Swimming

Chris, I walked past there every day, and never thought of going in. What's it like inside? Always thought it was put in an odd location, as tis surrounded by construction and low houses....and in front of a roundabout to boot

I've met a couple adults lately who don't know how to swim and that's always really strange to me. I grew up on the water and swimming was an integral part of my childhood but it also seems like a pretty basic and essential skill. Do you know how to swim? If not, would you like to?

i love swimming and seriously wish i could do it every day in an ocean, lake or salt-water pool

like the only reason i would move into a condo would be if there was a rad swimming pool (and sauna!) in the complex

Saltwater pools are so rad.
I was on a swim team at the country club where my father plays golf. I think it was just a plot hatched by my mom to keep my brother and I busy during the summers. I always got the "most improved" trophy. I sort of hated being on the swim team, but I see its value more now.
I don't swim frequently, though. I have sensitive ears.

I can't put my head underwater anymore because I have a perforated eardrum :/ I still swim when I get the chance I just have to keep my ear dry.

I have never been in a saltwater pool. I've love to try one out.

i heart swimming. did it competitive ages 12-19, stopped for awhile and started again swimming laps again in my mid twenties just for general health. i still go at least once or twice a week. it's good exercise and there's something psychologically soothing about floating along in the water, i do some of my best thinking with my head submerged:)

and while i do think everybody should learn to swim i totally get being afraid of the water. or being put off by the chlorinated miasma of indoor pools in the winter. i love LOVE to swim in the ocean but the few salt water pools i've been in were either slight funky or fucking freezing

swimming is amazing; I'm not the strongest swimmer but I get by

I've met a couple adults lately who don't know how to swim and that's always really strange to me.

Swimming is great! One of my favourite swimming experiences was at a pool in Reykjavik, which was outdoors but warm even though I went in October, and they don't use very much chlorine in their pools so it was extra nice. Laugardalslaug!

I've started going again recently but it's been embarrassingly tiring for me, having done pretty much zero exercise since mandatory high school phys ed.

i love swimming although i never really learned all the different kinds of strokes

i can't dive tho

From April to September I live at my apt complex pool. Love it.

i can't really swim! when i was a kid i'd learn every year but by the time the following year came around i'd have forgotten. i'm not scared of water, i know how to float and i like paddling in the ocean etc, i just can't go out of my depth. actually last time i was in a hotel swimming pool i did try a few strokes and they kind of worked - breaststroke felt good, if very slow, though the spazzy splashing of my front crawl was just nagl.

i can't ride a bike either, that's different b/c with swimming i'm just very bad & limited at it and it's in my life so little i don't improve, but with riding a bike it makes no sense to me and i don't even know what muscles i'm supposed to be using. bikes are like THIS THIN, how the hell am i supposed to get it to stand up with me on it? that's not physically possible.

i guess i do have a fear of my head (or eyes and nose at least) being underwater, i'm fine if that doesn't have to happen

Yes, this and adults who can't ride bikes!
― salsa shark, Thursday, June 14, 2012 10:44 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i have the same wow you're missing out on swimming! response, sometimes, in spite of being an uncycling adult.
i really hope there is a time that swimming fits into my life, either by the pool-in-your-building thing or by dint of routines. i couldn't run a block but i can swim for hours, & it's boredom that stops me before tiredness. i wish pools played more interesting music so you could be having a nice time, thinking, listening, while you were swimming backstrokes (it has always been the muted throb of distant hi-NRG gym music, where i've gone, apart from ONE TIME when as i came in someone put the i think american graffiti soundtrack (or something like that) on, & i walked out of the pool to fucking rumble which was pretty great if slightly undermined by the actual optics, a slow tuba plod probably better scoring my swimshorted poolside walk).

my dad always says that swimming leaves you nicely tired. which is otm. i'm so proud of myself for going, whenever i go, now, though, that it stops me from having the motivation to go a week later. & swimming's a real routines thing to me.

I never learned to really swim, and consider myself a non-swimmer though I could probably get across a pool if I had to. I'm uncomfortable in water that's too deep to stand and still be able to breathe, and would never go into over-my-head ocean/lake without a life vest. Kind of a regret, but at this point I'm OK with it. In high school they had us get across the pool only using our legs, and I swear I wasn't moving at all, never got how to kick to propel myself, and the teachers couldn't explain it well enough. Nor did I get good at breathing without lifting my head up straight ahead of me.

I can ride a bike, though.

It seems odd to say that reading a book encouraged me to start swimming, but "Waterlog" by Roger Deakin had that effect on me. Wholeheartedly recommended.

