swimming for fitness

[HoppityFrogs]

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

Hi...I swim two or three times a week, I usually do 1k and then go to the gym.

I yes Kanye this lot are amazing. I'm still struggling with 700m, don't think I'm a natural swimmer as I wring it out of myself every time.

Please don't let our monthly distances balk you, I've only tracked my distances (and indeed actually swim them) since July, which was 1000 total.

Every single swimmer starts at the bottom. This time last year I could only swim 50m in one go

I can comfortably swim 100m front crawl in one go straight from cold, and then more when I'm very warmed up and in The Zone™

Keep swimming!!! It clicks eventually I promise. Yeah you have to put effort in, slow, regular and frequently and it will happen.

Shotgun... next time you're in the pool, can you indulge me a bit and try something?

Allow yourself an hour, swim non stop for your 700m, alternate front crawl and an easier stroke so you can recover your breath etc, then once you have hit the 700m take the next lengths length by length and pay attention to how you feel, if you feel you can go for another length, go for it, take it slow and see how far you can get.

Honestly, it is only in the last 6 months I feel I have become a swimmer.
I started doing 50m crawl, 25m breast and 25m recover on back. Would have a break after this and then repeat until I'd done 30 swimming. I couldn't breathe, got the most horrendous calf cramps etc.

Just checked: June 2016, my first logged swim. 34mins, 656 yards at 4.34 mins/100yds

This week: 29 mins, 1094 yds at 3.01 mins/100yds

I was going about 4 times a week at first but now I try and do 2 cos I am running.

Maybe try time instead of distance.
I try to swim 2x 50 minute sessions a week. Or some combo of sessions that adds up to about 90-100 minutes. That's plenty on a regular basis.

Some of the rocket swimmers do 10 lengths like missiles then stop & natter for ages. I just keep plodding on, only stopping to let the rockets by or fiddle with my goggles. I bet we swim the same distance at the end of the session.

I have a similar problem in running. Some training programme says "Run 10 miles or a maximum 60 minutes, and no more than 70% of maxHeart Rate". 60 minutes is less than 6 miles for me when I run hard, & if I ran below 75% of maxHR I'd cover less than 5 miles in an hour! Then I know I'm slow. But what can I do? I'm working as hard as I'm supposed to, the body just doesn't have the talent. No shame in that.

There's an interesting question about whether it's distance you want to aim for anyway! Dds coach has suggested I do much harder swimming so a couple of lengths at full want to die speed on 2min intervals (36m pool) repeat 6 times. If I do that I will be way more knackered than if I swim 3 times that distance at my normal speed!!

In running I do mainly run to distance, but there is a great benefit in just running to time. Time on feet, forget the pace, focus on form. Especially useful when I was marathon training.
I think those transfer to swimming.

In running I do mainly run to distance, but there is a great benefit in just running to time. Time on feet, forget the pace, focus on form. Especially useful when I was marathon training.
I think those transfer to swimming.

Hissy a whole hour?? Really?! I only have about 40 mins at most as I swim after dropping off DS at school. Could give your advice a try for the time I have available though - thanks.

You wouldn't need a whole hour Shotgun 40mins would be doable... The man thing is to swim and keep moving for at least 20mins and once you've got past 600m or so, things should start to get easier.. You notice it in flashes of a coule of good strokes, keep going and the whole length gets like that.

That said, today I struggled, it was really hard slog.. Ended up hitting about 1100m and then enough. So did some tempo training of a couple of hundred metres. Think I'm nursing an underground cold.

Thanks Hissy, that makes sense. Of course, I'm about to be away for a week so will be struggling a bit when I get back.

Welcome mantis.

I've picked up another cold so didn't feel up to swimming today (was off in early Dec with a lurgy too). Boo! Our morning sessions are Mon, Tues and Thurs so I may manage Thurs. Very frustrating.

