swimming

Sa2ah
Sa2ah Posts: 45 Member
edited September 29 in Fitness and Exercise
i love swimming and i know it burns up a ton of calories but im so increadably self conscious i cant even bare to swim for more than 10 mins then ill get out read for a little and get back in swim for about 10 mins then i leave....im not huge by any means and my bathing suit covers me really well. infact i have no problem walking around in my bathing suit cuz it covers all my problem areas. im also increadably self conscious about working out infront of people too, but when i go to the gym and if there is anyone there i just ignore them and have my headphones on.

any tips on how i can get over myself would be great.

*note* i was the only one actually swimming

Replies

  • coronalime
    coronalime Posts: 583 Member
    Is it b/c you dont like it that you stop after 10 mins or that you are tired?
  • aapye78
    aapye78 Posts: 24
    I had that problem as well at the pool in my neighborhood but I found a city pool that has 5 lanes and a lot of people use the lanes to just walk in and a lot of people really swim and some likfe butterfy back and forth. I quickly got over my fear because I was just someone else doing what is best for their body. Maybe look into a pool with lanes
  • stc74
    stc74 Posts: 297 Member
    Really, I figure everyone is so worried about how they look, how they are working out etc, they really don't notice anyone else. I have to operate on this idea since I swim very poorly. I CAN swim, but my form is awful. I do figure it burns more calories tho. haven't got my hrm in the water yet. soon i hope!
  • LuneBleu85
    LuneBleu85 Posts: 217
    I'm working on getting back into swimming too. I used to be a competitve swimmer when I was a teenager. I'm body conscious and I also always feel a bit intimidated because things don't seem very well organized at the pool near my house (not always clear where the slow and fast lanes are). I went a few months ago and am trying to get the courage up to try again.

    When I was a competitve swimmer I used to always try to get a good song in my head. I was also very focused on time. I'd swim a length and quickly glane at the huge wall clock that has the seconds on it, so I was always racing with myself and trying to get faster. Hope that helps a little! Best of luck to you! :)
  • TurtleCrush
    TurtleCrush Posts: 80
    Ignore your self-consciousness and just do it. Its fun and you burn calories too. I am huge and no matter what bathing suit I wear you can see my problem areas but I have never let that keep me from swimming. If you still can't just ask a friend to go with you so it can be a social event instead of a trauma. When you are swimming or working out and still self-conscious then just repeat this in your head over and over "I care about myself and my body and I am doing this to better my life". That is exactly what I say to myself when I get anxiety over working out. Hope this helps!

    Big hugs,
    Rebekah
  • bstamps12
    bstamps12 Posts: 1,184
    I swam for 14 yrs before becoming inactive for 2.5 years. Now I do triathlons.

    I can encourage you by telling you that swimmers are a different breed from most people who workout. We really don't care or even notice what others are doing unless you are in our lane and in our way. People at the gym gawk and make you feel awkward but any real swimmer could care less what you look like swimming or how fast you are going. And anyone who isn't a swimmer has no room to judge you for how you swim so you should think of yourself as being better than them. And if you do think someone is watching, you'll impress them more by continuing to swim longer instead of taking a reading break. Plus the more you swim, the better you will get at it, which is even more reason to show off to non-swimmers. (the real swimmers still won't notice in all likelihood)

    Keep it up!
  • Sa2ah
    Sa2ah Posts: 45 Member
    i physically could have stayed in for ALOT longer than 10 min bursts but i felt almost like i was being watched or like i was being talked about :/ i know its all in my head. too bad i couldnt use my ipod in the pool lol

    the only reason i dont look for another pool is because that pool is the 1 for our apartment complex and we payed 150$ to use it for the season. it doesnt have lanes its only 5 feet deep at the deep end.

    i wont get a chance to use it saturday and sunday there will be alot of kids (which will make me feel better cuz there will be more going on around me) so i guess we will see how that goes. i dont want my own mind to take this from me so i plan to just keep going no matter what, just wanted to get over myself sooner rather than later lol
    o well keep on keepin on right?

    thanks for the encouraging words guys :)
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