I go to st George's pool in Shadwell, almost always empty...building up gradually and feeling benefit now

guess i do have a fear of my head (or eyes and nose at least) being underwater, i'm fine if that doesn't have to happen

It doesn't have to happen but it's better if you don't have your head stuck out the water permanently. I only started swimming again properly recently and it took me a while to get back into doing it right, for the reasons you say

I don't stick head under completely but to do the breathing right I breathe out into the water, natural momentum means head goes into water a little bit ax you breathe out, and back out when you breathe in

It took me a while to get this rhythm back ok, but it's better for you as you are less tense thus way. Way I did it at first was to keep head out but make sure I breathed in as arms came backwards and then out as arms go forward, also breathing out almost theatrically, blowing out for 5 seconds but breathing in a much shorter normal breath, do thus and gradually I found I was breathing into the water and was much more relaxed and fluid

Also this may sound silly but you can practice the correct breathing with a bowl of water on the table, it was a help for me

They were putting the signage on the new swimming pool across the road from me this morning. Excited. I am going to go like four times a week.

:D

I really want to go to the beach but the ocean is probably still freezing. It doesn't really start to get warm until mid-July. Could go to Walden Pond which isn't to far and is open to the public but I get a little weirded out by the thought of going in still fresh water. Come on July!

I can swim, I can ride a bike. But I can't drive a car. Guess which of those three has the biggest PITA impact on my life?

i love swimming but don't do it cos:

-the pools are too busy
-the pools aren't clean enough
-getting changed/chlorine/packing a bag etc etc etc is all too much of a barrier in my mind. with running i'm out the door two mins after i get in from work.

obv entirely personal, i wish i had a pool in my flat.

Actually turning up a the pool and realising that you're basically bumper-to-bumper with everyone else in your lane is pretty unpleasant. I don't last longer than a few lengths when that happens.

Hate that so so much.

That's why I go st georges always empty

the rhythm of breathing while swimming was always a huge obstacle i never got over when i was learning as a kid, i always ended up breathing in underwater and panicking, and when the mechanics of your strokes are wonky anyway it's even harder to get down pat

the advantage of swimming over running is how much easier on the joints it is, i guess, but...i am actually capable of running

Swimming exercises more muscles though innit. Fwiw you don't actually have to put your face in the water while doing breast stroke at all.

i know a number of people who have taken adult swimming lessons for beginners and others who have done lessons to improve their swimming form for doing laps etc. i really want to do the latter but just haven't yet - my only real issue is in pacing myself and getting tired and not swimming in a straight line, haha oh well

I can only ride a bike underwater

You don't HAVE to put face in water,..but if you relax you will kind of bob and mouth will go under water a bit. It's not so much the putting face into water it's more the relaxing of body and not fighting to keep above water. If you don't do this you are tense and rigid and you're not getting proper benefit

Lex I had the exact same panic issues re:this...until v recently. The bowl of water on table helped me immensely, quite surprisingly so

I did this first...the. I swam with head above water but synchronising the breathing properly, then gradually i just kind if stopped rigidly having head so upright

I am a non-swimming, non-cycling adult.

I never cycled that often, didn't do it for a couple of years, got it back out of the garage one day aged 10 and had a great old time for 2 hours until I fell off, and have never touched a bike since. Since then I have become very aware that I have basically no coordination or sense of balance, so even though I live in a cycling-friendly city and could save a lot of time and money by cycling I would totally get badly hurt sooner or later, probably sooner.

Swimming lessons at school were basically weekly humiliation rituals. I'd get the strokes wrong, could barely go 20m without putting my foot on the floor, and grew to dread the sarcastic remarks from swimming teachers about my swimming and from everyone else about my body, not just classmates but strangers at public pools too... and that was before I got quite this fat

yes, perhaps if I went cycling and swimming I would eventually not be this fat, but think how many bones I'd break and how many strangers would feel entitled to comment on my figure before that would happen

those strangers can fuck themselves imo

uh I didn't mean to whine, I really just meant that so far being afraid of water or not liking chlorine were posited as reasons why non-swimmers don't swim, and I just wanted to say that for many of us it's not about the water at all

although the water being perpetually cold and full of dead flies in the swimming pool I had my first several years of swimming lessons was also kind of offputting, I admit. Here is that swimming pool! If the first picture's oversaturated blue/orange tint (which is totally fake, check the big black cloud) or the jaunty mural (which had faded until barely visible in my time) make it look in any way warm or appealing, that is all an optical illusion. But I like the pictures.

please carry on talking about swimming, don't let my emo kill the thread

That is an excellent mural.

after having problems with running and hating all the other machines, i decided to try swimming as a form of cross training but i don't have a swimsuit -- i went to k-mart to get one and was horrified by the swimwear they had and promptly gave up. I guess I should try an athletics store? Also the idea of facing a pool with a bunch of other people in it is kind of intimidating to me, particularly since the last time I swam I was a kid.

I like swimming in pools. I don't like the beach that much.

When I drove my friend J home last weekend, she said she has a pool and I was welcome anytime this summer. Yay!

