Exercise! Love it or hate it, let's motivate each other to just DO IT!

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Old 02-15-2011, 03:47 PM   #1  
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Arrow anyone else swim?

I havent been exercising the past week but im planningto start up swimming again a few times a week , and fit in along side my usual exercises. im going back to work soon so finding the time is gona be even harder but i cant see me wanting to jump on my cross trainer as soon as i get thru the door after a days work. Where as driving to the pool for a swim after work is different.

the gyms round here r pricey and a swim is qiute cheap plus its what i love doing. In the past i have regualrly swam 4-5 times a week 40-50 length. but the past year i havent done as much.

i want to try and fit 3 swims in and another for of exercise around my schedule.

i always swim aprox 40 length 50 on a good day. and always breast stroke i dont really feel comfortable doing any other stroke especially as the pool gets busy.
just wanted to see if anyone else swims regular and what is your "swim work out" and has it been an effective exercise towards your weightloss
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Old 02-15-2011, 04:25 PM   #2  
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I love swimming! It is my primary exercise. I do it 4 times a week. It swim about a mile and a half now. I turned to swimming because my gym was so full after Christmas and I could never get on my machine that I wanted.
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Old 02-15-2011, 04:50 PM   #3  
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I love swimming, too. Unfortunately, at best I manage to get there only 1x a week, at lunch time, so I cannot spend longer than 30 minutes in the pool. The pool is not that far but due to construction (we are adding another building) we have park off-site so it adds a good 5 minute walk to the parking lot (each way). It all adds up.
I have a 50-visit swimpass and I am worried that I may not be able to use it all up before it expires. I hope to go at least 2x a week once the weather gets a bit warmer, it's tough in -20 C.

Swimming is not my primary tool of weight loss, I find it very refreshing. It does help a bit - I feel it helps with my abs and my arms. I, too, swim breast stroke only.
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Old 02-15-2011, 11:51 PM   #4  
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I swear by it! I swim every day. One day I swim 1 mile (64 laps in a 25 meter pool) and the other I kickboard half a mile to tone my legs and, far more importantly, to save my beloved long hair from chlorine overfry .

Swimming works for me because it tones up my entire body in one go. No need to do cardio and then hit the weight room, it's a great one stop workout. You should play with the equipment that they have. Kickboarding is great, and if they have a pull-buoy you can work on your crawl stroke. The crawl/freestyle is dead easy to do and tones up your core like no other.

You don't need much to swim, but my essentials after years of swimming are:

1) Good bathing suit. Speedo and TY make the best, and you can get a cheap one anywhere.

2) GOGGLES

3) Cloth (lycra) swim cap

4) Silicone cap

5) Giant bottle of cheap conditioner (Suave or some other $1 a bottle brand)

6) Cheap bottle of vitamin e oil (or vaseline)

3-6 will save your skin and your hair from drying out. For hair, saturate it completely with water before entering the pool. If it absorbs clean water, it can't absorb as much chlorine. Then coat it with the cheap conditioner, particularly the ends. Put it up in the cloth swim cap, then put the silicone one on over it. The silicone protects it from chlorine, and the cloth prevents the silicone from ripping your hair. I put vaseline or vitamin e under my eyes because the goggles dig in and I don't come out with a puffy head afterward. Also, I'm paranoid about wrinkles and like to give my skin some protection pre pool. The skin is a new experiment, but I swear by the hair bit! Nothing like a bit of neurosis to keep a girl looking pretty

Happy swimming, you will love it and it will whip you into beach body shape in no time!
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Old 02-16-2011, 01:54 AM   #5  
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Gosh I have to get back in the pool. I was competitive backstroke in HS along with state ranked for Synchronized but now I rarely get in. I don't know why but doing it alone is nowhere near as easy as team practice. Maybe I will make a commitment next month to this. (Wait for paycheck, because I'm a horrible suit snob and want my TYR $70 retail reversible suit.)
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Old 02-16-2011, 11:14 AM   #6  
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I am too!

