As part of Virgin Active’s #BeYourPersonalBest campaign, I’m looking to improve my swimming technique. I’m taking instruction both in the pool and the gym to reach that goal.

I only learned to swim as an adult, so tend to overthink the process of swimming. My instructor Brendan’s task is to get me more confident in the pool, while sharpening up my technique.

Brendan breaks down the lesson into easily digestible parts. We start each 30 minute session with some leg work, getting a steady, from the hips rhythm in my kick.

Then we move on to add breathing to the mix. I do two lengths concentrating on breathing out underwater, with the aid of a float. It’s a simple exercise but I can already see how it’s training my lungs to work more efficiently. As the lessons progress, we try to get my lungs to work harder.

Then, we move on to some arms work. I’m sticking to the front crawl for now so the key here is getting the elbow in the air as you push through your stroke and combine that with tilting the head to get that all important air. I’m noticeably stronger on my right side. Consistently, everything falls apart on my left.

Part of the problem is confidence but as we abandon the swimming aid and try to build all the constituent parts together – legs kicking, breathing in time, arms in sync – I can see where we’re headed, even if I’m not quite there yet. 

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