For all swimmers out there...

nereyda08
nereyda08 Posts: 39
edited September 26 in Fitness and Exercise
I used to swim back in high school, and so did my husband. I love to work out on the elliptical but want to get back into swimming. I know I can swim distance, sprints are my problem.

What do you swimmers do?
how many laps?
how long?
etc, etc.?

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,455 Member
    I was on the swim teams in high school and `college.


    Just like in school, work up to distance swims.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,455 Member
    oh, and you can wear your heart rate monitor in the pool (I even wear mine scuba diving) so just set a calorie burn and do it.
  • nereyda08
    nereyda08 Posts: 39
    I have a new balance HRM and it doesn't work :(
    I mean it shows me my heart rate but it never shows me the calories burned.

    I hoping to get a new one/ different brand once I buy my school books.
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
    bump
  • ejohndrow
    ejohndrow Posts: 1,399 Member
    We just did all kinds of exercise. At work we focus on the back, crawl,breast and side stroke. There are times you focus on distance, and other times sprints just like with running. Along with this we used kicked boards to help with strength for legs, and then there are these float things to put between your legs so you can focus on the arms. There are all kinds of ways to practice swimming and use it as cardio.
  • Christieherron
    Christieherron Posts: 115
    I was a Life Guard and Swim Instructor when i was in High School and College, I just got back into swimming about three weeks ago. I am not swimming fast right now i am however swimming for an hour to an hour and a half everyday. it is not about speed it is about getting from one side of the pool to the other for as long as your personal goal is.
  • nereyda08
    nereyda08 Posts: 39
    I was a Life Guard and Swim Instructor when i was in High School and College, I just got back into swimming about three weeks ago. I am not swimming fast right now i am however swimming for an hour to an hour and a half everyday. it is not about speed it is about getting from one side of the pool to the other for as long as your personal goal is.

    I can do that, distance.
    speed I have a problem with :/
  • magneticwind
    magneticwind Posts: 2
    I do a half mile (first four and last four breaststroke the remaining free) on days that I'm biking 20-40 minutes and doing circuits. Sometimes I'll bike only 20, do circuits and then do a 1/2 mile in the pool. I always follow up with 30 minutes of light yoga for stretching afterwards.

    On days that I want a harder workout and have more energy I do 1-2 miles... first /last1/2 mile is breast as a warmup, a breast/free mix for the remainder. Typically on a day for this, I'll either make this my only work out or have warmed up on the bike for 20 minutes. No weights that day.

    As for speed, it vary's.. I pick my speed by resperations needed and listening to my body.
  • lostemt76
    lostemt76 Posts: 136 Member
    I'm big into swimming sometimes do laps breast stroke and free style but takes a lot out of me with my asthma. Got in to water jogging with training fins on to help push a little harder.
  • waterbabeAD
    waterbabeAD Posts: 73
    Although I am an active scuba diver, I am not a fast swimmer - too and from dive boat etc. I only recently got back into proper swimming when I decided to take up triathlon. I am absolutely hopeless with front crawl, so I am currently focusing on breast stroke. I always go for distance rather than speed, and i am finding that over time I am getting faster - mainly through building up endurance and refining my stroke technique. Just by doing a couple of things differently with my stroke I knocked off 6 minutes from my 750m time over 8 weeks. this is my main tip - get a coach to analyse your stroke as this is how I mainly gained time.

    I try to train 2 x per week, 30 to 45/60 mins each session. Short session is in a pool (I try to keep the pace up), longer session is open water (conditions). I am lucky I live by the beach. Distance wise I am up to 800m, aiming for 1.5 eventually so I can take on an olympic/short triathlon.

    My advice is just to get in the pool regularly and see what you are comfortable with. Once you get there, then you can figure out what your swimming fitness goal should be.
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