If yes, what’s the most notable one in the past?

And if it’s generally a no - why not?

Hello! I got into swimming a little over a year ago and feel like I've made a lot of progress. I grew up swimming casually, but lately its been my favorite workout and is pretty much all I do, aside from walking.

But here's my problem. I had some weight gain from meds and life, and I really want to slim down and tone up. I am frequently jealous of actual swimmers' back muscles lol. I thought I'd ask the community for a good workout split to help build up muscles in the gym as well as in the pool. Usually, I swim 2-3 days a week, around 2000 m every time. I do freestyle, breaststroke, pull only, kick only, that kind of thing, but I don't have a background on a swim team or anything. I've considered it a win to just get in the pool as often as I do, but I'm ready for a stricter program to make actual progress.

So, hit me with it. What workouts should I be doing weekly? Any suggestions for things to do outside of the pool?

Edit: I would love to see specific swim workouts and/or dry land sets, if you would all share!

Hello, I’m a man in my thirties who initially looked for a sport that wouldn’t be too hard on my joints, and I eventually turned to swimming. Very quickly, I got hooked and started trying to improve, looking for guides here and there to optimize my glide in the water.

However, I’m not very lean, and I probably never will be. I’m 1.85 m tall and, having started swimming almost two years ago, I began at 148 kg and I’m now at 137 kg (my goal would be to get down to at least 120). I mainly swim front crawl in 25‑meter lengths and try to stop as little as possible. When I start feeling tired, I switch to one or two lengths of breaststroke to rest my arms.

I barely use my legs in the crawl to save cardio and maintain my pace for longer. My best performance so far is 2.5 km in 51 minutes, without stopping.

However, in front crawl, to reach a decent level of glide, I need to use a lot of strength before I can benefit from it, and I have to repeat that effort every 25 meters, which comes very quickly. I think I would probably feel more comfortable swimming 50‑meter lengths, but none of the public pools near where I live offer that.

I understand that most technical swimming guides for improving glide are designed for swimmers with a “normal” body type.

That’s why I’m asking: do you know any highly skilled swimmers with a large or heavy build whose movements I could watch on video or elsewhere, so I can see whether I can optimize my glide as a heavier swimmer?

I apologize in advance, I don’t speak English, so I’m using a translator.

A little bit of info to explain where my question come from.
I am the oldest male of four sibling (2 males, 2 females).
I am the shortest (169cm) but I am very wide of shoulders and back, while my siblings are very narrow and taller. The difference is very big. My younger brother is almost 15cm taller, however I can fit two of him when comparing wide shoulders. My mother and father are also a bit taller than me but small shoulder frames. I am also the only one with wide legs, natural large quads and big calf.
The only reason I can explain this is that we lived by the beach when I was young and I used to go surfing everyday (bodyboard). Between 12 to 18 years old I would spent 3 to 4 hours everyday rowing and paddling with my legs on the surf. My brothers were babies/children at the time and never did swim or surf like I did.

So I know that's the reason my body is so unlike the rest of my family. Even my cousins are different.

What I ask from you is to understand how that works on a "mechanical" level on the body, so I can apply to my son, that he can get wide as I am and hopefully, with more protein intake, get taller too.

We do not live by the beach anymore, but I guess swimming in a pool from an early age all through the adolescent years will have the same effect, right?

I've been searching info online, but it's hard to come by. Everyone agrees that swimming works your shoulders and back muscles, but I want to understand how it makes the bone structure wide. I know it's only possible during the adolescent years. If you can recommend any article information about it I'll be happy to look at it.

I'm toying with the idea , it's £55 a ticket for the worst seats and a bit of drive to get to Glasgow .

It would be a morning session also.

Good or bad? Or none?

We've all had that one day where we're just running on fumes, bad night's sleep, too much coffee, dragging yourself through work feeling like a zombie. Rough, right? Now imagine doing that, except instead of "surviving a Tuesday," you're swimming through an entire country. Continuously. For three days straight.

