Hi i'm new to the forums and I'm shipping out on the 25th of October. I've been training/swimming a lot but I'm really worried about passing the swim test.  I can swim but I'm not a STRONG swimmer. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on maybe a certain stroke I could start practicing on. It seems like freestyle just drains me by the time i get to 50m. Any suggestions would help, even if its not a stroke. thanks!

Eh, howzit brah?
You from Hawaii? If you live Oahu I go swimming at Ala Moana. I've tried different ways to pace myself and the best I've found is to just go slow and easy take your breaths and keep your legs straight and kicks in the water not all kine big splashes. It would be better to practice in a pool but it's hard to find one close to where I live in Mililani. The ocean water is denser and moves a lot more than the pool so it'll be different. Especially for treading water since you'll be more buoyant. But I try to swim a good 300meters - 400meters and then tread for 10 minutes to compensate. If you want to meet up and practice hit me up with a PM. Wish you the best.

I would suggest reading "Total Immersion" by Terry Laughlin it was recommeded to my son by USCG ASTC Mario Vittone.

http://www.amazon.com/Total-Immersi...068481885X

haha I actually live in Cali, my parents and relatives are all from Hawaii.  I just got back from there a month ago actually, in Hawaii kai.  And yeah I've noticed the less I use my legs and stay calm, the more energy I have. Haha but that's a no brainer.  I think my problem is perfecting the technique and getting more stamina. Right now I have a pulled lower back so I cant practice but hopefully I get enough training in before oct 25th! And damn thats a lot of distance, I can barely do 50m...so sad. haha

Thanks captkyguy, will the videos posted be enough or should I buy his booklet/dvd?

If it were me enlisting and I could afford it, I would get an instructor to go with the book. That was my plan for my son when he was interested in AST a few years back. The book gives you several small things to practice over time in order to prefect into the total package.

I read the book and understood to a degree what it was teaching, but I never did get the physical concepts down in the water, I do not swim enough to put in all the training...so I still swim like a big tug boat plowing though the water and not the fined tuned sleek sailing vessel the book is trying to make you into, thus the slowness and early fatigue factors making a 100m swim feel like swimming to the ends of the earth. LOL It was much more difficult then I ever imagined, my hat is off to swimmers.

I do not really have access to practice swimming. However, I do know how to swim a few different ways/styles. I was wondering if running is any comparison to help someone get in shape for swimming or is there no comparison?

Well i'd think the running would help with building stamina and leg strength (kicking underwater). I read somewhere that doing more cardio, push-ups and what not are better than lifting weights for swimming. So yeah but thats just what i've heard.

In my opinion and personal experience there is no comparison, it is a completely different animal...not to say running and the other exercises are bad, they are very good and much needed for boot camp and general health. Swimming is just different. I was in good shape a few years back when I went swimming with my son for him to practice swimming and start preparing, and I literally thought I was going to drown before making the 100m mark. Swimmers are in a lot better shape then most people might think. It is worth the effort to find a way to get into a large pool in order to get use to the difference from just running and not swimming. If you have ever just run on a tread mill and then decided to actually go jogging...it is quite different, same if use to only riding a bike then you decide to go jogging, or running then biking...just different.

I would suggest contacting the YMCA or local health club in your community, some of our high school where I am from have swim pools, you might check with them as well then let these places know what you are training for and I bet they would work with you.

Enjoy the journey and have a blast!

What you say about biking and never running is most definitely true (from personal expierence) so I can understand where your coming from when you say that running isn't the same as swimming. Thanks for the input!

ehhowzitbrah, I wouldn't worry. Although it’s been a while since I went through boot (5+ yrs) the swimming test was not as bad as I anticipated (not sure about the present.) The instructors will prepare you along with a lot of cardio, and the fact you have others pushing you. You will be amazed at what you will achieve when someone/many people are pushing you.


_Bennett

So here's a question. I know there is a running test and you go jogging/running frequently in BC. Since there is a swimming test, do you go swimming frequently as well?

Yes, running more often but you get your share of pool time. When I was in BC I saw a couple of recruits get reverted because of not knowing how to swim. In the long run it took them longer because there was a learning curb but both eventually made it and passed. If you can swim, or float...lol, they will bring you up to speed...

Just my two sense worth, as a lifeguard instructor for the Red Cross, one of the prerequisites for people to take the class is that they swim 300 yds.  The people that do poorly are the people who weight lift only for size (and not functional muscle and endurance) and the people who start out going as fast as they can.  The people who are bulky just sink, or have a lot harder time swimming, and people who don't pace themselves tire themselves and burn out after 25-50yds.  I would recommend finding a comfortable pace, and sticking to it.  Although, I have not been through basic yet, so I don't know if you have to complete it in a certain time.  If you don't, I would recommend not pushing yourself for speed, just pushing yourself for an even pace.  I don't think they are looking for how fast you swim, only that you can.  I could be wrong about the timing thing though.  Also, I agree completely with captkyguy; swimming and running, or other exercises, are completely different.  If you want to swim well, train all parts of your body, as every stroke uses your arms, legs, core, chest, and back together.  To swim, not only do you have to have the strength to push and/or pull your body's mass and weight through the water, but you also have to have the endurance to keep it up, which is why swimming is so physically taxing, and why it is so different from running or other things.  I hope this helps.

Oh, and if you are looking for an easier stroke, I would recommend breast stroke. It has a resting/gliding stage, and I find it very useful for recovering energy, or atleast not expending as much in comparison to front crawl. However, it is slower, but like I said above, I think people should aim for an even pace, and not speed, especially if they aren't used to swimming.

