How to improve your swimming endurance???

work on technique.

When I see people swimming and gasping for air or taking a lot of brakes, it more about wasted energy due to poor technique than fitness.  Learning to swim smooth and relaxed does wonders.

I masters class or some lessons wouldn't hurt.

Plus just getting time in the pool.  When I was getting back into it, I would crawl for 100 yards, then breast stroke for 100.  After a week or two, I would crawl 200 and breast for 100, then 300/100 or 300/50 - something along those lines.  But I would keep swimming - no breaks at the edge of the pool.  I would recover during the breast stroke.

Bingo.

I'm guessing since you're ready for a tri that you're fitness level is pretty good.  Running & Biking the distances required are not a problem.  So Aikidoman has probably got it pretty much right about technique.

You can spend a ton of time in the pool, but if you're swimming poorly, you're probably not getting much out of the time.  If you aren't already, you should be doing some drill sets, both with and without a pull buoy.   Don't sweat the speed, just work on getting long, smooth arm movement and reducing the number of strokes per length.  (some people suggest using paddles to build up arm strength, but I wouldn't rush into that since it can lead to shoulder pain/swimmer's shoulder)

Good luck

Slow down.  You'll be amazed at how much more distance you'll get if you slow down and focus on your breathing.  Worry about speed after you start making the distance.

Thanks everybody for your valuable input.
I definitely must be doing something wrong... I swim in a 25 meters pool and my swimming sessions consist on the following:
1) Swim 50 meters then rest for 20 seconds. Repeat this 15 times
2) Swim 100 meters then rest for 20 seconds. Repeat this 6 times
3) Swim 800 meters, sometimes stopping at the edge of the pool for 5 seconds, just hanging on the edge (no feet on the ground).

I do this routine in about 1h and 15 min.

I know that everything comes down to a good technique, especially swimming without having to invest a lot of effort and managing your breathng smoothly. This takes me to some questions:

1) when you take the air after the 3rd stroke, then what do you do with the air until you are ready to take the next breath? Do you keep it or you should release it, how do I release it (nose or mouth), fast or slowly?

2) Is it true that triathletes have to swim mainly with their arms so that the legs don´t get tired and you have them full of energy for the bike and the run?

1000 Thanks!!! You have no idea how much I value your responses.

Just my thoughts -- I'm a newbie to triathlons, but swam in HS & College.

What he said.

Breathe as often as you can starting out - you can always go bilateral later if you like it.  Concentrate above all else in exhaling completely every stroke (exhale IN the water, inhale OUT of the water).  This is probably the biggest reason new folk get so winded.  I exhale from both, BTW, pretty much continuously until it is time for a new breath. 

Yes, bi-lateral breathing is what I am talking about. I was not sure about how to exhale. It is difficult for me to exhale only from my nose, I feel more confortable exhaling from both, mouth and nose. Maybe it i sjust a matter of practice...

I think I have enough things to start trying: Maxmize distance per stroke, drills, exhale evenly while keeping head in the water, etc. I will focus on the breathing first. Thanks to all.

Try breathing from one side.  You get a quicker exchange of oxygen this way.

What many will tell you is  "slow = smooth & smooth = speed"

I practice taking "long strides" so to speak...  my first 400 meters when I work out I glide and breath... I start breathing every stroke,  then switch to every other, on the right going out, on the left coming in.

Swimming is almost all technique ( breathing )... When you work out/train, practice technique.  Stay smooth and breathe  you'll be amazed at how much faster you'll go in the water slowing down your motion.

You just can't overpower the water.

Whenever your face is in the water, exhale, through both your nose and mouth.  My mouth is opened 100% of the time when I swim.  I don't care if I drink the water.  Exhale at a rate you're comfortable, until you get the last drop of air out, turn and inhale.  Repeat.  Do not exhale when your face is out of the water.  You don't ahve time for that. It'll only mess up your balance. 

Edited by D.K. 2009-08-28 11:26 AM

x10000.  Of course, I say this as a canoe racer.  I'm still learning how to apply that philosophy to swimming.  

