Swimmers unite!

[aristocat]

Any swimmers still here?

There were quite a few of us last year, just wondered if you are still here. I still go 3 or 4 times a week and love it :)

GoingtoBedfordshire - well done. I have similarly been inspired and have been looking at Youtube videos of breast stroke turns and working on improving my technique. I may be brave enough to have a go at freestyle tumble turns if the pool's quiet enough one day but it was crazily busy today and I only managed half a mile. Still, I've not been for 2 weeks because of a snotty cold, so not too bad for easing myself back into it.

As a way of boosting us back up the threads and because I've just been in the pool after a week off with a cold, I need to share that I am now built like the proverbial 'brick shit house', as we say 'oop north. I went in the hair drying bit of the changing rooms in my cossie and realised why most folk leave the fast lane before I've even started. That's not a stealth boast as I'm not that quick, but I seem to have developed lat and trap muscles and shoulders like a navvie.
If I flex them, it's bloody frightening. I have been upping my swims and doing kettlebells so I guess it's obvious why. I've been sent a training g plan for my trip in April and I have to up my swims to at least one 3 hour swim a week and two one hour fast swims. 3 hours will even test my boredom levels (I'm thinking 400 lengths)and I think I'm going to need to widen my doors at home - has anyone else got a 'built for comfort not for speed' swimming body instead of a beeootiful elongated fast sprinters shape? I think I'm heading for a job as a bouncer at the moment.

Oh and I can't tumble turn to save my life - I end up facing the wall or staggering around with water up my nose, lost

I am definitely NOT built like a brick shithouse. I am still built rather like the Michelin man

I swam 56 lengths in just under an hour this afternoon, then I had to get out for a wee so stopped slightly earlier than I wanted. I did wonder at that point how often people must just wee in the pool. I don't think I'd notice if someone was weeing in front of me. Sorry to bring down the tone of the conversation

On a more pleasant note I lengths of front crawl breathing on both sides! I never normally manage to breathe on my left, I usually stick to my right.

I don't think you can wee and swim at the same time (always glad to lower the tone ). I have to stop if I'm in the sea and it's common and polite practice in groups to make a 'W' sign on your head I dream of weeing in the pool when the miserable ironman is behind me....

If you're doing markedly different numbers of strokes per length, then it does suggest your stroke isn't that even - assuming you're swimming steadily, and not sprinting on the 22-stroke lengths or whatever.

kaizen, I have never ever encountered this, make a w sign on your head .
3 h swim???? Wow!!! Do you listen to music while you swim? A book?
No, not built like a brick house, but I've grown boobs since I got back into proper swimming. Which is a bit disconcerting given that I had nothing for about 25 years or so and I'm fast approaching 'everything's going south' time (kids herself, been there a while now).

happy, not sure about importance of number of strokes, but it doesn't quite sound right if they are wildly different. Don't worry about how many you do for a while and maybe focus on something else (breathing, point of entry, whatever you feel hinders you)?
I do a sort of HIIT, but not following anyone's sets, I just do really really fast laps in the middle of my usual set.

Down with an awful cold atm, so no pool for me, but DH very kindly surprised me with a new pair of Aqua Spheres. They're still the best goggles I have ever found :)
Couch surfing for me this weekend, gave a good one everyone :)

Hope those with colds are back in action soon. It is rubbish not being able to go.
Definitely noticing an improvement in stamina and speed the more regularly I go. Am really lucky in that I can swim the main pool whilst the dc have their lessons in the teaching pool on Saturdays. Managed 40 lengths in 25 minutes today. Definitely wasn't doing that a month ago.

Very envious of anyone who can watch a video and then put what they've seen into action! I've got a course if four lessons booked to tune my crawl and to learn to tumble turn. I must have done a hundred tumbles yesterday but still can't coordinate the turn and pushing off the wall!

Watch country file on bbc tomorrow evening (9th February) for Lake District open water swimming. Lovely people

Thanks for the link always, wonder if it's last weeks ice swimming competition.

I was going to do my big 3 hour session today but I've been invited to the pub instead- easily distracted so I'll do it tomorrow instead!! I had promised myself a kebab on the way home though as that was the only way I could get through it I think (I haven't tried music Dili as I think I need to get through the psychological stuff of long boring sessions).

Happy there is loads of stuff online about calculating your optimum strokes per length based on genetics (wingspan and height). I've got an email somewhere after a Total Immersion workshop I did last year with lots of equations. I'll try and find it later. Mine's 17-21 based on being 5'7" - I can hit 16-17 going slow but it creeps up to 21 if I get panicky with iron men behind me . This time last year it was 25 ish.