One of the only reasons I'm looking forward to having to go to Florida in July (omg just kill me) is that I plan on spending the whole time in my parents pool. It's a small pool so you just sorta float around or sit on the stairs in the water. I don't even have to actively swim the whole time. I just like being in water. When I was there last year the ocean was over 80 degrees and my dad and I went and just sort of floated for an hour or so. It was amazing.

done lessons to improve their swimming form for doing laps

I'd like to do this too. While I can swim I'm pretty sure my form sucks so this would be helpful. I should look into this.

Basic lap suits are not a big deal, rayuela! You can find one at an athletics store. If you don't want to deal with the mental anguish of WDYLL in a suit, just get like a super basic women's Speedo or whatever is the most utilitarian.

yes! i just need to get motivated to go to an athletics store. i spent all that motivation on the trip to k-mart.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7107/6863819348_7775742ffd_z.jpg

i love swimming

omg omg i want to go there!!

that's Bali btw

WHAT the...that can't be safe! I love it!

i am going to Bali

xp- you want unsafe?

Devil's Pool, Victoria Falls

Diving into, swimming in, and gazing over Devil's Pool is high up on my bucket list. It combines my love of water with my love of heights

I have a fear of heights, and that picture scares me. (My feet prickle whenever I get the height scare. I don't know why.)

Well don't look at these!

(not really unsafe, just looks and feels it)

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/04_04/fallshoutDM2304_468x367.jpg

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/04_04/fallskidDM2304_468x354.jpg

i want to go to Zimbabwe

I'll go with you!

Balcony of my dreams

http://cl.jroo.me/z3/h/V/B/d/a.aaa-Each-room-with-private-pool.jpg

I love all these completely unsafe things.

I'm becoming the buffandmaxsmom of scary-looking swimming pools

tha name no longre has any meaning to me

http://www.cngadget.cn/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/CreativeHotelBalconyPools6.jpg

One more. I'd love to just swim to the bottom of this one and look down

http://www.communityofsweden.com/Thumbnails/71/37271/3056_248070.jpg

For a second, I thought the woman in the second-to-last one was naked.

swimming-pool balcony whoa

"marco"
"pol-AIIIIIIEEEEEeeeeeeeee"

xp If she was naked, I would approve heartily.

"I'm mooning all of Insert Big City Here! Yeah!"

No mention in that Devil's Pool article on whether, or how many, people plunge to their deaths from being there. There's a similar situation in Yosemite here where people do die every year.

A tour guide died three years ago trying to save a stranded tourist, but by and large there haven't been many incidents given the number of people who go there.

jesus christ. the devil's pool photos make me anxious. i cannot go near ledges or things like that. the balcony pool looks fun though. i want one.

Isn't it probably time Victoria falls was re-named something African?

I second St. Georges. I haven't been for a few months though. It's like how I would imagine a communist baths though!

ILX fieldtrip, anyone?

http://cl.jroo.me/z3/7/m/F/d/a.aaa-Did-you-like-the-idea.jpg

where's that?

infinity pool??

why not put up a sign at devils pool "Look, every year some shithead fall off here and dies so dont swim here "

why not ever do anything

My god. I like looking at those pictures but I would definitely be weeing in the pool if I was there.

The mister can't swim. If he's in an ilxing phase at the moment I'll let him talk about that, though. It doesn't really make much difference, sadly, as although I adore swimming I have far too many hang-ups about wearing swimming costumes in public to ever even contemplate doing it these days. It was the only form of exercise I ever really liked, though.

maybe just don't do it drunk/stupid
xp

oh is that infinity pool in a hotel in hong kong or shanghai?

if you cannot swim proudly nood than you should nto swim at all - aquatic apes we are - with cloakas

pools in skyscrapers kind of seem scarier than victoria falls. i think i trust nature more than engineers.

Cloaks or cloacas?

xp

I would probably swim if I had a 'swim cloak'. I have thought about getting a burkini, but they still show off your hideous obesity, even if they hide your skin.

The pool balcony ones don't exist yet. They're plans for some building but I can't remember where. They're awesome but so scary. Would totally go in the ones in Bali. That looks amazing.

damn your proper reptilian anatomical mind! I always swim with a t shirt. Fuck the sun

I was torturing myself the other day looking at pictures of places similar to this in the Maldives.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zIrjSt3vDIM/T2Tefxs5G_I/AAAAAAAAFzU/eYvf_ft9fcA/s1600/mysticvacation1.jpg

Oh, no big deal just hanging out in my private pool looking out over the most beautiful ocean in the world which I'll take a dip in next.

I bet there are many awful insects there that make a home in your body

GOOD POINT

I will concentrate on that. Thank you.

Like a maggot/centipede that lays egg sin between you toes wich burrow into your bone marrow and lay things that grow into spider things that eat you alive from the inside.