Please don't any of you get dispirited by distance, speed etc. I started swimming in about May / June. I was moderately fit from running but in my first session I did 26 lengths in the slow lane stopping often (I think I took about half an hour). I built up to being good enough for the medium lane, then 30 lengths, then 40 lengths, then 48 lengths (a mile in our 33m pool) and finally up to 50 lengths (48 seemed a bit of an arbitrary number) or 52 if I've lost count!

Kanye I use SwimTag that comes with my swim membership as a swim tracker. I've done a screen shot of some of what shows up on my computer for info. You wear a blue watch-like thing on your wrist, hand it back at the end of the session and usually by the time I get home there is an e-mail saying that my swim has been uploaded.

oh lordy.....I am falling asleep at my desk (late conference call).
I do want to go for a swim, don't I? I don't want to put my jammies on and catch up with Silent Witness do I?

Go Swim you Naughty Girl, Go!!

That's very fancy, Singing, absolutely no chance of high tech round here! I don't really want to shell out £30+ for a little finger clicker thing, but I think its my only option.

Did you go for your swim, Rights? I was incredibly tempted not to go tonight, it's miserable out, but I was glad once I started.

I did about 40 lengths tonight. I was hoping to do more, but three people joined my lane after I'd done 16 and honest to god, I just don't have the patience for other people. I'm absolutely a slow swimmer, but I plod along consistently, swim, turn, swim, turn. Maybe a 10-15 second rest every 10 lengths. They were stopping for a chat every 2. At one stage the three of them were lined up against the wall so I could shoot them and there was nowhere for me to touch off. Ffs.

I'm going to have to do a pro and con list of the two local pools and decide which one is the less annoying to join, as I'll be bankrupted paying by session as I am now.

I swim about 40 mins 4 x a week and do a kilometre, generally, each time. Interval training is the way to go - every third, fourth or whatever you can manage, length, you swim flat out like there's a shark behind you. Then you have 20 seconds or so to catch your breath then go again, slowly or medium, for another 3 or 4 or whatever, lengths.

Works for me. Well it did, until I got a stinking shitty cold - I've been flat out of the sofa for almost a week and frankly can't even walk up the stairs without gasping for breath. so I'll be back in the pool on 50-meters-and-die routine.

Of course I went, even though my 17 yo was sitting down watching Silent Witness with sofa snacks!
Ladies night. 4 of us in fast lane, 2 of whom were side by side chatting, but were courteous in letting us other 2 do lengths.

1 Km this morning in 30 mins...really need to go faster :-(

Get well soon, Bucking. I've had a cold since Thursday and feeling lots better today. Should be back in the pool this Thursday.

Well done Rights and Petra. What do you measure your swim on Rights? Kayne, if your pool doesn't provide Swimtag I've seen others (Hissy maybe?) here mention Poolmate (www.swimovate.com/). I couldn't justify getting one when I get Swimtag for 'free' but being able to see your lengths as you do them did sound appealing (it is why I often do two more, unsure whether I've really done my target number!).

By the way, has anyone tried the Swimovate shampoo? I've just seen it on their website when I was looking up the swimming watch for Kayne.

I got my first swim tracker from eBay, it cost me £15!

My lovely boyf bought me a Garmin Swim at christmas, although I will have to get a poolmate2 if I want to track sea/lake swimming if we get to go away on holiday...

I have found a new app, Swim.com - so far so good, it picks up from Garmin Connect too and you can connect with other swimmers :D

I didnt swim last night, this cough is vaguely bothering me and im a little wheezy, so not risking it..

I managed about 1250 on Saturday, but it was a hard slog, i need to get this cough gone and then dig deep and step it all up again.

Will go on Weds as the pool will be quieter, then have lesson on thursday and swim on Sat. Will drag lovely boyf with me to that too.

avocado
I just manually upload my activity to strava, which I use to log (via gps watch) my running as well, so I get a weekly round up.

Back in the pool this morning. Trying to think carefully about my front crawl so as not to hurt my shoulder again. I think I may have been pushing a bit too hard so was trying to be a bit more gentle with how my arms entered the water (interestingly it only made me about a minute slower than usual).

How is everyone today?