I just discovered SwimOutlet.com. I got a reversible grab-bag TY suit for $30. They had the non-reversible for $20 I think. I was impressed with their selection and prices. I assume it's all last year's line but with a good Speedo or TY that doesn't really matter. Splish splash!
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Old 02-16-2011, 11:31 AM   #7  
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I'm an off/on Masters swimmer - love the pool and LOVE what it does for my arms and back, but I've been far too "all or nothing". I trained for short-course Nationals in Atlanta last year, and have not been in the pool since I got back. DS11 has been bugging me to go back so that he'll have a workout buddy.
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Old 02-17-2011, 01:45 PM   #8  
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To add to bleujean's suggestions:

Make sure your swimsuit is chlorine-resistant. I am only mentioning it beacause a coworker was very surprised when I mentioned this. If your swimsuit is not chlorine-resistant, the chlorine will eat it in a few months, if not sooner (depends on how often/how long you swim).
Unfortunately, there is not a huge selection in chlorine-resistent swimsuits (at least not where I live) so it may take some time to find one that you like.
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Old 02-18-2011, 07:55 PM   #9  
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There's this new aquatic center that just opened up. the other day me and my mom were going to go so i went out to buy myself a new bathing suit and i was hoping my mom could wear my old one so now i ended up with 2. not too much to be happy about but they were a size 18! and i look pretty ok in them both. feels good even though i know the material stretches anyway.
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Old 02-19-2011, 03:50 AM   #10  
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I have been swimming once a week for the past several years. It makes a really nice change from the exercise I do the rest of the week and I find that I really look forward to it. I feel like the water is therapeutic, both mentally and physically. In terms of weight loss, however, I think the cardio and weight training I do is far more effective. My heart rate when I swim isn't nearly as high as when I am doing other cardio. But, even so, I wouldn't give it up for anything because I enjoy it.

Swimming has also been a lifesaver when I've had injuries (runner's knee, sprained ankle) that prevented me from running (my primary form of cardio). When I sprained my ankle, swimming was my only cardio for a few weeks. I swam three times a week and I was surprised to find that when I could run again, I didn't have nearly as much catching up to get to my pre-sprain condition as I had expected.

I try to mix it up in terms the strokes that I do, so that I'm not bored, but otherwise I pretty much do the same workout each week:
  • 200 yds freestyle at moderate pace
  • 200 yds freestyle intervals (25 yards as fast as I can, 25 yards recovery)
  • 200 yds backstroke intervals
  • 200 yds freestlye intervals
  • 200 yds backstroke intervals
  • 200 yds freestyle intervals
  • 400 yds alternating flutter kick and dolphin kick with flippers
  • 200 yds freestyle intervals with breaststroke recovery
  • 400 yds alternating flutter kick and dolphin kick with flippers
  • 200 yds breast stroke
  • 200 yds that is a combination of butterfly, breast stroke, and as far as I can swim underwater without coming up for air
  • 400 yds alternating flutter kick and dolphin kick with flippers

Sometimes I change the order. And about half the time the pool where I swim as the lanes run in the long course (50 meters instead of 25 yards), so then I do the same workout in meters.
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Old 05-03-2015, 04:10 PM   #11  
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Found this old swimmer thread....anyone else getting exercise in the pool?

I've just started, having realized that our local community pool has a time set aside for warm water exercise in an indoor pool. Unfortunately, the time for that is noon-3, which is going to be difficult to fit in with my work schedule.

I've found good pool workout tips from youtube--I've never been on a swim team, not good with strokes especially as my shoulder is giving me trouble, but I can tread water like a fish and swim on my back and side well.

Any tips for exercise/work balance? Any good tips for pool exercises that would help improve swim form as an adult, or other good pool exercises?

Last edited by SeeMyFeet; 05-03-2015 at 04:11 PM.
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