with the temps here ALREADY soaring to 90 tomorrow I'm thinking the lake temps will be tolerable soon. I'm lucky to live ~15 minutes from two different lakes with beautiful scenery and I do love going.

I know swimming is a good exersize, right? when I go to te lake to swim I don't like, do concentrated breast stokes and laps and stuff. I typically just... swim or tread water. I'm wondering what I can do that's more ideal for a lake and not a shallow pool with clear isles and start/end points? does regular just, fun swimming/floating (on back, in place, not on a float) burn a mentionable amount of calories?

Isn't the water still really cold though? I love Beaver Lake - hope that is one of yours!

oh yeah, right now it is. it'll be a few weeks yet before I try going. but last summer it also got this hot early and the water was sable about a month in a half earlier than usually. actually it was HOT so it was probably fine before that too. I guess ita an upside to the absolutely horrendous temps of last year. we didn't even really have a winter this time and it's already 90 so I'm expecting much of the same !!

I live by Quachita actually I believe its rep is one of the top 3 cleanest lakes in the nation? it's extreamly beautiful out there that's for sure. love it.

I'm terrified of swimming in open waters. Just terrified. I'm sure the pool exercises could be easily translated to open water though.

Get a noodle and do weight resistance exercises while treading deep water. Also, do laps, deep underwater swimming and jumping from the lake floor in water (like a squat jump). Do whatever you can think of for an hour.