And you better hurry, the Maldives will be under water soon.

We will make a new, better Maldives

The pool balcony ones don't exist yet. They're plans for some building but I can't remember where

(ENBB), Friday, June 15, 2012 4:00 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oops, the curved balcony pools on every floor are from an architectural mockup of the 140m tall Parinee Ism residential tower in India proposed by James Law Architects; its design hasn't been finalised. I forgot how good proposed building sketches can look nowadays.

The other pools I posted are real though. The balcony pool with the glass bottom is at the Avalon Hotel in Gothenburg, Sweden. The long pool with the city in the backdrop is the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

(not Hong Kong or Shanghai)

my new partment is across the street from a free outdoor public pool! as of july first i will swim EVERY DAY

free outdoor public enterococci!

I like swimming but I've never been very good at it. My biggest issue is that I run out of steam very quickly. I can swim/float competently enough in deep water, but it makes me feel very anxious.

I'm going to Hawaii in a couple weeks and plan to spend a lot of time in the water trying out snorkling for the first time. My whole family bought snorkles and we tested them out over the weekend in a local public pool. It was fun and weird at the same time. I feel like I'll be able to handle it well in the ocean, but have a lot of paranoia about ending up out too deep and not being able to get back to shore.

https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQL5hkkucd4aPzX8xUDOO2DUqgRQYRpxaDEtKL8H93VzwyI_WsNmQ

haha, the snorks have come up in conversations quite a bit lately!

i snorkled for the first time (in hawaii too!) a few months ago and i'm a strong swimmer - it takes a bit of getting used to because of the waves and making sure you keep track of where you are in the water, but it's soooo fun and cool. just remember that you can take your mask/snorkle off at any time you feel anxious. it's an easy learning curve though and you just breathe in and out through your mouth and blow water out when it gets in, no prob. also, wearing a t-shirt is a good idea at first because your back will get burned...

thanks for the advice. Another tricky challenge will be keeping track of my 9 year old son who has really never been in the ocean much before.

Most of my swimming is actually in a boring (but wonderfully clean and smooth) indoor pool, although it is 50m x 8 lanes wide, and has a big water slide, two hot tubs, and (my favorite) a 10 meter (33') diving platform which I've never actually dived head first off of, but love to jump from. Not as much fun as real cliff diving from a choice spot along the Billy Goat Trail near Great Falls in Maryland where the view is amazing, but much more convenient (and probably more safe, and definitely more legal). I just like dreaming of cooler pools.

Moodles, be sure you understand how rip currents work before swimming in Hawaii beaches. They are very strong in some areas at some times. Basically if you keep moving further from shore, swim sideways until you're out of the rip current, then swim towards the shore. If need be, float on your back using elementary backstroke (which moves you adequately fast and doesn't wear you out much). Fortunately, salt water is much more bouyant. The rip tide at Waimea Bay in the winter could knock me over even when the water is only just above my knees. I wore a personal floatation device part of the time I was so nervous, which keeps your head afloat.

Thanks, my goal is to stick with beaches that have fairly calm currents this time of year. I have a pretty good idea of where those are, but I'm still feeling wary and hope that there will be clear information available about this when I get there.

Generally from what I understand - northern beaches calm in the summer, southern beaches in winter. I was there in December and Waikiki was calm, Waimea had 20+ foot waves (whose swells I swam up and down, out past the breakers, easily one of the most thrilling and bazarre sensations I've ever known - it's like you're swimming uphill for four seconds, then downhill). Just when I had come to accept that the water surface always stays more or less flat. (don't try this if you're sane). Although I was astonished to find little kids out there playing around in the water and surfing those huge waves. I guess if you live in Oahu, you learn to surf as a kid the way I learned to play soccer.

Is snorkle the American way of spelling it, or is it just that I'm the only person annoying enough to point out that it's 'snorkel'?

i am not the best speller with words i hardly ever use :/

and with -el/-le words

Sorry, hope that wasn't snarky - it sounds fun, anyway!

My friend taught me to dog-paddle when I was 19 so I can get around in a pool. But I'm not really a swimmer. My goal for the next year is definitely to learn how to do it properly. I think it's the one form of exercise that could actually be FUN for me.

My friend has a pool in her backyard and tbh that's my new material dream. It's fucking awesome.

better than swimming = snorkeling

^^^^

> Is snorkle the American way of spelling it, or is it just that I'm the only person annoying enough to point out that it's 'snorkel'?

I was going to say it's "snorkel" in the US too. It is, but wuzziss?

Snorkeling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Snorkeling (British spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins.

Americans learning to swim are usually first taught the front crawl (freestyle); from what i understand in UK and elsewhere in Europe you're more likely to start out with breaststroke.

all those infinity pools make me want to learn to swim properly!

