Swimming for fitness (part 2). Jump in!

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

Everyone welcome.

Got to pool, session has changed, there were only 15mins left.. she gave me half an hour and charged me half rate.

850m done in about 23 mins in my nice quiet empty pool

Happy with that!

Welcome Indignatio.

I had a good swim this morning with nobody in the way! I managed 1650m / 1 mile in under 33 mins … well 32m 49s but pleasing all the same!

Home pool is closed again... got there at lunchtime and it's closed

Until further Notice

Will have to go back to the big pool again...

Plus point tho, had lunch with swim friend instead, and she is going to look into remedies for my agoraphobia... deffo worth a go!

How's annoying that your pool is closed again. Did they say why?

I had a lesson this morning, usual instructor was there plus another guyI've not met before. New guy had a useful tip for me. I'm not stretching my lead arm out for long enough. And I'm pulling back through the water too low instead of just tucking it back toward some my body. If that makes sense! Anyway it made sense from a streamlining points of view and I found breathing a little easier too.

Good swim today, the clock at the pool wasn't working so I had to guess when I had swum for half an hour. Ended up doing longer, so it was a good job I wasn't under time pressure.

Music gizmo has arrived, so I need to work out how to use it.

What wound you say was an ideal length of time for a swim?

Hi Can I join in? I try and swim as much as I can squeeze in but need to start upping my game again before my annual Swimtrek in the summer.
On land I love my Fitbit what watch do people use to track their workouts? Looking for something that can be used in the pool and in open water. Thanks

You are very welcome, Kaffiene. What is Swimtrek? I use the Swimtag provided by my pool along with my swim membership. Hoping others will help you with what they use (there was something up-thread or on the previous thread about different trackers too).

Indignatio not idea on the ideal length of time to swim! Since I go in the mornings before work and school I have quite a limited time and do a mile in around 35 mins three times a week (the pool isn't open early on other days). Others on here can swim for an hour or two. I think advice is usually do at least 30 mins of exercise. Apparently 30 mins of swimming is equivalent to 45 mins of land-based exercise!

Hi
For me, 45 or 50 mins tends to suit me. It takes me nearly 20 mins sometimes to actually get in the zone!

I suppose it depends what level you're at ... 30 mins would be plenty if you made sure to include loads of sprints and HIIT stuff and keep a higher pace.

Singing, I'm looking forward to doing a mile in 35 mins sometime :)

Pool appears to be seriously out of action.

My agoraphobia is using all the tricks in the book and I'm just waiting to go later and trying to ignore the banging headache 🤕

I have to go, haven't been since Monday, distance for month is going repeatedly south, but it's soooo stressful! I hate swimming late, I'm tired, hungry and know it will fuck up my already fucked up sleep.

(Have impending "meet the exw" on the horizon too and it's all just too much)

I need to swim, I will swim, but I'm so tired of feeling so stressed about it!

You'll feel better once your in Hissy. I've not been since Monday either. I will go tomorrow.

My good intentions aren't really working out - have been keeping up with the weekly lessons but haven't been at all apart from those!

Well I didn't get to the Stanford pool, but I am at CalTech now so might try their one out this evening.

This may well be a week when I don't swim twice.

Hissy I am sorry you are struggling. Keep talking to us here if it helps. We can give you a hand holding kick up the backside. While we may not be able to empathise, we all speak the truth when we say we know you'll feel better once you're in and for the time afterwards.

indignatio I swim for about 30 mins. When I started swimming it was all about finding what worked for me mentally. A round trip of 1hr worked - a good work out in the same time I can do a good run.
Also, because I was a crap swimmer, having that goal was achievable.

I have pretty much stuck to this and have seen a great improvement, so it works for me.

Bosh! Caltech pool. 25 YARDS long!
Did 39 lengths. Wanted to do 40 but was getting kicked out and needed to end at shallow end as couldn't see ladder to get out at the end I got in (the very deep end).
Outdoors!

I only have 30 to 35 mins too as I go in my lunch hour. I manage about 800 as I'm not very fast. I've been doing some HIIT the last few times which has varied things a bit.

Stanford & Caltech? Blood hell, you move in high circles, RW.

One of my fave pools was an ozone-filtered one at Lancaster university because the water only barely irritated the eyes. I preferred goggles but it didn't matter if they leaked, iyswim.

I'm looking forward to a swim today... 45 minutes? Whatever I can do in that time.

