Any swimmers out there?

mommarnurse

Recently had to give up my beloved running after my tibia was shattered in an incident at work. I have a titanium rod and screws now. I won't be running or doing anything similarly stressful on my legs again until next year some time, so I recently switched to swimming. I found a few websites with lap swimming routines, but wondering what "real" lap swimmers out there do. I go to the Y and there's a 25 meter pool.

deannalfisher

hey! I'm a swimmer (well, rather triathlete) but spend tons of time in the water

there are two routes you could go - traditional lap swimming; but also look at aqua running/jogging (you do it with a bouancy belt and basically run in the water)

depending on length of swim - a simple workout is something like 50m, 100m, 150m, 200m, 150m, 100m, 50m - 900m (you can easily make it longer or shorter depending on what you are looking for on a given day

you can do sets of a distance (so like 10x100m with 10sec rest - this is a favorite of my tri coach and kicks my *kitten*)

there are a few books you can buy that are great for pool-side - because they are made with a water repellant material:
Workouts in a Binder for Swimmers, Triathletes, and Coaches - http://amzn.to/2w1lXWy

BrianSharpe

Another triathlete/runner here......I'm in the pool several times a week (I'd rather be open water swimming but we don't always get what we want)

Check out a site called https://effortlessswimming.com/ they've got lots of drills & tips etc but I'd also second the book suggested by deannafisher.

When I'm just lap swimming by myself I'll mix up the workouts, one day it may just be 10 x 100m with warm up & cool down, other days I'll do a ladder. Outside of coached session I don't tend to do too many kick sets or one arm drill etc (but I probably should) I also tend to do long sets using a pull buoy to mimic the extra buoyancy of a wetsuit but that's a triathlon thing for saving legs for the bike & run.

Be patient with yourself. I found when I first started swimming that it seemed so much harder than running, if you can find a coach for some work on your technique it can make a world of difference (or join a swimming club).

Have fun & take the time to heal properly before lacing up again!

Mezzie1024

I love swimmng. I have to stay out of the water for the next couple months, but come November I'll be back in the pool.

I joined a Masters Swim group at my local college and really benefitted from the coaching and team feel to the workouts.

Djproulx

I second the idea of aqua jogging. Two people in my tri training group sustained injuries during an early spring marathon this year. So, prior to returning to regular swimming and ultimately running, both athletes used aqua jogging as a first step return to training during the recovery process. Good luck.

deannalfisher

also not swimming related - but if you have a physical therapist in the area that has an Alter-G treadmill - it has no gravity, so you can "run" without impact - lots of athletes use it during rehab

deannalfisher

BrianSharpe wrote: »

Be patient with yourself. I found when I first started swimming that it seemed so much harder than running, if you can find a coach for some work on your technique it can make a world of difference (or join a swimming club).

I remember getting in the pool after a long break and even getting 1000m just felt like I might die - I remember the first time I broke that barrier after like 5yrs of limited swimming - now that is like a warm-up

lorrpb

I'm a lap swimmer and I swim laps! I rotate the strokes, but nothing fancy. There are books and websites with drills, etc., if you're interested in that. I never feel sure if I'm doing the drill correctly and they always feel so slow, and I'm a slow swimmer even with just laps.