Page 29 | Swimming for fitness (part 2). Jump in!

rightsofwomen · 2017-03-15T09:05:58+00:00

We've filled up the first Swimming for fitness thread, so here is the new one. Everyone welcome.

bruffin · 12/07/2017 08:59

Im in Stockholm at the moment , lots of people swimming off the shore and islands but dont have time for a swim, also wonder how cold it is.

CMOTDibbler · 12/07/2017 09:37

Its not as cold as you think Bruffin - at least thats what my Stockholm customers tell me when we've talked about it. I love Stockholm btw - my favourite hotel, the Stallmastaregarden is next to a lovely lake.
Am v jealous of the med!

At our pool, the 'free' area you go up and down and have to look out for everyone else - people can go across, play, do aqua jogging or whatever. The 3 lanes, you do the circle as indicated at the ends. The lifeguards rarely intervene unless someone goes and complains tbh, but one day in general swimming the manager did tell someone they'd get chucked out if anyone else complained as he was swimming over people.

River tonight at my favourite location which will be lovely - we start at a lovely 16th century stone bridge and go upstream from there - no houses or anything to be seen once we leave the bridge

SkiBike007 · 13/07/2017 19:29

Had good quiet lunchtime swim in the outdoor pool, the heavy grey storm clouds scared everyone off it was lovely and quiet for a nifty half hour before back to work frantically finger combing my hair as I forgot comb & hair bobble!

Original poster

rightsofwomen · 13/07/2017 22:06

Swam out to the buoy and back. No idea how far. About 500m I imagine. Saw little fishes. Drank LOTS of salt water.

Could get used to this!

OP posts:

SkiBike007 · 17/07/2017 22:03

Did a good solid 40min swim tonight, focusing a lot on technique but enjoyed it, after an enforced day at home with DD off school with a bug. Hopefully it's not catching with school hols about to start fitting the exercise in becomes more challenging!

CMOTDibbler · 18/07/2017 08:04

I may have just entered a 5km swim challenge at the lido in October . This will be fun - if I can do that, then my dream of doing the Oxford lock to lock next year is realistic. On Saturday night I'm doing a 2km in 1 hour in the dark swim so have ordered glowsticks to go with my new lairy swimming costume

Am proud of ds, as he did 1.5km continuously with me on Sunday for no greater reward than cheesy chips. Tonight he's agreed to come and watch me at the lake (DH is away) and is thinking about whether he'd like to swim there

SingingAvocado · 18/07/2017 21:27

More shouty people in the free lane today. This time the man being shouted at very calmly told the other man that it was no way to talk to him, that he apologised for getting in the way, and that everyone needed to get along at a public pool. Shouty man didn't bother to reply but set off on another length. I gave the other man a thumbs up and said I hoped he'd come back.

Anyway got my 2km done in 40mins again. Had to wait lots today for people to get clear so I wouldn't crash into them which was frustrating – a 'messy swim' I call it. Not sure whether it is better doing that or being the one giving way to everyone else in the fast lane! I certainly swim faster trying to keep up in the fast lane …

How do you accidentally sign up to a 5km CMOT? Good on you!

Igottastartthinkingbee · 19/07/2017 12:57

Wow singing where do you swim? Never had any shouting at a pool!

I'm still plodding on, had issues with my goggles the other night, just couldn't get them to stop leaking. My normal goggles so god knows why I couldn't get them to fit. Took me 14 mins to swim 400m sloooooowwww! Tri club swim tonight, I've found my natural position is to be at the back. Hoping I don't hold anyone up tonight, how can I get faster?!?!?! I think the issue is that I don't have a strong core or much arm strength. Legs are fine. Couple that with dubious technique equals someone who's much faster at breaststroke than crawl!

CMOTDibbler · 19/07/2017 13:21

I had that with my hat the other day Igotta. For no apparent reason it wouldn't bloomin stay on which was annoying.

Avocado - well, it was a FB advert, and I started thinking 'I could do that', then there was a 50% off code.. and then I had entered!

SingingAvocado · 19/07/2017 13:21

I'm in West Sussex. This is the first I've seen of it, but it has been twice in two weeks! Perhaps we've got new people who are just training for a specific summer event and are less tolerant than the regulars. It is very unpleasant though.

I've also had goggle trouble recently ThinkingBee. I was wondering whether it was a sign that my usual goggles are getting old. Sometimes they are fine, but sometimes it takes several lengths and a lot of fiddling to get them right and not letting in any water. I think speed develops over time too. I've been swimming 'seriously' for a year now and haven't really made changes but have just sped up gradually with more practise!

bruffin · 19/07/2017 15:34

cmotdibbler
I did something similar when i did the swimathon in april, i saw an advert at the local pool and before i knew it i had signed up.
Took me 2hrs 29 minutes for the 5k in April

Igottastartthinkingbee · 19/07/2017 20:55

That was brutal!! Swam over 60 lengths tonight with the club. That's the most I've ever swam by a long long way! I guess it's what I pay for because I would never have done that off my own back. Just the last set I skipped a 50m because I could feel that I was starting to swim badly as tiredness set in. I. Am. Broken. Fact.