Ditto!  Go slow.  Focus on form and try to get the most glide out of every stroke.  Practice taking your stroke and then gliding as far as you can before having to stroke again.  You'll be amazed at how far you can go on a single stroke.  Once you realize that, you'll churn a lot less and stroke more effectively.  Also for me, I found that reducing my kick was key.  Let the big muscles in your chest and back propel you.  Legs should kick just enough to keep your from sinking - in a distance swim, they are not a major means or propulsion.

Excellent advices. Gliding after every stroke makes a lot of sense, it is so obvious once you do the analogy with the canoe races. You have to take advantage of the energy you invested in that stroke before investing more energy in the next one. I don´t know how it never came to my mind before. I will try to slow down and go more smoothly in my practice tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes. Thanks.

Edited by esanchi 2009-08-28 8:31 PM

thats exactly what i did.... then i learned how to sprint 25-50m when i got my breathing technique down.... and everything came into place last year. This year i was 1st, 6th, and 2nd, outta the water at the races i attended...

Hey esanchi -

I am pretty new at this too and had the same questions you did a few months back.  A couple of people on the BT board recommended picking up the book "Total Immersion"... It is a pretty easy read and gives you a lot of drills and a good starting point for technique.  I've read it a few times now and it has really helped me with my swim.

Good luck!

You're holding your breath. It took me awhile to realize that just like when running, you should always be inhaling or exhaling. If your lungs aren't completely empty when your mouth comes out of the water to inhale, there won't be any place for the oxygen to come in. Most people feeling short of breath think it's due to lack of oxygen, but really it's too much carbon dioxide built up.
You're actually having to stop to get it all out. Weird, huh?
Think about when you run. You're not breathing in, holding it, then exhaling, then breathing in again. You're always just steadily breathing in/out. Same concept when swimming! Easy to describe, hard to put into practice, but well worth the effort.
Good luck!

Hey sooner tri guy, you got it right to the point, it has to be just like when you run, inhaling and exhaling all the time.

One more question, how do you guys do the turns when you get to the edge? Is it requred to do it like a pro, turning your body inside the water. I haven´t learned how to do this...What I do is to hang from the edge, then place my legs on the wall and then impulse myself in the opposite direction. The turn takes me like 3 seconds, during which I breathe at least once.

Jeff, regarding the book, I think it is an excellent recommendation, I am tryting to find the electronic version of it. Thanks

so true.  

Would lifting weights to increase upper body strength be helpful, then?   
 

I swam competitively through college.  Be sure you're swimming as efficiently as possible, and yes, breathe as much as you can during your swim.  THe more you swim, the more tired you become, and the less efficient you are.  Work on your form and your breathing.  If you can, have someone videotape you swimming and you can watch yourself later.  It can work wonders to see what you actually look like.  Don't try intervals (to beat times) until you're in shape.  It can take a while!  

Also, as far as weight training, you don't want to be bulky for swimming (you want to be lean and mean ).  I used (and still use) surgical tubing bands for resistive exercise.  It builds strength, but without the major bulk of traditional weight lifting.  We also did a ton of ab stuff, and back strengthening by using medicine balls.  You can always ask a trainer at a gym for more - or I'm sure there's stuff online.  I got my bands that I use at Target for pretty cheap, and you can do a ton of things with them including lots of upper body things and even squats.  The best part is that they're cheap and take up little space, so you can have them anywhere - even on vacations etc.

Bottom line - keep swimming and definitely work on your breathing.  Once you get more in shape with your breathing and are more efficient, try to cover the distance of your tri without stopping (ie: 500 yds without stopping for rest).  That will help you simulate distance without feeling the need to stop while your out on your OWS.    If you have access to a Masters swim program nearby, try to swim with them.  They'll offer you good feedback, and great comradrie.   I've swum with several Masters groups throughout the years and they're always the nicest people.

One more thing, be sure you don't have sports induced asthma.  I was diagnosed with a mild case of it AFTER I swam in college, and it probably would have been helpful to know that before then.  I had friends who kept their inhalers with them at the end of the lane for use during practices.  

Happy Swimming!
Jen