Swimming

[atepointer]

Enjoyed reading threads here as fitness is a big part of my life. Read about bad knees and for those who have beat their bodies up from running(32 years of hard racing for me), job/life related wear or anything else that makes impact regretful I can't recommend swimming enough. It's a great way to stay in shape w/o hammering the joints if you are searching for something new or even passing time rehabbing something. I grew up a runner by trade and continued on road racing once college was over. Had R knee scoped 2nd time and doc said no more cart left take up swimming or I'll regret it with arthritis. It's the one sport I can do as much as I want of as hard as I want and my body never yells at me.

Anyway, coupled with lifting 3x a week I have left my joint pain behind and really glad I found the pool. Have regained so much flexibility and feel better than ever really kind of like a kid again in some respects. If you have a Masters group in your town it's a great way to get into the mix. Swimming is ZERO fun with poor technique, but an organized group with a coach's eye can fix it. You kind of have to 'embrace the suck' for maybe a month and then before you know it you are motoring along.

 

[kenzup]

I don't know if you have every read "Total Immersion". I started training for selection about a year and half ago and I went from dummy muscling my way barely through 100m to swimming 1500m in 24 minutes in about 4 months. I directly give the props to that book. I never had a coach just used the training techniques from TI.

Also if you haven't tried deep water running you should give it a try.

 

[atepointer]

Actually Total Immersion does clinics at one of the pools I swim at a couple of times a year it's unreal the turnout probably 100 people? It's a great way for people to learn how to achieve balance and get over the breathing issues typical with freestyle and relax glad you like it. Keep after it that's fantastic to go from nothing to 24m for 1500 long course. I think that's ~ 1:35/100m pace clearly you are keeping balance and getting slippery....keep after it and it will come! I would imagine the book covers the topic of drag since water is about 800 times more dense than air so get slippery like a high BC bullet and stay there throughout the stroke cycle!

 

[pmclaine]

Anyone would have a hard time convincing me that there is any better total body, low impact excercise, than swimming.

I am no "graceful" swimmer by any means, it looks like work when Im in the water, but when I was doing it three, four times a week for an hour a session I was in great health.

Kids came along and I will someday get back to it.

Last week I was down in Naples Florida area and watched an approx 60 yoa man approaching freestyle swimming down our beach from the left. A machine he was steady, no effort. Passed right by my beach chair ten yards off shore and kept going to my right.

Half hour later he is walking the beach from my right. I said hello and expressed my envy. Says he does a mile and half when ever the Gulf is calm enough to allow.

Awesome.

 

[atepointer]

I agree it's the tits. We didn't even have swimming as a sport in my hick town of 5k people. Cross country in the fall, bball winter and track spring. Wish I'd of been exposed to it and not been a runner I regret every mile I've run, but swimming is holding off the beast of more surgery. Hope you get back at it some day!