That's why I go st georges always empty

what times you been going? you have me considering this now. i could run there and back fairly handily too.

I spell it "Snorkelle"

swimming is the best. i go swimming every day if i can. i like swimming outside the best. i swam in the ocean a few weeks ago and pretended i was a fish. i also like jetskis, jetskis are cool.

bliss:
http://mountsplashmore.tumblr.com/

That looks v cool - never seen one shaped like that.

Tall, steep water slides are IMO the most thrilling way to experience a freefall that doesn't require skill. Sure, cliff-jumping or roller coasters give you the same negative g's, but on a water slide you can feel your body rushing unprotected through the water and there's the distinct sense that you are moving at 60 mph, not just the car or boat you're in. Not like in a roller coaster where you can grab onto the handlebar during the scary parts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fCREx96JEg

doing London swimming is one of my big ~lifestyle~ plans over the summer, probably the Kings Hall Leisure Centre in Hackney since it's a couple of minutes from my house. What's been deterring me from swimming for ages is that I'd be going alone, my eyesight is atrocious and I struggle with contact lenses, so I'd be anxious about wandering around not being able to see for shit. But now, I've discovered the wonder of PRESCRIPTION GOGGLES! (Though not actually tried them yet.)

Also, adult non-cyclists unite. I learned when I was about 12 (already v late) but stopped pretty much as soon as I was competent, so despite certain similes I'm going to assume that all my muscle memory will have dissipated.

I've gone to st George's at different times as I have a variable schedule, i tend to go mostly mon-wed after 7 but also on a sat it was good, been both am and pm

It's almost a two hour drive from London, but I had a couple of friends who raved about swimming near Lechlade-on-Thames in Glousestershire, the upper reaches, one of these quiet river stretches surrounded by bridges, pubs, swans gliding by, and friendly people in little boats. Something very elemental and poetic about it, a world apart from the chlorinated confines of an artificial pool.

Justin Beiber, you incompetent nihilist! what do you care!

Highgate Men's Pond was a pleasant 17 degrees yesterday. Ducks, coots, dragonflies. You can lie on your back and watch the planes pass overhead.

Lechlade-on-Thames

I used to live near here! I'm not sure Lechlade contains anything to make it worth the trip from London but then I never went swimming in the river, because I don't go swimming. Have a pint for me at the Trout just outside town though, many youthful summers spent in that pub garden...

(also on the river, but you need to go into town for swimming, the pub's beside quite a fierce weir)

I ,must needs aqua socks to withstand the horrible pebbles underfoot at willard beach!

I was trying to find this the other week but couldn't. LOOK AT THIS FUCKING PLACE:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2e4u5I2uW1qe7v9do1_400.jpg

bah, I've seen better

lol

my pool looks like this by J-Lo is constantly swimming in it and its filled with Tang

lolll

where is that, E, and how do i make it happen

Rrrobyn it's in the Maldives and I'm trying to figure the second part out myself.

ah the maldives...
that is very far away...

sadly :(

http://www.dusit.com/dusit-thani/en/maldives-gallery.html

wowww
want to go

ugh i want to live there forever

Also many xposts but there is one of those steep-ish drop slides in my hometown. Not as vertical but it's always intimidated me, I'm so much of a wuss I've still never been on it. Maybe this summer...

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QC9UO85-cAA/TiYt5zzf16I/AAAAAAAAADA/u_MyhUP494Y/s1600/100_5562.JPG

I want to go to a waterpark so much right now

Two of my friends went to the Maldives on their honeymoon and stayed in a little hut that was literally out on the water. They had to walk out on a little walk way to get to it and there was nothing around them but that water. I can't even imagine. The only thing they said was that there isn't much there which is great but they stayed for a whole 2 weeks. I guess you would if you took all the time to fly there. Anyway, by the last couple days they were getting a little antsy.

Good lord that resort is AMAZING.

as a dude that pretty much hates swimming (i can do it, i just dont dig it) i just wanted to say that snorkeling on the other hand is like the best thing on the planet

I only like to swim in places hwere people still wear 19th century outfits

http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/store/mens_swimwear.php?gclid=CKjlkZ2x8bACFcXe4AodF173vQ

Oh, no big deal just hanging out in my private pool looking out over the most beautiful ocean in the world which I'll take a dip in next.

