Swimming for fitness (part 5). The pools are open again. Dust off your goggles and dive in!

[TheOrigRights]

We're so busy counting laps we didn't see part 4 fill up!

Everyone is welcome here.

Hello Roller.
I think the weight that crept on you will soon drop off with that amount of exercise. You seem like a good swimmer.

I have Aquasphere Kaiman goggles. I've had other Aquasphere ones and they seem to work well for me. I think it's trial and error with goggles really as we all have different shaped head (and eye sockets?!).

I shall swim today. I have a lovely routine of meeting a friend for coffee and then we swim. It's a good start to our week.

I really need to work on my stroke so I'm not slapping the water with my hand.

Very large man, very small Speedo.

I placed myself in front of him!

Hi all. How's the swimming going?

I've been trying to slightly increase my weekly swim time in the interests of improving stamina, but twice now when I've gone to 45 mins I've ended up with a sore shoulder afterwards and for the next few days. I did nearly 45 mins on Tues, shoulder sore yesterday but only when lifting it up like this <this, see>. It felt ok this morning, so I went swimming, but as soon as I started it hurt again. I was already in so got going but took it easy with several back kick and breaststroke lengths in between.

Anyone else get this? I'm trying to build up to swimming more continuously, I can currently do up to 250m FC before stopping for a short break (02:05ish/100m is my usual steady pace). I vary between 35-45 mins usually and do 1200-1700m.
Any advice on how to work on my stamina without buggering my joints up!?

@Duoswimgo I've just finished my course of TI swimming and there was another swimmer with the same shoulder issue. It seemed to be caused by him over rotating his arm on entry. Do you think you could get someone to record you and see if you can spot an anomaly? There must be something you are doing on one side without realising. It was only very subtle but was causing him pain.

Thanks @seasally 😊
The logistics of getting someone to film me without creeping out the other swimmers might be interesting but I could try! Maybe just a critical observer would do the trick if I can find one..

Actually, I've realised it is both shoulders now, the other is very mild but definitely developed through the afternoon yesterday. So maybe if I saw myself it would only be to realise I'm equally dodgy on both sides haha!

It's nearing the top 'elbow lift out of the water' point mostly. I've been swimming this year in the interests of improving my fitness and strength (which is fairly rubbish but now a lot better than it was!), but before that it was 20+ years ago I last swam regularly - for a club in my teens! So possibly it is just wear and tear on a body still getting used to regular exercise? I'm really trying to think about and fine tune my technique which I thought was pretty good but I'm obviously going wrong somewhere!

I'll give it a couple of days off then crack on.

I'm looking forward to giving our local lido a try soon now the weather is turning, I'm too much of a wuss for the cold water months! Anyone enjoyed a sunny outside swim yet?

This is weird as I’ve had a shoulder issue this week but mine is from doing weights (most specifically push ups). I love weights and swimming but it is frustrating how weights impact on swimming

Oh no Countrylife. I hope it heals quickly and you work out what is causing it.

I am confident that my issue is not caused by press ups..!

It feels 75% better now. I think I'll swim in the morning and ignore it.

@Duoswimgo thank you it’s much better now. I swam with it yesterday and it was fine. I just get a bit frustrated as I can’t swim as far and as fast while doing weights but whenever I google it the consensus is that it should help! I swim one day gym the next then rest then swim, so always a rest day before I swim. I only started with weights in Jan so maybe it will get easier.

i hope yours gets better soon too. I’ve had a ton of flexibility exercises suggested to me on instagram!

I feel a bit like that with running and weights. I feel a bit muscle bound when running and am not as quick. But on the other hand I hope to not get injured. I think it is better for us to do strength work in the long run.

You could also look at the Dynamic Triathlete app - I use the Dynamic Runner one, and there are daily stretch and mobility exercises. They might help. I think I was imagining I would get more flexible but I am not sure I am. But as I've signed up for the year I'll stick with it and it might at least stop me getting even stiffer with age.

I have come across two really good people on Instagram but they are expensive compared with the Dynamic Runner/Triathlete apps which are £7.99 a month. These are both closer to £50 - one is Livinleggings and the other Elevate with Charlotte.

@enchantedsquirrelwood yeah I do do yoga but that’s also taken a hit! It’s only been a few months of lifting so hopefully it will settle a bit . I’m going to try and drink more water to see if that helps

It's so annoying when you try and do good things for your body and look after it and it's like "nah, I'm alright thanks leave me alone, ow ow oww see!?". 🤦‍♀️

Anyway, I decided to ignore that bullshit this morning and went for a swim. Capped it at 30mins but swam 'properly' and feel better for it.

More water is never gonna be a bad thing (within reasonable bounds) Countrylife, I hope you see some improvement soon.

Talk to me about Swimmers Ear.

