Swimming's 9 Biggest Myths DEBUNKED!

You don't sweat when you swim. More swimming equals faster. There are many myths around swimming, but today, I'm here to separate fact from fiction and debunk some of swimming's greatest myths. You cannot learn to swim as an adult. Well, this is simply not true. Whilst it may be true that if you've swam extensively as a child, you'll have a better understanding of swimming and a better feel for the water and hopefully, have ingrained a far better technique from the off, but this talk about not being able to learn to swim as an adult is just not true. Whilst it may take a little bit more time, with your adult-level powers of concentration and dedication, you should make rapid progress with your swimming. You don't sweat when you swim. Spoiler alert on this one, you certainly do. Yes, which makes you think about what you're swimming around in out there, doesn't it? Obviously, how much you sweat is dependent on your own personal sweat rate and obviously, the temperature of the water. If the water's warm enough that you don't feel like you're shivering at the end of each length, then I can fairly confidently guarantee that you are sweating whilst you're swimming. You just don't notice it because it's obviously being washed off, which makes it even more important, despite not realizing, to make sure that you hydrate during the swim and also afterwards. Swim as far as you can without resting. Well, this is actually less of a myth and more of a mistake and one that we see quite often, where people feel that the further they can swim in one go is a gauge of their ability. Whilst it's impressive, that really isn't the case. In fact, someone who's really fit with bad technique may be able to actually swim further than someone that's less fit with good technique, but I would much rather be the latter because you can improve your fitness far easier than you can your technique. As we all know, trying to improve your technique can take some time, particularly if you've been ingraining it by doing these really long reps with no stopping. You know what? I'd hazard a guess that more fit swimmer with bad technique will probably never really get that much faster despite being able to swim further. More swimming equals faster. This is a bit of a follow-on from the last one. A lot of people think that the more they swim or the longer their sessions, they will automatically become better and faster swimmers. I'm afraid to say this isn't the case. As we mentioned many times before, swimming is a very technique-based sport. By swimming more and for longer, all you're going to do is tie yourself out. That technique is probably going to start falling apart and therefore, you're then ingraining bad technique. Despite all the fitness in the world, without the technique, you probably aren't going to get that much faster. Allow yourself time to recover, get those quality sessions and efforts in, and you will see improvements. Don't eat within 30 minutes of swimming. Classic myth. Probably passed down by your grandma because, well, you don't want to eat and then be horizontal in the water. Perhaps because there'll be low blood flow to the gut and that's going to cause cramping, or perhaps because it's just simply a myth with no basis in reality. The reality is that we need energy and that energy is going to come from foods. If we have low blood sugar whilst trying to swim, we're probably going to end up swimming slower and feel quite lousy. Whilst we're not saying you should eat a massive meal directly before swimming, maybe a smaller meal within 30 to 60 minutes before, it's not a bad idea. Swimming gives you big shoulders. This is probably one for the weight or body conscious out there. Really, there's nothing to worry about. It would take a ridiculous amount of swimming to get anything close to the superhero-shaped Olympic sprint swimmer shoulders. Also, I guess you're probably doing more longer endurance-type swimming than short sprints, which is actually going to probably end up with more lean shoulder shapes. To add to it, those Olympic sprint swimmers are doing lots of weights in addition to their swimming and pushing big paddles through the swimming pools. I don't think you're really at any risk. Besides, strong is sexy, I'm told, but I don't really know about that. Breathe out through your nose. You do not have to do this. It's entirely up to you. I think this comes from yoga techniques, so controlling your breathing, and also to promote this gradual release and exhale of air whilst you're swimming through your nose. As long as you're exhaling when your head is in the water in time for you to take a nice breath in, there is no reason why you can't exhale through your mouth too, which is what I do. Toys are cheating. Now, I don't actually know many swimmers or triathletes that believe this. In fact, many triathletes are more than happy to pop a pair of oil fins on. The truth is that these training aids, or toys as we like to call them, are normally there to serve a purpose. They make swimming a little bit harder in most cases so that you benefit from them. For instance, a pool buoy isolates the arms, therefore you're having to work harder to propel or move yourself through the water and highlights any dead spots. A kickboard isolates the legs, similar case with the legs. Paddles increase the surface area of the hand, meaning you've got to pull harder and work harder to pull yourself through the water. The only thing is don't use them too much and rely on them too much. That is actually cheating and you'll get found out on race day. A wetsuit makes the swim leg easier. There is a little bit of truth to this. Yes, a wetsuit actually can make the swim leg a little bit easier or swimming a little bit faster because the wetsuit is buoyant. It helps to elevate and lift you in the water so there is less of you in the water, meaning there's less drag or less of you to push through that water. Also, if your hips and legs normally sink a little bit, the wetsuit can normally lift them up again, reducing drag. You've got to remember that everyone is benefiting from a wetsuit so it doesn't mean that it suddenly makes it easier and you're going to gain a load of places. You still need to swim hard to come out in a similar place you would have ordinarily. Despite it maybe being a wetsuit legal race coming up, you're still going to have to put the effort in. Did we miss any myths? Any myths that you've heard of and I haven't included in today's video? Maybe the old pool turning yellow if you urinate in it. I've heard that one anyway, but never actually seen it happen. Anyway, let us know in the comment section down below. If you enjoyed today's video, give it a thumbs up, give it a like, and don't forget to subscribe.