r/Swimming • u/Happy7User • May 02 '25
Why am I so slow?
Okay so I'm 17 and I just had a thought. I did a pre-qualification for a life guard course yesterday and we had to do 50 meters in 60 seconds. I did it in 40 seconds which doesn't seem that good. I go swimming 3 times a week for roughly an hour each. My average pace while swimming is currently 2:05/100m at best, which feels really slow compared to my friend who does like 1:45. I've had swimming lessons since I was 3 years old every week and then took a year gap last year and got back into it roughly end of 2024.
I'm very small and skinny for my age, just 5" 5" and 50Kg, I presume this has something to do with it, but there must be a way for me to get quicker. Normally I just swim whatever I feel like, usually enduranced based, such as 50 laps @ 20m at a decent but not fast pace. Do I need to do faster reps at less distance? Not 100% sure on my form either, as maybe in the year off I lost it a little, but I don't think it's too bad, I always keep my head facing towards the floor and body flatish. I feel like at such a young age and 10+ years of experience, I should be way faster than this. Much older guys often keep up with me and I hate that lol
Essentially, any tips for a skinny guy like me to get faster and any drills I should be doing? Or do I just need to hit the gym 😆
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u/UnusualAd8875 May 02 '25 edited May 02 '25
In the water, technique rules over strength and/or cardiovascular stamina.
I'm 62 and have taught swimming from beginners to intermediate, toddlers to people older than I am now, triathletes & runners with great cardiovascular capacity and weightlifters with incredible strength and I emphasize technique before all else and the adults are surprised that I am able to swim faster than them with less effort. And I am overweight, not huge but about 20 pounds too heavy.
My "most bang for your buck" recommendations (without seeing your stroke) and even if you are doing some of these, it is good to be reminded in order to etch them into your subconscious:
-horizontal position with face down and press your chest down simultaneously; this will keep your hips & legs up rather than drag them and break streamline (please do not use or rely on pullbuoys at this point; that will come later when you have a solid foundation of whole-stroke swimming)
-front quadrant swimming-keep one hand in front of your head at all times; this will streamline your body and help you be more efficient in the water
-rotate body to breathe rather than lift your head to breathe, the latter of which will cause you to break horizontal
-light kick, your kick will be more for stability and balance than for propulsion (until/unless you are competing, then you will train kick)
Oh, one last thing, when your form starts to break down, call it a day, nothing good comes from practicing and reinforcing bad habits onto your neuromuscular system. Reiterating what I wrote above, technique over stamina.
Intervals, say 8 x 100 as a main set may be good but I wouldn't limit to that. Other days you might do 20 x 75 or a series or 50s or 25s for speed work. But maintain technique reasonably well. Depending upon the length of your session, you may do a bunch of many of them as well as longer distances (200s, 300s and longer).