I too could never make sense of having a pool overlooking the ocean. That is, except this one: the Bondi Icebergs in Sydney, Australia:

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2272/2059440302_f760cbe99a_z.jpg?zz=1

It's a gorgeous pool overlooking a gorgeous ocean. What makes this one stand out above all others is that when the surf is up, the waves crash right over the wall and into the pool:

http://img.opentravel.com/blogs/travel-blog-magazine-883_3.jpg

http://www.okeanosgroup.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Bondi-Icebergs-Pool-Design.jpg

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/28/54724182_fced431f07_z.jpg?zz=1

http://img.traveldudes.org/files/imagecache/gallery_full/tips/sydney-bondi-beach-icebergs-pool_0.jpg

And if the feel of the ocean isn't enough, you can always jump off the rocks on the south edge of the pool right into the Pacific:

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/191/518470208_39579bea14_z.jpg

Only $5 for admittance; there's also a resort club, pubs, and a live music venue. Will an Aussie ILXor please swim here so I can live vicariously through you?

I stand to be corrected, but I think I've walked past that pool!

I wouldn't be able to walk past it without diving in.....

I'm prob gonna die from radiation or some shit but I'm in the ocean like every other day

OMG that is so amazing.

living the dream imo

xp
i want to swim in all these pools and oceans and lakes

just in case i haven't made that clear enough already

nice taunt ass flying into the sea

Probably not worth a trip to Laos, but wow this swimming hole tucked away near Laung Prabang....

Too beautiful.

http://twistedsifter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/natural-infinity-pool-tat-kuang-si-waterfall-luang-prabang-in-laos.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Kuang_Si_Waterfalls_Luang_Prabang-Laos_%E3%83%A9%E3%82%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AB%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%91%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AF%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B7%E3%83%BC%E3%81%AE%E6%BB%9D_DSCF6486.jpg/800px-Kuang_Si_Waterfalls_Luang_Prabang-Laos_%E3%83%A9%E3%82%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AB%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%91%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AF%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B7%E3%83%BC%E3%81%AE%E6%BB%9D_DSCF6486.jpg

I'm just gonna post this on multiple threads cause it rules that much. This dog likes swimming and is otm in my estimation:

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5tvp7cwMh1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg

Trying to work out where that dog is. Kenya or Uganda maybe?

dog knows how to live

^ The other thread I posted it on. :)

haha! :)

My fave bartender!

And to think for all these years I've called on dogs only to fetch tennis balls.....

I spent a summer swimming here while in Ithaca
http://www.footprintpress.com/Waterfalls/Ithaca_Falls2.jpg

Anyone else miss swimming? I used to swim 1-4 times a week and not being able to is really getting to me lately.

yep not been since feb 4th and I have had multiple dreams about swimming, usually quite frustrating dreams where there is a pool - but I can't swim in it! Going swimming back in the old world of some reasonable levels of safe precedence and tedious routine seems like a golden era to me now.

Yup. I used to go at least twice a week and am getting somewhat upset about it now - especially as the weather heats up.

Totally. Beach will probably reopen by late summer (2-1/2 hour drive) and I can stay 6ft away from everyone else even if nobody else does.

It's the thing I miss most and my back is a rickety mess without it.

Also dream about it often. There's an odd chap who swims at the same pool occasionally but he only does lengths along the bottom. Scared the shit out of me the first time I saw him. It dawned on me, as I was looking down on him, that most flying dreams are actually swimming dreams.

I've found my level of physical anxiety and jitters really growing over the last couple of weeks, and I think it's being cut off from swimming for so long that's doing it. Swimming's always been really calming for me, and it keeps me from having weird pains and palpitations and other physical anxiety symptoms. Now they're coming back. I keep having fantasies of buying a swim spa, one of those things like hot tubs but with a current, but I don't have the money.

I didn't take a vacation (beach or other) last year, and I'm really sorry I didn't. My aunt suggested renting a house on the Outer Banks for a couple of weeks in September, and I'm hoping public health will permit this.

It's the thing I miss most and my back is a rickety mess without it.

this, and also Lily's general point about anxiety. swimming just removed all physical anxiety from my body - for about ten years now between march and november i've swum in the Serpentine in Hyde Park, which is open for club swimmers between 5 and 10am, and you can swim out in the main bit rather than just the water, and it was always a moment of grace before the turbulence and strife of the day started.

https://i.imgur.com/kmog0Nz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Abl5nTu.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qaiOTRA.jpg

First swim in 14 months this evening. God but I'd not realised how much I missed it. I was surprised that I was able to do 30 lengths relatively straightforwardly but I'm sure I'll pay for it tomorrow.
High preponderance of snorkel users in there. Is that weird or is it was me?

I wanted to pop a wasp down there.

covid-proof, innit?

xp

Oh I guess it could be that aye. I think they're sometimes used by triathletes - to focus on building arm strength. So it goes.

I was just kidding really, but who knows?

I did find this:

https://www.stateofswimming.com/olympic-swimmers-must-wear-full-face-scuba-mask-snorkel-in-tokyo-2020-warm-up-pool-to-mitigate-covid-risks/

I'm missing swimming sorely but not going anywhere the fuck near the local pool for a long while tbh. Purely in a not now "Indian variant" spirit of fear and paranoia. Last time I've been swimming was 04/02/20 ffs - really really miss it badly.

