Just keep swimming...

hi jchadden42! i just joined about a month ago and my main source of exercise/sanity/identity is swimming!! I was happy to see your post. I've been swimming on a masters swim team since 2007 and my weight yo-yo's about 10 pounds up and down. I have always found that calorie restriction/weight watchers work in the short term, but as I age, I find it harder to maintain the endurance and strength in the pool while cutting too many calories.

Currently I swim around 10-15 km a week... that's about 4 practices a week anywhere from 2600m to 4500m per practice. I don't really eat anything special before a workout, and sometimes timing is off and have to go to practice with not enough/too much food in the system!

I started strength training (a sort of crossfit bootcamp) in January 2014 and added that to my repetoire about 2x a week and am now heavier that I've been in a long time. However, my clothes fit better and my body comp is better. I am more tired in the water as a result, so I'm hoping I will adjust at some point and manage to swim faster.

Since you can swim three strokes, have you considered swimming with a team? Pace times for sets and camaraderie in the pool can really push you. Also, there are a lot of swim workouts available online.

Do you plan on doing a tri? I am a fairweather runner and can't really manage more than 5km

I have to thank one of my 12 year old twins for making me swim. We've started up again in the last two weeks.
I do 2 or 3 days in a row about 30 - 45 minutes each day. I swim while the kids play. I do find I am eating more, I hope it evens out.

I wish I had somewhere to swim I'd much rather swim than run!

I've been trying to find a good place to swim that doesn't break the bank for the last couple of months.

I'm debating just going to the beach after work and swimming out there, but it seems riskier, and the southeast corner of Lake Michigan isn't the cleanest place to swim.

Does anyone here have experience swimming out in (moderately) open water rather than a pool on a regular basis? The lakeshore is less than a mile from my office, so there isn't much stopping me besides my own laziness and mild fear of getting a cramp 100 yards out.

I'm a swimmer, not a great one and I'm sure my technique needs work but I try. 3x a week, in the pool, for 40-60mins at a time, always breaststroke. I tend to swim early morning or midday so I try to make sure I have a meal lined up for pretty soon after. Generally it doesn't make me as famished as it used to, though there are the odd days when I could eat my goggles I'm so hungry when I get out. It is definitely my favourite cardio as I have quite weak joints (ankles/knees/hips) which is probably a mixture of hereditary issues and being overweight. I had to miss my session today as the pool is closed for the Bank Holiday, can't wait to get back in tomorrow.

I love to swim. I have gotten the best out of being in a USMS-affiliated group. I like the way they create a variety of different kinds of workouts and it's good to get some feedback on technique.

I did read something about swimming giving you the munchies, and the tip was to soak in the hot tub or sauna afterward to get your temp back up (being cold makes you want to eat apparently). I don't know whether it's just placebo effect or not, but this does work for me.

This Winter I did my first two swim meets. I am not a sprinter, so I did the longer events, 500 free, mile free, and 200 breast. Honestly 200 breast was more exhausing for me than the mile free.

I never would have had the courage to go to a swim meet by myself, but it was fun to go with my group and cheer for my peeps. Having those events on my calendar was a huge motivator to swim all Winter.

Does anyone here have experience swimming out in (moderately) open water rather than a pool on a regular basis? The lakeshore is less than a mile from my office, so there isn't much stopping me besides my own laziness and mild fear of getting a cramp 100 yards out.

I have done a fair amount of open water swimming. It's good to have a wetsuit for when it is cold. I don't know about your part of Lake Michigan but where I go in July, in Leland, it is very cold and hard to swim very long without a wet suit.

There are groups that organize for open water swims. There is probably one in your area you could google. It is a good idea to have other people around, preferably someone in a kayak or boat, to keep you on course, help you if you're in distress, and (what worries me most) make you more visible to boats.

When I swim in Lake MI I wear a bright pink cap and swim parallel to the beach about 100 yards out - seems to be the best distance for avoiding "beach people" on one side and boats on the other. But I imagine people who are intelligent about safety would say I shouldn't do this alone.

I swim too I go swimming once a week, the day is different every week.
I am not in some kind of club, so I just do it on my own.
I always swim 1.5 km, breaststroke. In the beginning (so in February) it would take me 40 minutes and last week it only took me 35. Now I am focusing on swimming faster without being out of breath and swim at approximately the same speed in the beginning, the middle and the end.
Mostly I go swimming 2 hours after having lunch, I am a student and I have often off in the afternoon, so I am able to do this. Sometimes I also go imidiately after having dinner. But if I go after dinner, I am always a little slower. I also make sure I don't eat too much, just enough to fill my stomach.