I'd quite like to start swimming again properly, and I think listening to a few podcasts while I'm swimming might be nice. Has anyone investigated waterproof headphones? Thanks all :-)

I linked to a waterproof mpe player above. mustbookadentist they are cheap and work fine, although thinking of upgrading to bone conducting ones

I would love to swim in an outdoor pool. Unfortunately not at all popular here.

3m wide lane to myself today. bliss!

... I looked at finis ? the bone conducting ones. I couldn't make a decision (sorry). Most brands seem to work most the time.

Where is everyone? Busy with easter hols?
I am back from my work trip.

Swam at ladies night this evening. Quite a few younger women in there for a change. All well behaved in the fast lane.
1.1K in 29 mins. Happy with that.

Our (big scary) has changed hands
My friend went there yest and said there was a sign. Pool Etiquette.

Oh yes..

So I braved it, got there about 20m after the session started (as this means the splash and dash lot will have gone..)

But no...

I got in and the pool was EMPTY, not quiet, literally empty, no people, just lanes and water and lifeguards

So my first 300m were just me!!

I told myself that this is unprecedented and needs an unprecedented response.

So I swam, and swam. 2.4k in 1 hour 10,

I may feel like I'm dying tomorrow, but I'm going back... if it's quiet all week, I'll beat this irrational fear and start making progress again.

I did give myself an almighty talking to on the way home...

"You're a swimmer. Not just a person who swims a bit. A swimmer.

To be a swimmer you have to get in the ffing pool and swim. That's it.

Get over yourself, you can swim longer than pretty much anyone in that pool, so you have a right and a need To be there. Claim it, own it"

I went yesterday, got to reception, looked through the window to the pool, saw how full it was and fled.

I will go back today. My shoulder is still sore though even after a week off.

Well done Hissy, own that pool.

Hi, can I join? I went on Sunday fir the first time in 5 or 6 years and really want to get back into goung regularly, though have to work out which pool to join. Was very pleased as did 1600 metres, though it took me most of the hour session. I did get episodes of the rage at times and remembered how annoying a few people can be, it was heaving which didn't help.

Can I ask what shampoo you're all using ? And one of our pools does Swimtag whereas the other doesn't - is it good enough to factor that into my decision? I have a Fitbit Flex 2 which did track my swim as only do breast stroke at the moment. It's not entirely accurate as tracked 63 mins and I wasn't in that long. Also need to get an MP3 player as really missed listening to music as I do when walking.

Best must have been all my lot! :D that is such a shame, especially as you only get to go at lunchtime.

i'm feeling it today, but I am going back tonight.

Mirabelle WELCOME!! If I were you I'd get into the swing and see where you feel happiest, which sessions work best for you. Swimtag is fab, and they now have an app! I rejoined mine last night. They have challenges that you can swim virtually, it makes it all a bit more interesting.

With the breaststroke, are you using the conventional frog/wedge kick? the ASA have recommended that we all adopt the whip kick as it's better for our joints. It's HARD to get the hang of, really hard, but it does make sense to switch.

Perhaps if you can get into adult lessons, this may help you get into the routine and work through stroke development.

Rage. Ahh. I am coming to the conclusion that there are a LOT of Pool psychos out there. Or is it that people are annoying generally bit compressed into our lane and getting in the way of our swim addiction?

I had a girl get into my lane with 10mins of the public session to go, she was clearly there for the lessons which would end my session at 9pm. So she wants to warm up. I carried on and luckily for her she kept out of my way, i know i would not have got the 2500 done realistically, I'd have needed another couple of minutes and it was obvious that I was the last one in.

there was a bloke who eyed my lane, when I was on a back stroke set. He got in and did a fairly scrappy front crawl then a breast stroke, so I did a good 100m front crawl and he realised that perhaps his lane choice was a little ambitious :D

Last week boyf and I swam and there was an empty lane next to us. 2 blokes however got in our lane so it went from us 2 to all of us 4. when there was a clear lane next to us.

We figured out that this was because that lane was designated as Medium, and they wanted to swim in Fast. Ok then.

I was having a bad session, struggled the whole way, but I STILL showed them I was faster than them. Pah! :D

I'm signing up for open water sessions soon, I'm thinking that I'll have the space to enjoy myself and get away from the eejits

I would be interested on shampoo tips, my hair is WRECKED!!