I Just Learned to Swim!!!!!

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Nachise
Nachise Posts: 395 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I had a near-drowning incident when I was about 6 years old, and was terribly phobic about being in water over my head. Shortly after I turned 64, I decided enough was enough. I was suffering from pool envy, decided to change that, and signed up for individual adult swim lessons. Twelve lessons and a lot of practice time later, I am now swimming 50-meter freestyle laps, and was learning how to do flip turns yesterday.

I have a question. I am still building endurance, but I can make pretty decent time on a lap. I still have to pause occasionally to catch my breath. How do I calculate if I am swimming at a leisurely or moderate pace? I usually try to get in at least a half hour to 45 minutes of actual swim time.

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  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
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    Nachise wrote: »
    I had a near-drowning incident when I was about 6 years old, and was terribly phobic about being in water over my head. Shortly after I turned 64, I decided enough was enough. I was suffering from pool envy, decided to change that, and signed up for individual adult swim lessons. Twelve lessons and a lot of practice time later, I am now swimming 50-meter freestyle laps, and was learning how to do flip turns yesterday.

    I have a question. I am still building endurance, but I can make pretty decent time on a lap. I still have to pause occasionally to catch my breath. How do I calculate if I am swimming at a leisurely or moderate pace? I usually try to get in at least a half hour to 45 minutes of actual swim time.

    Call it "leisurely" because the calorie burns on MFP are often inflated (I'd also consider logging less time or only eating back half the extra calories it gives you for the same reason.)
  • Nachise
    Nachise Posts: 395 Member
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    That was my ins
    peleroja wrote: »
    Nachise wrote: »
    I had a near-drowning incident when I was about 6 years old, and was terribly phobic about being in water over my head. Shortly after I turned 64, I decided enough was enough. I was suffering from pool envy, decided to change that, and signed up for individual adult swim lessons. Twelve lessons and a lot of practice time later, I am now swimming 50-meter freestyle laps, and was learning how to do flip turns yesterday.

    I have a question. I am still building endurance, but I can make pretty decent time on a lap. I still have to pause occasionally to catch my breath. How do I calculate if I am swimming at a leisurely or moderate pace? I usually try to get in at least a half hour to 45 minutes of actual swim time.

    Call it "leisurely" because the calorie burns on MFP are often inflated (I'd also consider logging less time or only eating back half the extra calories it gives you for the same reason.)

    Thanks! My instinct as well. It will be a little bit of time before I am swimming like Michael Phelps, but I generally don't eat back all my exercise calories, anyway. My nutritionist and I have talked about how MFP inflates exercise calories, so while I am still in weight loss mode, I keep that to a minimum.
  • DanZiehm
    DanZiehm Posts: 152 Member
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    I swim a minimum of 60 minutes a day, 5 days a week (I usually get in between 250-300 laps a week). The best way to keep track of your calorie burns is to invest in a heart rate monitor. I use the Polar FT7 with a T31 coded transmitter. These are waterproof and specifically meant for chlorine water swimmers. This will give you an accurate time of swim and calories burned. Congratulations on conquering your fear! Keep up the great work!
  • Debbie_Ferr
    Debbie_Ferr Posts: 582 Member
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    First off, congratulations !! Getting over your fear of water, AND doing laps. that's awesome.

    re calories burned, yes, only eat back some of them.

    Better yet, calculate net calories burned. keep in mind, we burn calories even while just sitting /laying down. so to be super accurate, one would calculate the calories burned during the activity, less calories while stationary.

    a 150 pound person burns per hour:

    68 calories lying on the couch
    113 calories sitting
    150 calories standing

    Per:
    http://www.juststand.org/tabid/637/default.aspx

    http://calorielab.com/burned/?mo=ac&ac=07011&ti=Lying+quietly+doing+nothing,+lying+in+bed+awake,+listening+to+music+(not+talking+or+reading)&q=&wt=150&un=lb&kg=68


    .
  • Nachise
    Nachise Posts: 395 Member
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    Thank you!
  • Toronto6fan
    Toronto6fan Posts: 413 Member
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    Amazing job overcoming your fears!
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    I don't have an answer for your question, I just think it is SO TOTALLY COOL that you conquered that life-long fear! SO TOTALLY COOL!!! <3<3<3
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Me too! I agree with the post above!
    Great job!
    Keep going!
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
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    Awesome work, swimming is fun and great exercise.
  • cyndi2012
    cyndi2012 Posts: 65 Member
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    Wow! Good for you! I started adult swim lessons last year to help me train for a beginner triathlon, and now my lane swims are the highlight of my week! I had some fears that I needed to overcome as well so I know how you must be feeling and I think you rock!
  • tess453
    tess453 Posts: 121 Member
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    wow, brilliant! I am signing up for my first super sprint triathlon in May and need to estimate my swim time (200m) but I have no idea! I'm a reasonable swimmer but breast stroke only. I plan to have some lessons to get my front crawl up to scratch. Can anyone help?
  • farmerpam1
    farmerpam1 Posts: 402 Member
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    So happy for you! You're an inspiration, thanks for sharing1
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    Congratulations! ! I have a great appreciation for what you have accomplished.

    I was a baby swimmer myself (apparently it was a thing in the 60s to drop infants in the water . . . ), so when I first started teaching private swimming lessons in my late 20s, it was really difficult for me to empathize with my adult students' fear of water because I never experienced that fear myself, but I very quickly discovered how common and real and absolutely debilitating their fears were.

    I had a few success stories--for which I humbly know I can only take a very small amount of credit. It was the students' own determination that got them over that fear. I was at best a facilitator for their own tremendous journeys.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Congrats! I wish there a pool closer to me.
  • Lydilod
    Lydilod Posts: 135 Member
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    tess453 wrote: »
    wow, brilliant! I am signing up for my first super sprint triathlon in May and need to estimate my swim time (200m) but I have no idea! I'm a reasonable swimmer but breast stroke only. I plan to have some lessons to get my front crawl up to scratch. Can anyone help?

    I did my first super spring triathlon last August and I got my hubby to time me swimming 10 lengths of our gym's pool (20m pool). As for your learning front crawl, sorry can't help, mines terrible. I just watched everyone else and tried to copy. This year my hubby gave me a few pointer about my arm (head will never go in the water) and I've already increased my speed by 14sec.

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