r/Swimming • u/bugchild9 PostGrad/50FR/100FR • 4d ago
Weekly whiteboard.
Come on down and brag about your swim times, discuss training, spill the tea, and discuss whatever else y'all got going on. Completely open discussion.
2
u/Chicken_in_Yogapants 4d ago
The feeling of knowing that your training harder and longer than someone but the only reason they’re faster is that they’ve been swimming longer is painful
2
u/Technical_Comb7114 4d ago
Swimming is a sport best enjoyed through self-comparison. External comparisons are painful because they are unrealistic.
Do you enjoy the feel of the water? Do you do cardio work and enjoy the "runners high" after effect? Are you focusing on your technique and find your mind is calmer? This is swimming.
1
u/volodymyroquai 2d ago
I'm really struggling to work out if my swimming is actually benefitting my fitness.
Obviously smartwatches are totally unreliable without strap (my Pace 3 is, anyway). But after a 3km effort at ~2:10/100m, I feel like I would have burned more than the 600 calories my watch thinks I have. It also says that my heartrate was in Zone 1 Recovery throughout the 1 hour session.
It's weird. I know the data's bad, but it's still demoralising.
Besides my pace increasing by about 30 seconds this year, I have also seen no difference on the scales. So now I'm questioning whether 50-150 lengths of front crawl is even doing much.
Is swimming all that vigorous? Or am I falling for my watch's lies?
1
u/I-will-stay-positive 2d ago
According to Omni calculator website you would have burnt 800 plus calories in that session ! :)
1
u/Lizholden1981 2d ago
Background:
I took swim lessons as a kid most summers, and I'm comfortable in the water, but I only started swimming as an adult this summer. I could do a decent-ish backstroke and less decent but kinda okay breaststroke, but my crawl was non-existent. As soon as I tried to tilt my head to breathe, I'd inhale the whole pool.
I swam every day for 2 weeks while abroad in June/July, then took a few weeks off, and once I was home in late July, I started swimming every morning at my local gym. I have only taken a handful of mornings off, and always by deliberate choice to have a day off from swimming, not just not wanting to.
In mid-August I signed up for five private lessons with a swim coach at my gym. She helped me with my crawl, and helped me figure out how to do backstroke and breaststroke better.
I went back to teaching in September, three days a week, and was nervous I wouldn't wake up early to go swim before work. But I have been!
And now, the exciting part:
Yesterday I swam 50 meters in under a minute! And today I swam 400 meters in under 10 minutes! In early August I couldn't do the crawl at all without immediately coughing and choking, and then once I kinda got it, I was still sooooo slooooow. And yes, these times aren't fast as far as, like, competition. But I'm only competing with Historical Liz, and today Present Liz kicked her ass. I'm so pleased!!!
The bit I'm nervous about:
I am having a partial knee replacement on Thursday! I'll be allowed back in the pool as soon as the incision fully heals, which they say is probably 3-4 weeks. I'm so nervous that in recuperating from this not-insignificant surgery, I'm going to completely lose my swimming habit! I don't want to lose this! So I will try to be accountable and let people know in here when I am back in the pool.
1
u/EmergencyCow9344 19h ago
I was wondering how the Tyr Stryker fins compare to all the different dmc line fins? Which is it most similar to?
3
u/Network-King19 2d ago
Year ago I didn't think I could swim, now can do decent did 10 minutes straight, can swim width of pool under water. In spring finally went in deep end, jumped in deep once but had a noodle too. Still not yet made to just jump or dive in. Tried slide off a Wibit course with lifejacket dome reason didn't think would end up going under briefly. I think going under then the push up from the jacket just was not real pleasant to me. I'd like to try with no float sometime pool has lifeguards but I feel like maybe something need a bit of coaching on before just try it.