Swim Using Arms and Legs

I have a problem that when I swim I can’t swim using arms and legs at the same time. I can’t balance both at the same time and I run out of breath quickly. I don't know if this is related but I also can’t do press ups or pull ups, all things which require a balance of the legs and arms. What do you think is the problem and what can I do to change these problems?

Sounds to me like your problem is with your coordination rather than your swimming ability.

If the timing and coordination of your arms and legs are not correct then your swimming stroke will be inefficient which will result in you running out of breath quickly.

The coordination from one individual to another can be very different and as a result one can favour one swimming stroke over another. In other words the timing and coordination of breaststroke is very different that of front crawl. As you have not specified which swimming stroke you are attempting to swim, I shall explain both.

Front crawl is an alternating stroke, in which as the description suggests, as one leg kicks up the other kicks down. As one arm pulls, the other recovers over the water. Therefore the legs alternate and the arms alternate.

Some people find this type of coordination easy whereas others find it quite a challenge.

A good exercise to practice to help break down the coordination is ‘catch up’. Hold a float or kickboard in front with both hands and kick front crawl leg kick. Then add an arm pull, one at a time, where each hand takes hold of the float after each pull, before the next arm pull begins. One arm is not allowed to pull until the other catches up, hence the name ‘catch up’.


This exercise will break down the arm and leg movements and allow your brain to process them. The more you practice them the more they will become second nature.

Breaststroke is a simultaneous stroke where both arms pull at the same time and both legs also kick at together at the same time. Although the arms and legs do not pull and kick at the same time, their action individually is simultaneous.

The timing and coordination for breaststroke is separate arms pull and leg kick movements. The key is to kick and then pull and some people find this type of coordination easier than front crawl.

I am a little confused by your reference to press ups and pull ups as both of these exercises do not require movement of the legs. The may require some static balance of the legs but either way they are not likely to be related to your swimming.

Our best-selling book 'The Complete Guide to Simple Swimming' contains aspects of learning to swim plus over 80 separate swimming exercises to help all parts of basic swimming, including timing and coordination. You can download it, print out the parts you need and take them to your pool to try out. Click the link below for more information.

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