100 lb. Club - Swimming advice

I think I may start swimming at the gym but I would like some tips of how to get started. I was wondering how much dog paddleing to start with would be worth it for exercise?

I have been using the treadmill but I have kind of injured my neck and want to get the thing feeling better before I go any further. I thought maybe swimming would be the best thing for me until my neck and shoulders feel better.

Any ideas? The pool at the gym has kick boards and other weights available. Maybe the kickboard until my neck feels better. Less arm action?

I refuse to stop the momentum I have going at the gym right now.

By the way I also have the webbed swim gloves....anyone get a lot of results from these?

It's been forever since I swam. Have fun!!

Swimming was my exercise of choice when I was pregnant, but I got an interesting case of carpel tunnel - so I can say that just using a kickboard can give you a good workout. Just keep it slow, and steady, and do as many laps as you can. Try adding one lap a day to your workout
If your pool is 25 yrds - 17 lengths is a quarter mile.
If there is a water aerobics class, or especially an arthritis water aerobics class, you can check with the teacher for other things you can do.
Don't use the web gloves until you're better - they increase the resistence from the water. We use them in my water aerobics class to increase drag, and thus burn a few more calories, but the calories aren't worth hurting yourself.
Hope this helps.
Sue

I'm so envious! I used to take aqua aerobics 3x/week about 10 years ago and it was wonderful. It was the only time I truly enjoyed exercise. There was a group of about 20 regulars, we got to be good friends. We had a great instructor; she used mostly hard-driving disco music and it was a blast. I lost nearly 40 pounds in 6 months, with almost no real change to eating habits. (edit: hmmmm I should clarify -- I am not an advocate of not changing eating habits...it's just what happened. If I had it to do over, I'd definitely add healthy eating to that mix. Maybe the weight loss would have stayed instead of creeping back)

I moved out of state, so can't do it any more. The gym with a pool near where I live now is rather nasty. The pool is ok, I guess, but the locker room just gives me the creeps. It's downright slimy in there. Ewwww. And the aqua aerobics classes I went to were dull, dull, dull. No spunk whatsoever. I wish I could have moved Jenny and my old club with me!

And those 40 pounds? Each and every one of them has found me again. And they brought local friends. They're all having a party here. I'm trying to evict them all now.

Anyway, I said all that to suggest that if you have access to an aqua aerobics class, do check it out. You can adjust the moves so they don't hurt your neck. The webbed gloves are a wonderful asset. Any move you do with them will be more beneficial than that same move without them. Try standing in chest deep water, fan your fingers out and raise and lower your arms to your sides while wearing them, for instance. Great!

Ooooo how I wish I could get back into the pool!

((edit: whoops, didn't see that your shoulders hurt, as well. Probably shouldn't do the raise and lower thing, but even just swimming with the gloves would be good, I think))

The kick board will give your legs a great workout, because it's much harder to get anywhere without your arm power to help.

Overall I don't think that swimming is a huge calorie burner compared to many other exercises, because it isn't weight-bearing. But it is a great idea if you are having neck problems for that same reason.. it isn't hard on your body. And it is so fun!! You should probably just do it until you feel you've reached an appropriate level of tiredness or whatever... obviously a less skilled swimmer will tire faster.

I love swimming, there is a year round pool up the street from me. It is olympic size and with the use of the kickboard and in the begining I even used fins I worked my way up to 10 laps, 5 with the fins 5 without.

Once in a while, I would do one lap without the kickboard and just the fins to work my arms....I highly recommend it, and look forward to doing it again this spring...

I'd suggest just using a kick board for now as well.. I had hurt my rotator cuff in speed swimming way back, and my coach had me use a kick board, which depending on your injury may still hurt, if so, just kick while on your back. When you are feeling better, try breast stroke, it doesn't really involve a whole lot of neck movement. Swimming is GREAT exercise, you burn more calories swimming than briskly walking, so keep it up! :)

-Aimee

I love swimming but what I would normally suggest is freestyle and that won't work with your neck injury.

I loved my water aerobics class, you might try that!

I'll second water aerobics. You could avoid moves that would strain your neck, perhaps talk to the instructor for suggestions on what to do to replace moves that would strain it.

I also find that simply walking in the water is great for gentle resistance.

:carrot: Water Aerobics actually starts tomorrow at the gym. I will be there!!!! :carrot:

I'm a water aerobics/swimming instructor and I think water aerobics is your best bet :) Doggy paddling is no good!! If you've never been taught how to do proper strokes, you might hurt yourself and that wouldn't be good. Water aerobics is a good workout and it's a lot of fun. I'm teaching it again this spring and I'm really excited!! I get to join in so it's good exercise for me and I'm paid to do it.

Yup Yup Yup... Water Aerobics is the way to go!!! Make sure you have water shoes though! The moves can be rough on the tootsies!

I hope you love water aerobics, it's fantastic!!!

Calories burned swimming might suprise you. Check this chart out

http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist3.htm

Another water aerobics fan here! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Are you doing shallow or deep water? When I lived in a larger town, the Y offered both so my DH and I did two classes of each. Now the club we're at (smaller town) offers deep in a large pool, and shallow in a small pool that's too hot and too shallow for tall people like us. I miss the impact part of shallow water aerobics (my DH found that his calves were starting to get smaller when he stopped doing the shallow water aerobics), but I get lots of good exercise from the deep water class.

We only get shallow aerobics here. In Australia the class was fabulous. It was half straight aerobics, then circuit training, then deep water work. It was such a good workout and really creative. I really miss that class.

I'd love to try water yoga, which I know is out there, but not seen a class, has anyone tried it??

I'm getting scared, I now adore exercise and keep looking for new classes to do!! Makes a change from complex avoidance strategies I used to have to avoid physical activity.

I must say I'm a little jealous as well. I'm not a part of a gym so I have to wait until the weather gets warmer to swim. Have fun!

~Dee

How deep is deep and how shallow is shallow? LOL souds weird but where should the water level be on your body for each?

It depends on where you feel most comfortable. When I was doing shallow, I liked the water to be about chest level. I got some impact (good for the bones), yet not enough to hurt my joints. The shallow pool where I live now only comes up to around my waist, and it was tough on my knees plus too warm for me. Deep water is usually over your head or at least neck high, and you need to use a flotation device (belt, noodle, cuffs).

We did deep water today. I had to wear a belt and I had a heck of a time keeping my body in good posture. I am not sure how much of a work out I got but I guess tomorrow will tell. I also have a heck of a time staying the same place.....any ideas out there?

We only get shallow aerobics here. In Australia the class was fabulous. It was half straight aerobics, then circuit training, then deep water work. It was such a good workout and really creative. I really miss that class.

I'd love to try water yoga, which I know is out there, but not seen a class, has anyone tried it??

I'm getting scared, I now adore exercise and keep looking for new classes to do!! Makes a change from complex avoidance strategies I used to have to avoid physical activity.

I have done aqua yoga. I really enjoyed the class. I do not like it as much as regular yoga (it is harder to get a good stretch in the water because you don't have gravity to help get you into it), but it is easier for me to do when I'm trying to recover from an injury, as I am now, because you don't have to work against gravity either. The class I attend is held in a warm water pool (much too hot for lap swimmers or water aerobics - those are held in the lap pool) that is actually a therapy pool. It is very relaxing. The biggest challenge is keeping your balance in the poses and while transitioning from pose to pose. Sometimes I get cramps in my arches (OUCH!) from trying to stay in one spot rather than getting carried away by the waves in the pool that come from everyone changing positions at once. On the other hand, though, maintaining balance while the water is working against you helps you build strength!