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True or false? Masters swim is only for .
Only for competitive swimmers that are proficient in all 4 competition strokes and flip turns. That is the impression I get. I'm not nearly fast enough to even try participating in a masters swim "class." I can't do flip turns. And I only do front crawl. Never learned butterfly. Back stroke is not good now due to limited…
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Studies found spicy food decrease risk of early death
If that is true I'm going to live forever. I love Carolina Reapers. I add a whole pepper to me eggs. I make my own Fear The Reaper for sauce from home grown Carolina Reaper peppers too. I brought a bottle to China with me. Took it out to lunch today.
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Smart watch/ tracker: dominant or non dominant wrist?
For me, non-dominant wrist. The only argument I have seen made for wearing one in the dominant hand is also an argument against that. Wearing in the dominant side will result in me movement of the wrist registering as steps because our dominant hand moves more. The reason for wearing non- dominant was, back in the day, to…
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Goal: to look like I can swim as far as I do.
I'm not there yet. But I'm at the point where my arms and legs are skinny :D If my torso was proportional to my arms and legs I'd probably weigh 70kg instead of 100kg. Ha!
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non athlete take on distance swimming
I am not athletic. I'm arthritic. That's why i swim a lot. It occured to me that the three essentials for distance is different from the top 3 for swimming speed. The top 3 speed factors are technique, strength, and hydrodynamic. A weakness in any of the 3 can be compensated for by improvement in the other 2. Distance…
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"Do you user a professional trainer?"
I had paused to compliment a swimmer on her technique and speed. Most swimmers here only do breast stroke. But she was doing a very good front crawl and swimming faster than most of the guys. Luckily she also spoke English. She asked me if I used a professional trainer to swim the way I do. I replied "no. YouTube. " :D…
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Forget carb count on endurance athlete days
I learned the hard way that I have to forget about the carb metric on my personal endurance swim challenge days. I have to keep a squeeze bottle of honey at the pool side. My heart rate stayed erratic for 3 hours after I did 13.2km. When I added the honey to fuel during swimming, my heart rate normalized very quickly after…
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Nutrition and non-athlete endurance activities
First, I am not an athlete, nor do I pretend to be one on TV. I do not compete against anyone but myself in trying to set new personal records. On my China trips I have "free time" due to being over 7000 miles from yard work and household projects. On this trip I exceeded the record I set on the last trip for lap swimming…
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Have employer based fit tracker programs fallen out of favor?
If one searches on the topic of fit trackers and corporate insurance discounts one will find few articles beyond 2015. FitBit made a big announcement about Target teaming up with fit bit in 2015. But today there is not mention of this as a "benefit" on Target's employee benefits page. I'm guessing that that employers and…
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stroke/breath count
Here is an interesting piece on the subject of breath count. The author completely ignore most every Olympic swimmer in his broad statements though. Phelps breathes every 4th. Most breathe both sides. Granted the context here is ocean swimming so open water competitors may be different. By the main point seems to be that I…
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A colleague air this short video
While i was swimming. 10 seconds is the mac they can upload to WeChat. Not much to judge stroke. I put it on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/BayMkmEFH3P/
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Roka jammer
My wife got me a Roka Jammer for Christmas. Size by number is same as the Speedo Endurance. Sits a little lower than the Speedo but very comfortable. The true test will be longevity. I'll retort back as I go. The Roka is supposed to be one of the highest rated. We shall see.
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Yet another China trip coming
Shanghai this time. Luckily there is a new wills gym near the company apartment in Shanghai. So I'll be able to keep some sanity. 28 days this time. Got them to think I was doing them a favor because departing on a Wednesday is cheaper than Friday :smiley:
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Dehydration or low blood glucose after swimming today
I always take in a liter of water with electrolytes while doing my long swims. Today I started my day with a 7km swim. Then I stopped at the market to get a 5L bottle of water plus a 1L bottle and spicy peanuts (Can't drink the tap water in China. ) When I was waiting in line at the register I got very light headed and a…
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Brought bronchitis back from China again
Allergic reaction to pollen advanced to bronchitis again. Sux. I get winded with moderate exertion. Given how much I swim, that is a big drop off in stamina. I'll have to take a couple days off swimming. Getting z-pack from doctor tomorrow to treat the bronchitis.