I'll try and link a video of a total immersion coach doing NINE strokes per length in a 25 metre pool. And he's fast too.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4InLAsnmKhY

There you go- watch it and weep

That's a beautiful, graceful stroke.

kaizen what an amazing smooth swimmer

My pool closed Friday for repairs to the tiles which have been coming away for months. Not sure what area/s will be open - will go and find out Monday. Apparently they are hoping that a dam can be used to keep half of the main pool open.

It's awful really, there were just one or two tiles off last summer and the problem just got worse and worse. Fingers crossed it will all get finished asap!

That's an amazing clip. When DD2 was in her previous class, her teacher was a completely beautiful, effortless swimmer. She didn't get in very often, but sometimes she'd swim from one end of the pool to the other to collect another child to do their length and could do the ten metres in a couple of strokes. I used to secretly hope she'd get in so I could watch her and try and work out how she did it. (Wonders if she does adult lessons. Hmm.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiNkAMU8syI

As a contrast and cos am a geek this is a clip of Jodie Swallow the ironman champ - she does 90 strokes per minute, which is unbelievable fast over two miles. I really don't like this stroke and I don't like swimming with 'swingers' like that (unfortunate name!!). My aim is to be as fast but smooth.....but it took the other guy on the vid four hours per night (10pm-2am) four nights a week of practice with a video camera constantly correcting each nuance of his stroke to be named 'most elegant swimmer in the world' on you tube. Think I'm destined to be a slightly reformed 'Arnie' - google 'SwimSmooth swimmer types' is you want to see if you fit swimmer 'type' - they are quite good.

arsiticat sorry about your pool- hope it's a quick fix.

Had a lovely swim this morning - either 50 or 54 lengths (I kept loosing count). For the first 10 my lane was empty. Then a lady got in who was exactly the same speed as me. It was perfect we were equidistant from each other for my next 20 lengths.

As the pool got busier two other ladies ended up in the same lane as me and my swimming clone. They were slower but extremely polite and let people overtake as necessary.

Perfect!

Am determined to try to swim like him when I go, later this morning!

for that, Kaizen - really inspirational.

Hello swimmers! :o
this is one of my favourite swimming video's

I'm a lapsed swimmer, I was going 3 x per week in the summer but front crawl was giving me shoulder problems and interfering with my strength training.
I know I should work on my technique, mastering bi lateral breathing would be a start.

I've been thinking about getting back to it, even if I just focus on breast stroke swimming is so therapeutic.

Suzanne that video is amazing - the underwater shots of her body moving are so graceful and makes me want to learn breastroke now...

I did my first 3 hour, 400 length, 6 mile extravaganza on sunday - i was thinking "whoo-hoo- look at me effortlessly gliding along" then i realised i'd only done 6 lengths. i was okayish for 250 (ive done 200 before) and i did it in blocks of 50 lengths with a 1 minute break in between each set. I had to give myself a positive talking to at 300 and the last 50 were bloody awful. i had 2 energy gels, one banana, and very wrinkled fingers at the end. Problem is i've got to do it every weekend now and it takes up half the day - i'm bribing myself with a kebab next weekend. I swam with two nice women at one point though, and shamelessly asked if i could 'draft' them for a few easy lengths

400 lengths Kaisen, wowser I'm in awe!

the most I've swum is 130, you must be a very efficient swimmer...do you not have any shoulder/neck problems from so much front crawl?

Touch wood- no problems yet. I'm trying to use my core and kick to move, rather than pulling but it's not easy yet. I used to get neck ache as I lifted my head too much but I finally learnt to 'drop it' a few weeks ago and rest it in the water instead of holding it. I can now sort of go all relaxed when I get tired but I mainly just try and streamline and reduce drag. To be honest, I think your body just gets used to 'holding' a swimming position after a while, and this time last year I was only doing 1km.

It sounds as if you also built up to it...I went from no swimming at all for about 7 years to 100+ lengths per session 3x per week, obviously a dumb idea

Yep- But first sport I've ever been sensible in!!

Over a year I went from 1km per week to a couple of times a week, then 3 times, then 2 x1km +1 long swim of a mile(!!) then 2x65, up to 100 3 times a week and now I'll do two one hour faster sessions and one 3 hour one until April. Not sure after that as I've got two shorter sea races of 1 mile and 2.5 in the summer. I do a lot of core work as well and upper body training, and yoga but I don't have family pressures so I can fit it all in at present.

I cant see me getting to racing standard but I can see that yours is the better approach.
I may try fit in a short swim once a week after a heavy leg training session in the gym, then I should be too tired to want to overdo it in the pool.

It's the post swimming euphoria that I'm really after and I'm not sure if weight training followed by a short swim will deliver the same 'hit' as a long swim