SkiBike007 · 19/07/2017 21:35

Well done bee sounds brutal hope the body isnt too sore tom.

SingingAvocado · 20/07/2017 09:48

Well done Bee – how are you feeling today?

Igottastartthinkingbee · 20/07/2017 12:12

Slept well last night! Can feel it a bit in my shoulders and weirdly my knee is aching. What's that all about?

SkiBike007 · 20/07/2017 21:13

Had a frustrating splashy swim tonight I tried hard not to get annoyed with 2ladies taking up 2/3of wide lane, chatting one was walking backwards so she could talk to the other!!! FFS, I ended up walking at one point as I couldn't get round them & she glared at me ...(in my head I was thinking if you want to chat go sit in the frigging cafe!! It's a SWIMing pool!..it really does my head in the "chat whilst we swim 2.5 abreast" thing). the other lanes were full of splashy blokes but I did race one my breaststroke kept pace with his frontcrawl much to my delight as puffed next to me in his lane. My slow looking breaststroke is surprisingly fast it just doesn't look it as I glide a lot.

TheMShip · 21/07/2017 10:36

Well done, bee Hard slog and you've earned the rest.

Ski ah, you're one of those efficient breaststrokers! Drive me nuts, you lot do, making it look so easy while I plough along with front crawl.

Going for a lunchtime swim today, really looking forward to it.

Hissy · 21/07/2017 11:54

Well... Apologies for being a bit MIA, life is a bit bizzy at the moment what with DS finishing primary and stuff..

After our trip to Masters last sunday, boyf and I agreed it had been a little on the comfy side, so decided to go to local pool for a public lane session. Have not done this for AGES, as we've only had time to be in the masters sessions or in a lake/river etc.

Nothing like feeling superior to boost your swim :D

there were loads of potterers in the lanes, some very splashy but completely ineffective blokes, and as it was monday it was not too busy

When I started masters, I really suffered mentally, feeling that I was not good enough and sure enough, a couple of weeks into joining, Boyf was also suffering from a real crisis of confidence. I realised that he was rotating from the arm, not the shoulders/trunk/core and that has really boosted him. Have to say the stress headaches I was suffering have stopped too now so a good shout to go there and just take things slowly, practice techniques and drills.

Last night we had more evil arm drills, but OMG what a transformation!! I have finally discovered that last movement of the front crawl pull where the arm pushes that final extension and then by focusing more on distance per stroke, using a glide, I shaved another 5 seconds off my 50m pace. Once this becomes second nature I'll save more.

My arms HATE me today...

I am beginning to see how the top of our masters club swims twice as fast as us, and actually I can see how we can narrow that gap :D

SkiBike007 · 21/07/2017 16:02

That's inspiring hissy I've been focusing SO much on getting the breathing comfortable and I now need to work on my arm position and pull as I can see that's the next click I need. Any tips?

Hissy · 21/07/2017 16:26

When you no longer need to remember to breathe, then it's time to work on the next pieces of the puzzle.

Head position - look down, relaxed neck means your head floats and is supported by the water

This helps your legs position- just under the surface so you can bubble kick and not waste energy kicking deeper water, wasting oxygen- engage core to help.

Assuming all the above in place, you're streamlined now.

Working on drills to focus on different parts of the stroke will help you balance and slip through the water smoothly and quickly

Have a look here, some of the drills look horrible, but if you focus on hand entry, then perhaps using fists, you can increase strength of the first part of the catch and pull.

SkiBike007 · 21/07/2017 20:48

That's brill thanks hissy I will really think about those tips.

Igottastartthinkingbee · 21/07/2017 21:23

Thanks Hissy. Just recently discovering the importance of drills. Annoyingly, having been taught originally to be head down my new coach teaches that your head should be looking slightly ahead so your hand is in sight when it enters the water. Why do different coaches teach different things, surely there's a 'best' technique?

Igottastartthinkingbee · 21/07/2017 21:25

Going for a lake swim in the morning. Tri club again. Bit nervous and will have to borrow a manky club wetsuit but I'm hoping it won't matter when I'm in the water.

CorrigansDoorKnob · 22/07/2017 05:57

Hello all, can I join please? I started swimming 2 years ago after signing up for an open water swim. My husband just burst out laughing when I told him at the time!

I had some lessons, joined a couple of squads (including a Masters squad) and did a lots of km's. I've made massive improvements in my swimming in the 2 years. Its the off season now as I live Down Under and I'm looking for inspiration and motivation to keep swimming over the winter.

I love the stories from the lake swimmers - I've only done it once. At least it has the advantage of no sharks...

CorrigansDoorKnob · 22/07/2017 07:03

P.S. Igottastartthinkingbee head position is different for each swimmer. I swim slightly looking forwards as I have good buoyancy at the back end (!), but if you're a lean triathlete, for example, you may want to look straight down to lift your legs up slightly so they don't sink.

I think I was told to look down when I was first learning though, because as a new swimmer its tempting to keep looking up, or nodding your head to each side with each stroke (if you watch in the pool quite a few people do this - it would lead to a sore neck after a while). Focusing on the black line at the bottom would stop you from doing this.