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Indoor 2/3 of a triathlon
This month my Y moved the Saturday morning spin class (now a Les Mills RPM class) from 8:40 to 9:40. That will let me hit the class after finishing my 4 mile swim. Yahoo! Used to do that at my previous Y. Down a scoop of Combat between for a small refuel. If you have never tried doing this combo at your gym, I highly…
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How many Oregonians knew this act on a bicycle was illegal?
I had heard a while back that it was illegal to ride a bicycle in Oregon while standing on the pedals. I couldn't believe it was true. It was noted in an article in a case of a police officer using excessive force and claiming this law was the probable cause for stopping the cyclist. Well, it is true that Oregon has such a…
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Vindication for GT and LCHF.
This is a good read. Several years ago Gary Taubes was attacked as a kook and a heretic for defying what passed for conventional wisdom. But as he pointed out them, all of the opposition was funded by government grants hell bent on protecting the flow of government money. (Same thing happens in climate 'science')…
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ROKA Jammer still on sale today
$10 off. $40. Even at the regular $50 price it is still the best value in a jammer because they last 3X as long as the $40 Speedo Endurance Race. https://www.roka.com/collections/swimwear-for-men
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Swimming is great for the "Archery" muscles too
Yup. I can shoot my 45# bow for at least an hour without feeling worn out. :dizzy: Of course, when I finally go bow hunting I only need one shot. Any other archers in the swimmers?
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Fitbit: employer penalties for not using.
Given that trackers are inaccurate, only track wrist movement and many other flaws, I'm surprised that many employers have started penalizing employees for not using these. None of them work for swimming. They don't track weight lifting or spinning class (my main forms of exercise due to arthritis). The IR HRM doesn't work…
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China time is coming again
A week until my next month long trip to China. Some things have changed since my last trip. Because of the G20, the government had forced nearly all businesses to close but still pay the employees. I'm hearing that many small businesses went under due to this. So a lot of empty store fronts throughout the city now. The guv…
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Roka X1 Goggles. Nice.
I picked up a set of Roka X1 swim goggles. These are there large size. When I got them I gave them right to my wife. She just finished double cataract surgery and these are perfect for her or anyone who needs to keep the pressure away from the eye and protect against UV. They sit comfortably on the orbital bone, not in or…
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Who needs therapy when you can swim?
The last few trips when I could not swim at all, every time someone mentioned a group activity I could feel the stress building inside. Not a full blown Sopranos panic attack. But definitely an need to escape. I always found a way to get out of the activity without admitting I had a panic attack. That brings us to today.…
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Find out why must Chinese only do breast stroke
Turns out it is related to Mao. And the fact threat swimming lessons are expensive in China even by US standards. Mai only knew the breast stroke. The breast stroke (not the competition stroke, but the one step advice doggy paddle stroke) is claimed to be taught in just 10 lessons. Only students that show potential are…
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Does one's burn rate change with pace? One calculator says yes.
I did a little experiment based on a comment made in a thread. I use the web site http://42.195km.net/e/swim/ to calculate calories burned for several distances while keeping the time constant at 60 minutes. Total calories goes up in a linear relationship with distance. However kcal burn rate goes down. So someone who…
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Sign blindness is a global phenomenon :D
I'm in China on business, again. This time the company got me into Will's Gym. Affordable option for the company. Safe pool with lane ropes so I don't get hit in the head anymore. And they have a decent weight room with machines, dumbbells and barbells. And they have a bilingual sign one sees in most every gym. "Please…
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Walking shoes for those with arthritis in the foot
I finally found shoes that function as advertised. Xelero. I have degenerative osteoarthritis in both big toe joints. Can't take impact or flexing much. The Xelero shoe is the first shoe I can walk for hours in workout pain. Walked all over the Biltmore and the gardens and not a bit of joint pain. Got a China trip next…
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"Why do you swim 4 miles?"
I get that question a lot from other swimmers and the life guards at my YMCA. There are several reasons. First being that degenerative osteoarthritis in my feet prevents me from doing any aerobic activity that involves repetitive impact. The more humorous reason is because I don't have time to swim 5 miles in the morning…
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Another month away from Swimming starts Friday
Heading to that bastion of freedom known as China on Friday for another month long trip. I'll be limited to walking and stair climbing for exercise for the month. Also bringing my resistance band set so I can at least do something to keep my upper body swim muscles in shape. As usual about 1/3 of my luggage weight will be…