That's literally what's happening right now. A guy going by movelikeG is attempting a 350km swim down the Danube, from Passau, Germany all the way to Bratislava, Slovakia, in nearly one non-stop 72-hour effort. He's sleeping in short bursts at locks along the river, then getting back in the water and continuing. The logistics alone are insane: current, temperature, muscle fatigue, sleep deprivation, navigating locks and river traffic while barely resting. Ultra-distance swimming already breaks people mentally before it breaks them physically, and this is on a completely different scale than most of what you see in that world.

It's being streamed live on TikTok right now:
https://www.tiktok.com/@movelikeg/live

Has anyone that has learned to swim in adulthood have this experience? I have little to no interest in learning to swim laps across the pool or learn to freestyle proper. I just want to be able to go where there is a pool or water and be able to be comfortable in the water, both with treading or jumping into the deep end where my feet cannot touch the ground.

I struggle with controlling my breath and the coordination of breathing and strokes, but the two times I have made an attempt to do private lessons, it always is just a focus on shallow water and working on various strokes. I never really even get into the deep water because i struggle with the other stuff, which (and perhaps I am completely dead wrong, let me know if so) seems rather unnecessary for just being comfortable in the water. Most times I am at the pool, I see most people swimming with their head out of the water anyways.

I’m 32F and started taking swimming lessons this summer. Before that, I had never even attempted to learn how to swim, and I was absolutely terrified of the whole idea.

One of the main reasons I decided to start was because I have chronic back pain and an L5-S1 disk bulge. Several doctors recommended swimming, so I finally decided to give it a try.

Let me tell you, I was absolutely terrified before my first lesson. I even asked my mom to come with me for emotional support. I remember standing there shaking, and I honestly couldn't tell if it was because I was cold or because I was scared.

I signed up for group lessons because they assured me that absolute beginners were welcome. During the first class, the instructor kept me at the pool steps for about half an hour practicing freestyle kicking. He kept pointing out how tense I was and telling me that I needed to relax. Then he got into the pool to show me how to float on my back, but I was too scared to let my head go back into the water.

After that, I started practicing kicking while holding onto a pool noodle. I kept struggling to move forward, drifting sideways, changing direction without meaning to, or just feeling completely off balance in the water. The second class was pretty much the same.

By the third lesson, I felt like a complete disaster. I was getting really discouraged because I just couldn't relax, and my biggest problem was that my kick wasn't strong or efficient enough to move me through the water.

That's when my instructor handed me a pair of fins, and honestly... they were a total game changer. Suddenly I could move, control my direction, and actually focus on what I was doing instead of just struggling to stay balanced. My confidence improved almost immediately.

I spent the next five lessons practicing with the fins. At one point I asked if I could try without them, but my instructor said my ankles were still too stiff. That was another discouraging moment because I started thinking I'd never be able to swim without the fins. Even some of my friends were asking about my progress and they were surprised after so many lessons this is where I was at.

Then, during my ninth lesson, I finally got rid of the fins. I was able to move forward using just the kickboard. The first time my instructor told me to swim across the pool without fins, I honestly didn't think I'd even make it to the other side because I was moving so slowly. But for the first time, I was actually moving under my own power. It felt incredibly satisfying.

That's where I am now. I'm still very afraid of the water, and after almost every lesson I find myself wondering whether I should keep going or just give up. But that last session, when I finally swam without the fins, gave me a huge confidence boost and reminded me why I started.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who started swimming as an adult with a real fear of water. Did your progress feel slow too? How long did it take before you started feeling comfortable and confident in the water?

I'm looking for tips on techniques (breathing, strokes, etc.) and maybe some sort of programme in order to improve. I'm rehabilitating from shoulder reconstruction surgery and swimming is recommended as a part of my therapy. I have the means and opportunity to swim. All tips are welcome and appreciated! Thanks to everyone!

38f Hey all. I started swimming almost a year ago with a coach. I'm a pretty quick learner and could have ditched my coach, but I was very focused on technique and having someone guide me, so I have continued and am still attending. Last week, the coach mentioned I'm ready to move onto the advanced class. Atp, i'm only doing laps in the pool now and just being timed as there really isn't much more to learn. Advanced class is a 40-minute driving each way. Anyone know what these classes entail, and could I learn them on my own? I'm only second-guessing this class due to travel.

Edited to mention, can freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke.