a great time! There is so much to think about! Breathe, stroke, kick, head down, rotate, slice through the water, etc. I am really looking forward to my next class! I am hoping that the breathing will come easier and more natural to me. I think that is the most challenging aspect of this sport. But I am sure it will get easier as I practice! Oh and on a side note, I took the Patronus quiz on Pottermore and I mine is a Dolphin!!! YES!!! So I must have been born to swim, I just need to figure out the mechanics!! Also, I am a Gryffindor, just in case you were wondering.

Dolphin Patronus baby!! Take that Dementors!!

First Day of Swim Class!

As I mentioned in my "First Blog Ever!" post, I am taking swimming lessons at Medger Evers College. The week before my first class I finally received my swimming gear from the SwimOutlet! As I mentioned before I got a discounted $25 "Grab Bag" TYR swimsuit and here it is!!

Day 1 of my journey to be swimming champion of the world!!!
Or just a regular recreational swimmer...I open to anything

I love it! It is nice and supportive and doesn't give me wedgies!! Major plus there! The swim cap is awesome and the goggles are so legit I feel like they are sucking my eyeballs out! I need to talk to my swimming instructor next class to help me adjusting them, because they feel a bit tight. But on the bright side, absolutely no water leaks through!

On Saturday morning, September 3rd, I took my first swim lesson and it was fantastic!

I was very pleased to find out that my class is literally across the street from my apartment at the High School! I had originally thought it was a couple of blocks away at the college so it was a good thing that I checked the address! When I got there and checked in with security, he gave me directions on how to get to the pool. Unfortunately for me, he said something like:

"You are going to go down this hall, take a right at the vending machine and then a left and then there are some stairs and then take another right, I mean left and it should be right there."

So naturally I got lost and found myself in a deserted corridor that was undergoing some renovations. There were paint cans and ladders everywhere. I tried to retrace my steps and got lost again! Luckily I found a super friendly custodian who walked me to the swimming pool. Super nice guy!! Thanks a bunch Mister!!!

I got into the locker room, checked in with the staff in the pool office, and took off my sweats (my swimsuit was already on underneath) and showered before heading out to the pool. Now when I was younger I never understood why I had to shower BEFORE getting into the pool. It didn't make sense to me at all. I was getting into a pool of water, whats the point? I am getting wet anyways. Well here is the thing: I know most people don't think that they are gross, but just know that you are! There are a bunch of dead skin cells and hair and dirt on you that if you don't shower off before jumping in the pool, all of that grossness gets in the pool. And if EVERYONE does that, that is a lot of nasty ass stuff floating around in the pool (which is also why swim caps are required). Also, by showering, it reduces the risk of waterborne illnesses that can spread to the swimmers. And fun fact, if your pool does NOT have a strong chemical smell, you have a healthy and clean pool. Who knew? And I don't feel like I need to say it, but don't pee in the pool.

My Classmates

I am in the class with two other ladies. One gal is my age (late 20's - early 30's), we will call her Lucy, and the other lady is in her 40's, we can call her Debbie. As we were waiting for the instructor to come out and start class, we talked about our swimming experience. As I mentioned before, I know how to swim but I want to learn technique of the different strokes and how to breathe while swimming. Lucy said she gets the mechanics of swimming, but has never actually learned how to swim. Debbie informed us that this was her 3rd time taking the Beginners Swim Class and she is still very nervous about swimming.

Our instructor, Charles, came out and introduced himself. He said that in order to swim we have to be confident, relax, and to ALWAYS breathe out through our nose. If we are tense, we wont be able to float. And if we don't breathe out through the nose when our face hits the water, water will shoot up the nose and burn. And nobody enjoys that feeling! He then led us through some exercises so he could see where we all stood in our swimming skills.

Swim Exercises

Bobs

He then demonstrated a very basic, but helpful exercise that we will do to start every class. Bobbing is where we would duck our heads under water and breathe out through our noses and then come back up for air. He wanted us to make this as natural as breathing on land and to not think of it as holding our breath, so he coached us to hum while breathing out and come back up for air when needed. It was helpful to think of it in this way, because how are you going to swim laps if you are holding your breath the whole time? You don't hold your breath when running!

Gliding

Gliding is when you push off the wall with your feet and breathe out through your nose as you glide as far as you can go without kicking or swimming the arms. I learned that there is no need to lift your head up to see where you are going. If you have goggles on, just look down at the pool floor and the lines at the bottom will tell you if you are going the right direction. Plus if your head is up, it makes it hard to cut across the water and makes you slower.

Kicking

We practiced kicking while holding on to the edge of the pool. It is important to not to try to kick the entire leg. Just little flutters with the leg from the knees down. Keep ankles loose! We added this on to our gliding.

Arms in Freestyle Stroke

And finally, we added the arms in the freestyle stroke. Our instructor told us to keep our elbows up when we are bringing the arms forward and to pull the water back when we are moving the arms back. He took videos of us in this last exercise so we can see what we look like and so he can analyze it and give us pointers and exercises for the next class. I haven't quite mastered the technique of this stroke in the video below. You can see that I am a little too far under the surface of the water and it is better to swim on top of the water. Also you can see that I never come up for air. Oops! But we are going to go over how to breathe in the Freestyle Stroke this weekend.

Look at me go!!! My Grandma said I could be the next Esther Williams. I'm going to have to agree with her! :)

So that was my first day! I had a blast and was super tired after the hour long class. I can't wait for this weekend and to see what new skills I learn!!

I am Ashley Jones and I approve this message!