I'm in a weird place with my swimming right now. I learned to swim as an adult about ten years ago, and I did a couple years of conditioning swim classes, but I haven't had access to a class since then. Lately it's been taking me a minute to swim a 50-yard lap, and if I just chug along for a mile, it takes me about 40 minutes, which comes out to 2:13/100. I figured this was just me being naturally slow/lazy and didn't worry much about it. I had no problem just going to the pool and swimming a mile, and I figured that was probably doing me some good even if my form wasn't perfect.

Then I started paying attention to my form, and I've had this epiphany that I actually completely suck. I'm lifting my head way more than I realized when breathing; instead of keeping my chin tucked and my body straight and my head aligned with my body and only rolling until half my face is out of the water, I've been doing this prolonged roll to the side, then turning my head even more till my whole face is out of the water and taking a nice slow breath. This makes my hips sink, hurts my lower back, throws off my rhythm so I have to rush my next stroke, and slows me way down.

So I started trying to correct it - really focusing on engaging the core, keeping the whole body straight, keeping the head down - and it's like I'm learning to swim all over again. Now that I can't just coast along on my side breathing to my heart's content in the middle of a stroke, I'm realizing I never developed the proper breath control, and I'm getting winded and having to stop after every 50 to pant for air. But I am also swimming each 50 in 50 seconds without really trying.

So this is a really fascinating, motivating, but also frustrating place to be in. It sucks to all of a sudden not be able to swim a damn 200, when a couple weeks ago I could swim a mile no problem. And it's frustrating that having identified the problem, I can't just instantly fix it; I have to go through the learning process over again, and then I presumably have to ramp up my endurance little by little, just like I did when I first learned. But it's also cool to think that if I stick with this, I could actually get better at this thing that I've been enthusiastically mediocre at for a decade.

That's an encouraging post actually. I don't have advice I could give but it sounds like you are getting there by yourself.

I'm also largely self-taught - I knew the breaststroke and decided one winter to teach myself to crawl. It was a slow and fascinating learning process. My level appeared decent as long as you don't compare it to the "proper swimmers": I can be "fast" for 50 meters, I cannot do much more than 200 either, so I tend to alternate the laps between breaststroke and crawl, and I definitely need more time for a km.

I should try to focus on the technique again. I always thought it was more powerful / economical arm moves that get you to that magical pace where you can feel the speed underwater and where you could bump your head at the end if not paying attention, but actually the transition between "cycles" is probably even more important for not losing tempo / momentum.

Funnily, I always assumed humans were grossly inadapted for water, but it turns out we're actually in the stronger swimmers as far as land mammals go.

Oh and I've been in that pond near Luang Prabang posted upthread :)

I have actually taken up swimming again since posting (probably a stress fracture on third toe, no running for now) and here are my observations:
- I really enjoy swimming.
- Keeping my head down is a big factor in making me go faster.
- I also try to "finish" the moves and really push the water back under me, especially as my head goes up for breathing, so as not to lose the momentum.
- I'm still not sure whether I should let the breathing dictate the pace, or prioritize the regularity of the strokes, my brain is clearly too simple and my focus on one tends to throw off the other.
- I counted the strokes of some young swimming Apollo, he was doing 16 where I do 24 (it's a small indoor pool, 25 meters). I have no idea how to develop that kind of power. I can go at his speed, but I'm obviously not efficient. Then again, I had also never seen someone swim feet-first with his head underwater and just his hands paddling.
- I'll try to time myself over a km and see how much crawling I can sustain (so far I alternate fast crawling laps with slower breaststroke). I should also learn how to flip in the water.

I live 10 minutes from the ocean and swim whenever I can, 4 or 5 times a week, in all seasons (with a wetsuit in winter). Sometimes it feels like the only thing that keeps me sane. I cannot imagine a life without swimming.

We were in Ireland last year, undergoing the typical weather, and we stop on this random beach of white sand (Mulranny I think) when this booming guy comes out of the rocks on the seafront with a towel around his neck, radiating positive energy. Tells us his father used to drag him here as a child and he hated it, but now he goes every day. "You can't let such a sea go to waste, you have to go in". He repeated that several times. We didn't dip but I still remember this guy fondly. He was under a good spell.

I don't swim all year but i've typically held out through the first half of November
Since 2022 the arrival of migratory waterfowl has brought cercarial dermatitis to my usual swimming spots. that year I got covered in < 200 swollen, itchy welts before i figured out they were coming from the water.
It cut my swim season painfully short for a couple of years, but I'm determined to find a workable solution.

I read somewhere that 20% zinc oxide sunscreen seems to do the trick. It's pricey and I only get one use (a measly 80 mins) out of a $15 bottle.