I have a fungal infection in my ear. Doc says - use these drops and don't swim for 10 - 14 days. He says it's very hard to treat. He thinks it's almost certainly caused by the swimming. Unusually I have pain rather than itch so he thought bacterial until swab results came back.

Swimming very important for my overall health (joint issues etc...) so am fearful this ear problem might curtail my swimming. So do any of you have any tips or wots of wisdom?. Particularly interested in the following:

I bought some ear plugs which were rated highly but wondering if they help.

Is there any ear spray I could use after I swim to clean canal?

I tend to not bother drying my hair with dryer but think I will now

Is there anything else you can suggest. Any supplements? Pain has long gone but I really don't want it back.

I have a condition which means I cannot get water in my ears because of risk of infection. I swim three times a week. I use ear plugs with wings that clip into place and a swim cap with special bits to cover the ears and hold the plugs in place. I have also used a neoprene strap over the cap to keep the water out, but it was uncomfortable.

The plugs and cap seem to work well. I've not had an incident of ear infection since I got them and my ear canals seem dry when I get out of the water.

@Mxflamingnoravera would you mind sharing the brand of hat and plugs. I got some earplugs that I used in shower and I think they are good but not tested them in pool yet. The hat sounds interesting. Thanks

Can anyone recommend a good swimsuit for a curvy swimmer? I've been buying a slazenger cross-back style for years now (photo attached) , popped into sports direct to get a couple more and they've changed the design 😕. I thought I might be able to pick up the old style online but can't find it, so I'm in the market for a new style.
I liked that the old slazenger had a lined front and seemed quite good for those with a large bust. The new style feels like thinner fabric and also looks like the legs are more high-cut, which I'm not keen on.
Thank you, photos of the old style attached

@Secondguess I like the speedo endurance, it has a reinforced chest area and the legs aren't too high cut. I'm a 14/16 and wear the size 18. They wash fine and haven't gone baggy or faded.

I’ve recently got a cross back from zoggs? I have swimming suit issues as have had a mastectomy so need cups. This one has cups but I struggle to get the straps the right length so it doesn’t pull down and make my boobs look very low. Think it’s prob a bit big. I am always on the hunt for the perfect costume for me for this reason. Sweaty Betty used to be good for me but recently they have less costumes with cups.

If anyone has a great costume with cups I’d be very grateful to hear about it!

I seem to finally have the balance of gym and swimming now and quit often take a week off. Swimming is my priority for sure.

I swam the other week with someone who was a coach who was praising my stroke so that’s buoyed me up! She’s also taught me to go much much slower and barely use my legs, if at all. Swimming is now an absolute joy.

Also I was thinking about trying a zip up high neck costume, so that I could not worry about cups . I only have one breast, but it’s teeny. A normal costume just shows the bust too much but I’m wondering if a zip up to the neck would be more deceptive ? I have seen one somewhere … must remember where !

High neck swimsuit

https://www.zoggs.com/en_GB/cable-zipped-highneck-swimsuit-ecolast-462554

@tizwozliz thank you! The one I was thinking of was actually sweaty betty. It has cups too. But a lot of the reviews say it’s quite high cut in the leg. I’ve also just seen one with lands end which looks quite good too. Think this will be my next design for sure .

I'll say this here as I know you lot will get it...:

To the bloke who got into my lane (which I had to myself) getting in my way as you did so, who fannied around with goggles by which time I'd turned again, then sat on my heels for a length before practically cutting me off and forcing me to stop to turn ahead of me, then got slower and slower, all of which messed up my my timed distance...: Get them damn elbows up, you sloppy prick! Then maybe you'd manage more than a length at the kind of speed you think you are, and be quicker than this knackered 40+ year old woman.

Ahhhh, thanks that's better 😄

@Duoswimgo it's so frustrating when people mess about in the lanes. I just don't get it. My pool is really limiting the lanes for lane swimming over the summer. They are going with a 2 lane and the rest of the pool to be used for 'general swim' aka messing about. You just know the general swim people will hop into the lanes and mess everything up.

@Duoswimgo last Monday the lane swim I go to every week was rammed.
Standing room only nearly. And the number of arseholes tipped over into a number where they become dominant and the lane becomes hostile. Usually one or two idiots in an otherwise civil group can be managed.
I ducked under to the middle lane where you have to deal with wafters and more lack of awareness, but at least I wasn't afraid of being smacked in the face.

I almost witnessed a full on head on collision, not involving a man, but a woman I know who is fast, and was trying to make a point.

Anyway, no lane swim tomorrow - there are only 3 a week which are in the working day over the summer holidays. There are evening ones, but I tend to do other sports in the evening. So ya boo to that. I have my 1k swim down to 1hr door to door which works well in the working day.

@Jewel1968 sorry for the late response, I've been busy with a house sale. This is the swim cap (and ear plugs in separate message)