Am thinking of joining an adult Squad at the local pool. The two sessions that have caught my eye are 'swim fit' and a specific triathlon/masters squad. The former lasts 60 minutes and covers approx. 2kms, the latter is 90 mins and covers 4 kms.

Has anyone taken stroke correction squads as an adult? Can you offer advice on how beneficial they were?

I'm doing a stroke correction session tomorrow.
I started out being able to swim, but that was about it, did a few stroke classes, then joined a squad.
Now I do an occasional stroke correction session as well as regular squad sessions.
The stroke correction stuff gets you really thinking about your technique.
I find myself thinking about that when I'm trying to churn through laps at squad.
I am not much faster, but it's definitely easier to maintain a comfortable pace than it was before.
Part of that is swim fitness, but part of it is definitely improved technique.

I say go for it!

Well worth it, although lots of practice is the only thing that will give you a feel for the water, it has to be correct practice, perfect practice makes perfect, as my swim coach use to say.

I also liked to read the Total Immersion website, it has some great stuff on it.

I found breaking it down into drills which I was taught at squad to be a great way to get some good distance out of your sessions that you might do on your own, and I would alternate between 50 f/s 50 drill for a whole variety of drills and before you know it you've got 2kms under your belt already.

I say go for it! I started swimming again (after 18 years off) when I started doing tri's late last year. Our tri squad had hour sessions on saturdays as part of our tri training. And I really enjoyed them, and the coach picked up some flaws.

But with winter tri training was off, but one in our squad is a qualified swim coach so she takes us for wednesday and saturday morning sessions. Lots of drills, endurance, sprint sessions etc. It is fantastic! I'm really loving it. She pushes us. But all the drills are about improving technique and efficiency in the water! If you have to swim laps using one arm (no board) and a closed fist you soon learn how the forearm also has to catch water along with your hand.

The tri squad stuff was good! But the dedicated stuff is fantastic. They'll take into account your skill level and you will be surprised with the improvement you'll see. Also, swimming in a squad is much more fun than on your own.

Thanks all, some good stuff to think about here.

Hi Pheonix,

Can't give you any feedback about Swim fit, but I go to our local Masters group and have seen people come along that have trouble swimming 100 metres and with all the help they get in terms of stroke correction, drills and general endurance it is amazing how much they improve. Definitely well worth it. I am sure the Swim fit is too, maybe you could do both. They might have different benefits and you might find one is better for you than the other.
Have fun, consistency is the key (as with most sports)!

You'll find that 99% of the people that are beating your time in the swim are doing some sort of swim squad. I spent 2 years trying to get my swim up to a medium level, got some improvement. However after 2 months with a squad, have alot more improvement than I was ever going to manage on my own.

I'm with a good squad in Melb where the coach gives me and another newbie quite a bit of stroke correction, so I only go to the one squad. Depending on whether you get this with the squad, you probably will want to do both to start with, once your comfortably getting through the squad, you could let the stroke correction class go and replace it with another squad session.

And if your like me, get ready to feel the effects of using your whole body to swim, not just the legs and arms.

Hi,

I am looking to do the BRW triathlon next year (April) so am looking to join a swim squad too or stroke correction classes.

Phoenix - I noticed you're in Concord (I"m in the inner west) - can I ask which aquatic centre you're looking at? Did you join up and is it ok? Walked past the Ashfield one and they have something similar happening on Mondays 6-7pm.

It all depends on the instructor. I started going to stroke correction classes at my local pool and was very disappointed.

The instructor would tell you what the drill is, and then just let you go. I asked for advice on how to improve, and was basically told to keep doing the drills, with no explanation on how this would help or anything else I could do. I thought there would be more work individually and your training would be tailored to improve on your weaknesses, but this was not the case for me.

I hope other stroke correction classes are better.

Stroke correction is a must. I have gotten more out of any stroke correction squad than any other swim squad I have done. If your trying to swim faster and longer you must get your technique in order. Swimming being so technical it is easy to get it wrong and form bad habits that become worse as you become fatigued. A good stroke correction squad will critique your stroke as well as give you tips on getting better. A good stroke correction squad will have you do less distance in the class when compared to an out and out squad session. This is due to time taken for feedback etc.

Hi Phoenix,

That looks like the one I tried out the other day.

I picked the swim fit class as I wasn't sure about swimming 4km's but even more so becuase the other class was 5.30am.

The best way to see what you think is to try it out. I am still deciding what suits me best yet.

I haven't started yet. The timetable is still magnetised to the fridge though, waiting for the Spring thaw.

There are a number of pools to choose from - Sydney Aquatic Centre, Cabarita, Ryde and the one near where I work at Macquarie uni. The one I had targeted was at Macquarie Uni.