swimming for fitness

[HoppityFrogs]

I've started swimming to get fit, does anybody else swim for fit? Can we encourage each other?

Having been flippant about lifeguards (above) I've just heard from my neighbour that a lifeguard at the local pool was a hero last night. A man had a heart attack in the pool and he rescued him and performed CPR until the helicopter arrived.

This is a very informative and inspirational thread. It's so lovely to read everyone's progress, am very impressed

After aching for months, I've been told I have impingement whatever that is in my shoulder and attempting swimming is on the banned list for now.
Gives me longer to find waterproof swim pants I guess...

Sorry to hear about your duff shoulder married. Will you be having physio? I've had neck/shoulder pain for years, diagnosed first with an 'impingement' in the neck and eventually, after numbness and tingling down the arm, tendonosis, bursitis and bone spurs in the shoulder.
Thought it would never go away, but my physio (latest in a long line) sent me to their strength and conditioning coach, who's helped me get much stronger and I can swim without bringing on sleepness nights through pain.
Have tentatively started looking into 'mind-body' stuff as well (not the woo kind!). Happy to pm you if you're interested.

That sounds dreadful Shotgun! Glad you've found someone who knows what they're doing. Have just had keyhole knee surgery so started having physio on that and awaiting a separate appointment for the shoulder. Already getting the insomnia inducing dead arm. Feel free to PM me, am open to anything that might work!

singing yeah, ti course is tomorrow! Trying not to think about it because I'll get nervous (ex agoraphobic), but I know I can tell myself honestly that I can swim and my technique is there, and all the fine tuning I've done this last week or so means I'm much more in touch with all the individual parts of my body so can adjust them with instruction.

If you have access to a technique session you should definitely see what they can do for you. The smallest observation can make the most massive of changes to how we actually swim.

I also realised that my hypermobility meant that I overstretched on back stroke, so legs were down.

So have straighted my back, effectively dropping my bottom a little in the water and there it is, bubbling toes and it's all so easy! (Well... you know what I mean..)

Reporting a 1200m swim this afternoon, just after a run.
Took me a while to get into it as I've not been swimming as much now I can run again, but I got there and it was good. Nearly took my head torch (which I use for running at night) instead of my goggles!

Total immersion workshop.

Where do I even start? Absolutely transformational! I never thought I'd be able to really do it, but there is video proof that I just did.

I'm tired today, but that's more to do with a late night and long day today, but I'm back in the pool tomorrow for a bit of quiet practice.

We started off with 100m warm up of conventional stroke, then they filmed us for a starting point.

We practiced supermans, skates, weight shifting, arm positions etc and then we swam 100m at the end of the first 2hr session

It was genuinely the easiest 100m I have ever done! Breathing was absolutely normal (and we'd not even learned to incorporate breathing) it was as if I'd pottered from one end of the pool to the other.

The second session we did more arms and breathing. The video at the end, we were told to state our focal point for what we wanted to get out of the swim. The video of me swimming total immersion was amazing! And as Tracey Baumann said so! :) it was true! Apart from a tense hand and head, the body line was perfect.

I now have to practise and commit this stuff to muscle memory, and then return to a ti coach at some point to check all is good and eventually I'll tackle speed etc

The people on the course were amazing! We had a great time!

Could not recommend ti more highly! It will transform my swim life, no doubt about it!

Hi there, can I join your swimming chat? I was a dreadful swimmer growing up and just got back into it last year when I decided I wanted to do triathlon. I'm upping my game considerably for next year and will be doing a full ironman (did a half and a few olympics this year) so got a lot of swimming coming my way. The bike and run come pretty easily to me but I'm having to take swimming lessons and am
Getting pretty bogged down in the whole thing. Think I'm going to need some emotional bolstering from time to time! I use swimtag too at my pool. It's really great until I have a bad swim and then I tear my stats apart when I see how crap I've been.

Swimming is really hard! It's ok to find it tough going!

I learned that water is 8x more resistant than air, so fighting against it means it's going to wear us out way earlier than we wear it out!

You will get there, my fit mad colleague says that as long as you get to the end of the sector, doesn't matter if it's on your front or your back. You still go the distance

You have achieved so much, have some fabulous goals too! Keep going!

Have a look at total immersion, - lot of triathletes do it. Principles are used in conventional competitive swimming too.

Off googling total immersion now. Back from another disheartening swim and my ears are so blocked with water I can't hear the dc shouting at me! I shall stay in a bubble for a little while longer.

