Swim class number 8

It was all in the shoulders. The final swim class, and this week Andy was my instructor again. Warmed up with breaststroke. It was not perfect after all. I need to get my elbows higher in the water if I want to go faster (which is not necessarily what I want to do). This does work, although it puts pressure on the shoulders, which I can really feel this morning.

Onto backstroke. A little better than last week. I am just getting used to the rhythm. Keeping kicking while concentrating on the arms in rotation and lifting my tummy up, whilst trying not to collide with other swimmers is all a lot to remember. I need to reach right back with my hands which should enter the water behind my head. But to do this I have to remember to rotate my hips. And then bend the elbow to pull. Again, this is all effecting my shoulders, but more practice may see them become stronger. Apparently, it is a stroke which can be relaxing. It just does not feel that way at the moment.

My crawl is OK. Andy just said that I need to concentrate on keeping my fingers together. Once again I could feel the tension in my shoulders, but it certainly makes a difference to my speed. But the faster I go, the more I get out of breath. Well, that is the end of my swimming lessons. I have learnt an awful lot, and need to put it all into practice. My instructors have been great, thanks to them all.