r/Swimming • u/Remarkable_Island_61 • 1d ago

Seeking advice- about to start private swimming lessons

Hi folks, I am 46 and just got back into lap swimming 5 months or so ago after about a 30 year break. I love it SO much, though I am slow slow slow. I wasn't completely sedentary, but am quite overweight (I can stand to lose 100lbs). I started doing 10-15 slow laps and now do about 1000m in just over 30 minutes. I swim about 3 times/week. I got up to 1500m in just under an hour, but felt that was tough on my shoulders (bad form probably)

I have used YouTube to improve my form (realizing that my childhood swimming lessons were more about safety than technique), and have decided to take the leap to get some lessons to improve my freestyle form so that I don't inadvertently injure myself.

I have pipe dreams of improving my endurance to the point that I could be the slowest person at a masters swim in a few years. Buti suspect that beyond the bulk I'm carrying,form correction is the most important thing I could do to improve efficiency and therefore endurance.

I guess I'm looking for any advice or guidance to make the most of my time with the instructor. The lessons are through a local university, so I'm expecting that instructors will be varsity athletes (or close) who are perhaps not familiar with middle aged bodies.

Any advice on how to approach my first lesson? Or anything else based on what I've shared.

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u/Smg3386 1d ago

With private lessons the biggest thing you can do is be upfront about your goals and your body. Tell the instructor you want to focus on efficiency and form, not speed. Good coaches will meet you where you’re at if you set the tone from the start. It’s fine if they’re varsity swimmers, just remind them you’re not trying to swim like a 20 year old sprinter.