Camille Leuregans, 29 years old, former high level swimmer, gives us her advice to start (or re-start) swimming.
This coach swam every day twice a day from the time I was 11 until I was 21.
She loved the long distance crawl, but also the butterfly and the backstroke in sprint.
Today, she coaches all types of swimmers, from beginners to triathletes, to progress in swimming via 100% online courses.
What are the different swims and their benefits?
In swimming, there are 4 different strokes: front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. The front crawl and backstroke are alternating strokes, meaning that you turn one arm after the other, while the breaststroke and butterfly are simultaneous strokes, meaning that you turn both arms at the same time. The 4 strokes are beneficial for the swimmer, but if the swimming technique is not mastered and worked on, one can quickly injure oneself more than help oneself. For example, you can quickly hurt your neck, lumbar and/or knees. But, if the technique is mastered, you can develop your endurance, your strength and your flexibility thanks to the 4 strokes.
How often should you go to the pool to get the benefits?
To feel the benefits of swimming, you have to go regularly, there is no point in doing 5 sessions a week for 2 weeks and then not going for 1 month. The ideal is to start with a reasonable and easily attainable goal, 2 sessions per week for example, then, if you wish, you can go to 3 sessions per week.
How long do you recommend sessions?
The length of the sessions will be influenced by the level of the swimmer, if the swimmer can only swim a rough breaststroke, a 30min session with a lot of technique to progress, is enough. But if the swimmer masters the 4 strokes and wishes to perform, we can go up to 1h30 sessions.
Is it recommended to do more than one swim during a session?
Again, it depends on the level of the swimmer, but if the strokes are mastered, alternating the front crawl and the backstroke allows to work antagonistic muscles and thus to avoid injuries. And above all it makes the sessions more fun.
You can find Camille's advice on mycoachdenatation.fr