There is actually a swimmers' group in the forums that many of us post on, there are a lot of really nice people on there. There are plenty of swimmers here, the more of us that connect the better it is for all of us.....

I try to get to the pool every morning Mon-Fri, but this is the time of year where I start to miss more days because of other stuff going on. I try to alternate my workouts, 1 day being my distance workout (all freestyle) & the other day I take out my 2 longest sets & substitute IM's so I can work on all my strokes....

My long workout is simply a pyramid: 1 set each (all freestyle) at the following yardages: 250, 500, 1000, 1500, 1500, 1000, 500, 250 for a total of 6500 yards. My short workout starts & ends with the same 3 sets on each end, but I don't do the 2 sets at 1500 yards. Instead I do 5 x 200 yard IM's (2 laps or 50 yards each of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke & freestyle), then I do 1 set of a 500 yard freestyle, & then I do 5 x 100 yard IM's (1 lap or 25 yards of each stroke).....

When attempting open water swimming, its important to know your comfort zone and how far you can swim. You have to be able to swim back and you can go out further then you planned, especially with the current.

It is also very very important to know the conditions at the beach, first make sure it is one where swimming is allowed, then find out if there are undertows and know how to deal if you get caught. Also swimmers itch, bacteria levels, jelly fish (ocean).

Wet suits if its cold and also helps with buoyancy.

Swimming in some lakes, rivers and reservoirs- especially in BC or areas with hydroelectric dams, they can quickly change the water level and current. Some may sound a horn but you cannot guarantee that.

I used to love going to the lake and going swimming. I grew up swimming in Lake Erie. In BC you can find some really nice lakes for swimming. Yay no motorboats, but you can also find some really cold ones too (glacier fed)

I get a least one swim in a week. I'm a SAHD and my father takes my son once a week so I get in the pool then. I try to fit in more if the weather is poor and I can't get out on my bike.

My routine is 250/250, 200/200, 150/150, 100/100, 50/50, 25/25 m respectively of Breaststroke/Free, a short rest, then back up the other way. I don't eat, or not eat, anything special before going but get more hungry post swim than after being out on my bike for a couple of hours, not sure what's up with that; maybe someone more cleverer than I can shed some light on it.

I'm happy to accept any friend requests from fellow swimmers on here, fitbit or endomondo, although I only use endomondo for logging my bike rides.

http://www.endomondo.com/profile/15147505
https://www.fitbit.com/user/28SGCZ

Happy swimming folks

I want to start swimming as a part of my weight loss fitness routine. I can swim, as in fun in the pool without drowning - but I don't know any technical strokes. Do I need to find a way to learn the specific strokes for it to be beneficial or can I jump in and go with my own "stroke"? My gym does not offer a swim coach and I don't know anyone who knows technical swimming.

Yep, having lessons to learn front crawl (freestyle) and butterfly. I use pull buoys and floats when I go to the pool alone too. I just can't get my legs to work properly.

About to start open water swimming again, have a wetsuit this year so will be able to stay in the water longer.

I get the hungry thing too, always have felt hungrier after swimming than any other exercise.

I have a massive backside and rack, so I'm fairly buoyant

@Spacebean - which stroke are you having trouble with the kick? If it's butterfly, is it the kick itself or is it the timing of the placement of it in the stroke cycle?

It's the actual kick for front crawl and butterfly, my legs simply do not do what my brain is telling them to do.

My butterfly legs start to drift apart and turn into breast stroke and for crawl, I cannot get the leg kick right at all. I've watched youtube videos, I've read books, I attend a group class. It's very frustrating and I'm thinking of going for some one-to-one coaching, but can't afford that right now. I use a float to practice crawl legs and it takes me about 3 minutes to cover a length and I'm exhausted at the end of one. I am making this much more difficult than it needs to be!

The arms and breathing are great, no problems -- they have to be, I literally drag my carcass up the pool, because my legs do b*gger all. I've used a pull buoy and it's all fine, just the damned legs! :grumble: I think I use it too much actually, as I went swimming the day before yesterday and realised after 2 lengths of front crawl, I hadn't even tried to move my legs!

I started lessons when I could barely swim and have got the hang of the other strokes, but it took a very long time. I did move up to a more advanced class a while ago, but had to go back down to beginners because I was wiped out at the warm up stage if it involved a lot of crawl. So I just do crawl and butterfly in lessons now, but it's still not coming together.

I'd be grateful if you had any tips!