Embarrassed to start swimming

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  • YosemiteSlamAK
    YosemiteSlamAK Posts: 1,230 Member
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    I was also a competitive swimmer growing up and I took several years off from swimming. When I got back in I timed my 50 free, 50 breast (my main stroke), 50 back, 100 IM (I almost died!), 200 free & 200 breast (my event) to get base line times. I sucked, mainly wind, but I had a jumping off point. I started with basic workouts I got off www.usms.org/ I focused on technique over speed, staring with a goal of 1000 yards, now I swim 4 miles at least twice a week. I have dropped all my times and now I do 200 IMs as part of my workout!
  • spartan_d
    spartan_d Posts: 727 Member
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    The vast majority of people that I see at the pool are badly overweight. In fact, most of them don't do much of anything. A lot of them just wade in the water or lie on the pool chairs, for some strange reason.
  • bob108819
    bob108819 Posts: 267 Member
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    I am relatively "in shape" but just learned how to swim correctly 2 years ago in order to do a triathlon. I will never be fast in the water, but I always get a great workout when I go and absolutely love how I feel when I'm done. I have done Masters practices, and I am always in the outside slow lane with the old ladies, and they leave me in their wake. I just keep swimming! I enjoy it :-)
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
    edited March 2018
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    Lol, I'm a fat doggie paddler, and the only comment I ever got was at our apartment pool, when a teenager asked me why I always swam alone, because he was apparently afraid I was on the verge of drowning :D:D
  • 1houndgal
    1houndgal Posts: 558 Member
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    sarahmethvyn wrote: »
    I swam competitively throughout my high school years. I'd really like to get back into it as that was the only excercise I enjoyed. I am nervous to start back up for a few reasons-how out of shape I'll be(I only know workouts I used to do when I was in good shape) and how much weight I've gained since being in the swimming pool last. Any tips to help get me started?
    sarahmethvyn wrote: »
    I swam competitively throughout my high school years. I'd really like to get back into it as that was the only excercise I enjoyed. I am nervous to start back up for a few reasons-how out of shape I'll be(I only know workouts I used to do when I was in good shape) and how much weight I've gained since being in the swimming pool last. Any tips to help get me started?

    People of all shapes. skill levels, and fitness levels do swim to get fitter. No need to feel embarassed. I say go for it. You won't regret it.
  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,245 Member
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    I let fear of the unknown (being seen, being judged, nekkid in the locker room) rob me of at least a year of joy at the pool. After I retired I really wanted to try aquasize classes but I kept talking myself out of it. Finally, my 78 year old mother got sick of hearing me talk about it and paid my membership fee for 6 months. (She's a swimmer and has gone to the pool in her town for over 25 years.) Well then I HAD to do it to save face.

    Thank goodness I was pushed into it! Going to the pool is now such a part of my life I would never give it up. I go to aquasize class and swim laps several times a week. I'm the kickboard with the swim fins or backstroke swimmer, but who cares? There are all kinds - ages, shapes, sizes, abilities. There's one young man who comes to our pool who only has one leg. Dang! If he can dive in and swim then I get get my past-middle-aged self in there, too! Bonus - I've made a lot of new friends!

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