Thanks JBBennett and Quaife, I've been trying out the breast stroke and sidestroke recently and I think they both would be better for me than freestyle. It's also easier since I can keep my head above water and keep breathing. I just need to keep swimming to build my endurance so my legs don't burn out!

Oh and I just found out yesterday that I can do 5mins and 49secs of treading water. I think I could have gone longer but I didnt push myself.  So I just need to complete the 100m and mix in the 5mins of treading and I'm set! by October I'm aiming for 150-200m and 10mins of treading. We'll see how it goes. Thanks again guys!

I was fooling around in my friends pool one day, just relaxing, and I thought to myself "lets tread water."  My friends looked at me funny once they realized what I was doing, guess I looked a little goofey just treading water in the middle of the pool 

If you train in a lake, please, please, please be careful and do it in water that you can reach the bottom without going under. I heard so many stories when I lived in Texas and hear them here in Wisconsin... someone jumps off a boat to cool off in the lake and they just never resurface. Same guy or gal has probably done that a thousand times and is a strong swimmer and for some reason... not this time. Go to boot camp a weaker swimmer then a graveyard. They'll give you plenty of time to learn to swim and tread and be safe while you are doing it!

My boss in Texas... went to his parents house at the lake, same dock he had been jumping off since he was about 7 years old. Last summer, Memorial Day weekend... ran down the dock, jumped in the lake, fractured his leg in 4 places! That was the end of his summer. Luckily not his life and he was able to do his job with a cast, crutches and an awful lot of cursing... You do that, boot camp not only gets postponed it can be completely canceled for you, permanently.

Again... Lake swimming... please be careful! I know wearing a life vest limits learning how to tread water successfully... wear it anyway!!! Ok the mom in me is done here. Just want all of you to stay safe.

Our lake near me has roped off areas for swimming that go no deeper than 5 foot, and I'm a baby about not being able to reach the bottom out there. I'll be plenty careful, OG. I'm actually writing this from a pool in California. Got my hundred yards a couple times over, so maybe I'm better suited than I thought!

That was a very mom-esque post. Sorry for the lecture but I worry. I don't want any of you to try to train and end up hurt or worse! LOL I'm sure you'll do just fine. Have fun! I actually hate touching a lake bed or river bottom... so slimy and things moving under my feet. Plus I have seen Jaws way too many times for me to enjoy water where something can swim up and bite me on the $$$. LOL

Yeah in in Tennessee, we have catfish that get up to six or seven feet long (not kidding, Army CoE divers report them regularly by the dams apparently). They're too lazy to go chomping on people but they could if they wanted. Besides, they stay near the dam and nom up fish that come floating by, and I know better than to swim anywhere NEAR the dam! Now we did have a report of an alligator once years ago but that was because some doofus kept one as a pet then realized it was getting too big for his liking so he dumped him in the lake. He got caught, I think the Coast Guard helped catch him actually. The real nasty critters are the Gar. I see one of those guys, you'd never see a person get out of the water and up a hill faster!
As far as slimy bottoms go, I have some snug fitting water shoes that don't get kicked off easy, so I don't have to feel that muck. I hate it too!
On another note, I find that I have a much easier time doing breast stroke under water rather than keeping my head above water. Are you allowed to swim underwater for a ways and come up for air periodically rather than keep your head above water the whole time?

Wow, that is pretty damn nasty. But that'd be fun to fish, I wonder what i'd have to use as bait though. The one thing i've noticed about myself is that when I get in the deep end of the pool and I'm looking down...I freak out thinking about big ass whales and sharks below me. I hope I dont get like that in the ocean. Haha

NOW SWIM CALL SWIM CALL, ALL THAT ARE NOT ON DUTY, SWIM CALL....lol

Unless you go AST, no need to worry!

This makes me lucky that I am a competitive swimmer. What I would really do is work out your core muscles in your stomach. That's where you get a lot of your swimming strength from, believe it or not. If you can balance yourself in water and keep straight, you'll spend less time dragging yourself down. And if you don't know how to swim properly, try a swimming class before you go. It'll help oodles and oodles.

Posted By captkyguy on 17 Jul 2011 11:05 AM
I would suggest reading "Total Immersion" by Terry Laughlin it was recommeded to my son by USCG ASTC Mario Vittone.

http://www.amazon.com/Total-Immersi...068481885X

here are some video's

http://www.totalimmersion.net/

http://www.uscg.org/Forum/aft/%3Ca%20href=" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://1cello.blogspot.com/2008/04/...video.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://1cello.blogspot.com/2008/04/...video.html

http://www.uscg.org/Forum/aft/%3Ca%20href=" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://1cello.blogspot.com/2008/04/...video.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://1cello.blogspot.com/2008/04/...video.html

http://revver.com/video/1610717/tot...shop-2009/

Thanks for posting the Total Immersion videos captkyguy.  They are incredibly helpful.  I ship out for DEPOT in 2 weeks and am much more confident now facing the swim test.

Awesome...so glad they helpped you!

My wife is practicing with me in the pool every day. She isn't a strong swimmer but some strokes are easier for her than others. Does the stroke we use during the swim test to graduate from boot camp matter ??????

Posted By Phillip Turano on 06 Oct 2011 03:17 PM
My wife is practicing with me in the pool every day. She isn't a strong swimmer but some strokes are easier for her than others. Does the stroke we use during the swim test to graduate from boot camp matter ??????

They only allow 3 strokes. Breast stroke, free style aka front crawl, and side stroke. You can stick to one or alternate between the three but make your transition between stroke styles smooth. Do not doggy paddle or they will pull you. You cannot touch the sides, don't even brush up against the edge, or they'll pull you.