The Swimmming Appreciation Thread

[healthnut32]

How many of you love to swim? Do you count the hours until you can get back in the pool again? Let's share our passion for swimming.

[rainbow_clouds]

I like to swim but only in pools none of that lake/river stuff for me.

I used to do laps forever but nowadays I do one and get all tired out. :( I'm working on getting back in shape.

[Savannah]

I love swimming! The best thing about going to school in Savannah the past year was being able to swim in the ocean up to November and get back in it in April. Now that I am home in Cape May for the summer, I realize how much I missed the big crashing waves and body surfing. On Tybee Island in GA the waves were soooooo tiny. But, you can swim there in November which is awesome.

[Keelin]

I wish there was somewhere besides pools to swim around here... no ocean for ages and no lakes for miles. Tear. D:

But I'm hoping to get a monthly pass for our local swimming pool this summer, and swim like crazy!

[VeggieMath]

I love exercise. I would like to do a triathalon. I run, and bike, my problem is the swimming thing. I have a bad shoulder that doesn't interfer with the rest, but I have a problem with the swimming and my shoulder. I have to find a way to swim without using my shoulders. I would love suggestions, but I think it might be hard to show me how the strokes without using shoulders over the internet....

[asp3]

I love swimming, but don't do it very often. Back when I worked at a company with a pool, I'd do laps twice a week. I used to just use my arms four four laps of the crawl with one lap of a slow breast stroke as a rest inbetween. It was my upper body work out because the other days I went roller blading 10 or 12 miles.

When I'm swimming for fun, I love to swim underwater. I love the solitude and quietness and the way the water feels flowing over my body while I'm gliding after a stroke. I also enjoy snorkelling, but only do that when there's something worthwhile to look at.

The ocean is rather chilly here, so I don't like swimming in it up here. The rivers and most of the lakes are snow fed, so they stay cold until late summer, so I don't enjoy them that much either. Otherwise, I'd enjoy swimming outside of a pool.

[estrella]

veggiemath- You can't swim without using your shoulders unless you just kick with a board or something, and that still may stretch your shoulders a bit (which will hurt if they are tender). I don't think it's possible to find a stroke that doesn't use shoulders at all, unless you make up something crazy and inefficient on your own. Freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly use the shoulders more than breastroke, elementary backstroke, and sidestroke.

[Volleyballchick]

I love swimming. I am taking swim lessons now to perfect my freestyle stroke and its actually a lot of fun :)

[Volleyballchick]

I timed how long it took me to swim 1750 yards or 35 laps and it took me 28 -29 minutes at my comfortable pace with sprinting the last 2 laps. Can anyone tell me if this is good or how many minutes should it take to swim it in a good time?? i was thinking 20 minutes and that i was pretty slow but i wasnt sure.

[healthnut32]

I'm so glad there are so many swimmers out there! I am a total novice, but I can do a mean freestyle (the only stroke I know). I will be taking some lessons in the fall to learn some other strokes. Volleyballchick, I have no idea how many minutes it should take to do 35 laps, but that sure sounds good to me. I have never been able to count my laps-I just swim for 45 minutes to 1 hour. I bet if you put that information into Google, you would find some site that would tell you whether that was a slow or average time.

[Volleyballchick]

healthnut,

I am kinda the same as you I usually only swim for 45 minutes to an hour and I only knew the freestyle. But just this summer I went to the YMCA and I started taking swim lessons to learn new strokes and perfect my freestyle and its loads of fun so I think you will like it a lot. :)

Also I did look it up on google but I found no results lol. I mean maybe its cuz when i am searching for something i type a whole sentence but I never know what to say to get my answers lol.

[healthnut32]

I timed how long it took me to swim 1750 yards or 35 laps and it took me 28 -29 minutes at my comfortable pace with sprinting the last 2 laps. Can anyone tell me if this is good or how many minutes should it take to swim it in a good time?? i was thinking 20 minutes and that i was pretty slow but i wasnt sure.


I timed myself today with the pace clock at the pool. At my leisurely pace, I do about 1 lap in 60 seconds. At my fastest, I can do 1 lap in about 52 seconds. I realized that I haven't been pushing myself enough, ao the last 5 laps were at my fastest pace.

[Volleyballchick]

thats good :)

[Elena99]

I love swimming. :) There's a great new pool and Wellness Center in my city, so I usually go there about once a week to swim. I really need a new swimsuit, though.

I also like swimming in the ocean, but it won't be warm enough here for that until late July/early August.

[concept]

Not trying to contradict the thread, but I'm a bit of an anomaly: I absolutely hate swimming, but not only was I a lifeguard, but I consider that my most fun job ever. I've always been someone who hates getting wet (even showering is horribly uncomfortable), and for some reason I got the bright idea to become a lifeguard. I am a very good swimmer, but I just hate getting wet, so I rarely do it. Ended up saving the most lives out of all of the lifeguards, but I honestly did hate getting in the water for training and instructing, and I never got in on my free time. But that was a great job.. sit there in warm weather, yell at kids (mmm.. power), and save a few lives.

[Volleyballchick]

does anyone here know how long it takes to learn how to swim the butterfly?! I have been practicing for 2 weeks now and I still do not have it. I am beginning to get discouraged. I dont know if I will ever learn it. I learned all the other strokes from class but I just cant get the buttertfly. I really want to learn it though

[gas4]

I cannot do butterfly, I'm sure it's impossible. Seriously though I think it requires some pretty awesome upper body strength.

[Volleyballchick]

^^^^^^^^^ AGHHH lol that doesnt help give me any confidence

[healthnut32]

^^^^^^^^^ AGHHH lol that doesnt help give me any confidence

The kids in my daughter's swim class are learning it-they don't look especially strong in the upper body. I believe it just takes a lot of practice. It's new. You're used to doing freestyle, so butterfly doesn't come naturally to you yet. Hang in there!!

[gas4]

The kids in my daughter's swim class are learning it-they don't look especially strong in the upper body. I believe it just takes a lot of practice. It's new. You're used to doing freestyle, so butterfly doesn't come naturally to you yet. Hang in there!!

Well good luck with it anyway, let us know when/if you figure it out

[Volleyballchick]

well i practiced it for like 3 hours yesterday and i think i have the general idea now. My mom said I no longer look like a charging rhino or king kong monster. lol And i feel like i am not taking up as much energy. The only thing is I am still practicing my breathing. I think I can do it now but I am sure my form is terrible. =/

[christina09]

I love swimming! I'm actually on swim team, but am not terribly good. I swim atleast 3 days a week though, so I work on it. And I'm trying to work harder.....it's really fun and a great exercise!

[christina09]

I just read my post. I have a major issue with working hard on swim team. It's pretty much psychological I think, and no one probably really cares, but I have a habit of mentioning the whole bit every time swim team comes up. So, uh, sorry. Swim's awesome though.

[Trivegelete]

I'm a traithlete, so I spend a lot of time swimming. I can't say I enjoy all those hours inside in the pool, but I really enjoy getting to swim outside in the summer.

[healthnut32]

I did the dolphin kick for the first time while swimming yesterday-are my abs EVER sore!!