I want to swim but I have highlighted hair that is my pride and joy I used some boots protective conditioner on it the last time I swam but it did nothing and my hair just felt dry and slightly off colour afterwards.

Welcome, cottonsandlinens and Fandangulous. Sounds like you are doing really well cottons. I couldn't do a triathlon so give yourself credit - and slack - for achieving so much. Fandangulous I have no idea what happens to highlights with chlorine, but as you may have read on here I'm a fan of SwimSpray. Having been sceptical I really think it does break down the chlorine and is worth getting (I promise I don't have shares!).

Hissy really impressed at Total Immersion. I've looked it up and nobody that near me offers the courses. So maybe for now I should book myself into the swimming technique lesson at the leisure centre. I can't seem to shift my mile swim much below 35 mins (I have been fighting a sore throat so maybe a touch under the weather).

Newbie to this thread

DC are teens and I feel like I'm starting to slowly get my life back and commit to do doing something for me...

I'm thinking about swimming.... I have never been a strong swimmer, I can only swim breaststroke and backstroke. In recent years the only times I have been in the pool is with the kids and can't remember the last time I did a length of the pool. I seriously do not think I could manage a length now.

Swimming appeals because of the benefits to body and mind. I suffer with depression and I am overweight But there lies part of the problem, I look hideous in a swimming costume, there is no hiding like I currently do in my baggy jumpers!

I am thinking of adult swimming lessons??

Mumma, who cares what you look like? You're swimming, right?

I am overweight - evidence above - but it's shifting and I'm getting there

Swimming is hard work, but so satisfying and so addictive!

Sign up for the lessons because you want to do something for yourself, use the time to put everyone else and everything else out of your head and focus on the calm blue peaceful isolation of not drowning the pool

Commit to a course, make sure you go, the kids can sit poolside and wait if need be, (mine did for a while) and start taking your life back.

It's so empowering

Which part of The U.K. are you in Singing?

If you manage to grab a day, a workshop is the best way of learning everything quickly and then drill

I'm just trying to remember what I'm supposed to be doing so I can commit everything to muscle memory and then pull it all together

www.swimsmooth.com/certifiedcoaches

Try this link too? It's different to TI, apparently, but achieves similar results

I have asked someone who trains with them what the diff is.. will let you know

Or you can join the same fb group

ZeroTo1mile

There are swimmers who swim miles and miles... a flaming day! not bitter and they are amazingly supportive to everyone!

There are lots of adult lessons at my local pool, group or indiv. Just ask.

singing here is the response...

"If she can already do a mile the consistent training of Swimsmooth will work well. It is based around first finding your critical swim speed and using this in training. 1 endurance sessions at slower than CSS. 2 shorter swims at faster than CSS. Then technique work. It's more conventional and has a clever way with what swim type you are. Swimsmooth people often don't like Ti and vice versa but I love both and also Adam walker which could be a suggestion too"

Thanks Hissy, you are right, who cares what anyone thinks. Also you don't look overweight in the photo you posted. The water will come out when I get in the pool!!

I've requested to join the Facebook group you mentioned

Hello all, joining as I used to swim daily as a student, then a little later on, but haven't found my rhythm since having kids. Starting a new job next year which has a pool nearby so I plan to make use of it!

Thanks Hissy, I'm in West Sussex. Looks like the closest TI is Fulham or Chichester and closest Swimsmooth is Richmond. I guess as a full day it would be doable (I'd need to take leave from work, of course).

Welcome Mumma. You can do it (and sounds like you deserve it too)! Find a swimming costume you feel comfortable in and go for it (I like the boyleg costumes). You think everyone is watching you but I've realised that nobody really is. They are focussing on their swimming. We are a supportive bunch here too! Lessons might be good for your confidence initially, but you could also try the slow lane, where there isn't any pressure on you, and see how you do. Best of luck!

Hadn't refreshed the page and I'd missed the last four comments – sorry! Really appreciate you asking about Swimsmooth for me Hissy. I will certainly look into both. Welcome OnceMore.

The Chichester coach is the same coach who ran our session last weekend.

We had a woman come up from Brighton, some from Kent too.

The workshops are usually on Sundays as far as I can tell

Sounds fantastic Hissy. I notice the website says they can help swimmers at all levels, but I'm imagining everyone being fit and capable of at least a kilometre.
I'd love to be more efficient though; then I could forget about technique and staying alive and just enjoy the swim comfortably, hopefully adding didtance and getting stronger. Think I'd have to travel about 90 mins to get to a coach - maybe one day!