U noticed diaper rash cream has twice as much zinc oxide in it at a fraction of the price, tho. I figured it was worth a shot.

I covered myself in it on my excursion yesterday and... it worked!! Not a single itchy bump.

It also proved impossible to wash off my skin and destroyed everything I own. I tried alcohol, dish soap, laundry detergent- but the only thing that seemed to help a bit was lanolin. So now I'm trying to figure out how to get lanolin stains out of my stuff as well.

https://i.ibb.co/r6dchDV/sddefault.jpg

I started swimming laps last year, and had been on an excellent streak of going 3-4 days a week. Never felt better doing regular exercise. Then this July, I injured something in my arm. I tried resting it and doing PT exercises that I found on youtube, but nothing helped. I got really bummed out and just stopped exercising altogether for a while. But last month, I started going again and just doing laps with a kickboard. It's not the same, but it's something, and I'm thankful that my wife encouraged me to do it. I have an appointment with an orthopedist to try to figure out the injury.

Zelda where do you live? I've thought of swimming with a wetsuit but
-any part not covered by the suit will be covered by itchy lumps instead. swimming in gloves, boots and a hood seems too constricting
-changing out of the wetsuit outside in the winter has got to suck

I live in Sydney and the water never gets too cold, maybe 16 degrees in mid-winter. I've always swum all year round but when I lived in Europe I stuck to heated pools in winter!

Ah got it. I'm honestly good until it drops below 17-ish (but it drops down to about 6 and doesn't come up again until the end of may)
Swimming laps in a pool doesn't appeal much and sounds kinda dreary even though I agree with you that it's the only thing keeping me... well, idk if I have any claim to sanity :D but y'know
I need to swim out far enough that I can see the entire section coastline the way it looks on the map. and look at all the pretty sights
and the endless void on the other side (endless until westchester or Connecticut)
I like pools, but for jumping off the board and throwing toys in the bottom and diving down to retrieve them etc.

I am in Sydney too Zelda, swimming in the ocean is one of the few compelling reasons to keep living here IMO! I am not as intrepid as you and usually have a couple of months off midwinter but the years I have gutsed it out I feel like it releases some powerful energy.

Also a swimming pool lap swimmer at an enduringly moderate level of ability. I took it up around 30 and it has been a life-saver both from a physical and a mental health pov. I just wish I had time to go every day!

Yep, I'm basically in Sydney for the weather and the ocean pools. I got myself an annual pass for

... this one. A bit expensive, so there's also a financial motivation to swim whenever I can! Piping hot shower after doing your lengths essential in the colder months!

Yeah I love the reward of being warm and cosy after a cold swim.

Haven’t been to Wylies for years but have fond memories. When I have time and am feeling intrepid I think Freshwater is my favourite ocean pool - a proper lap pool! But most of the time I swim at Congwong or Little Bay. Just got back from Little Bay, superb!

Little Bay is a lovely spot, great for snorkeling too. In my youth it was a sewage outlet believe it or not, so no swimming!

I'm reading about the pool you linked to (Wylie's). This looks intense:

Wylie's Baths is built below the high-water mark, which means it gets flushed twice daily by the high tide. If there is much swell (wave action) about, this can create quite rough and dangerous conditions. If you are after "still water" for lap swimming & those infinity pool vibes, best to come in the window of 3 hours before low tide and 3 hours after low tide. Depending on how big the swell is, this window of 'good lap swimming' will diminish i.e. some days, you're only good for 30 minutes either side of the low mark.

Swim within your ability, and if you aren't sure about getting in, we encourage you to sit and watch the conditions for ten minutes or more, as lulls between sets can give you a false sense of calm in the pool.

If you prefer the whirlpool scene - the high tide will give you better wave action!

Keep in mind, the most dangerous and exposed area of the pool is the northern wall - the one closest to Coogee Beach. As waves crash in to the pool, the water level rises and rushes out via the path of least resistance - north - and can take YOU with the rush of water. Please be mindful of this and follow all signage or instructions related to pool restrictions, or considering your ability & the risks associated with rougher conditions.

Interesting place to swim!

Yeah, best not swim there at high tide! It's a pretty stunning place to swim though: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqjH72Aubnw5T2oA8SZBB8_ZpOw6MAbSesO0EhKklhXXnle5W2aphv2Vc&s=10

You see all sorts of sea life in there as well, saw a huge octopus the other day...

What a great pic ZZ, I am always getting envious of my friends having Instagram adventures on the Mediterranean coast or whatever, but this really is a ridiculously beautiful part of the world

Last week I was down south and had a couple of swims at the Blue Pool in Bermagui, just stunning

Literally just knocked out a glorious 20 lengths in pool pictured above, water a balmy 17.2. Yep, we're definitely spoilt for choice in this part of the world for spectacular beaches and spots to swim...

How lovely! I've never gotten to swim in a pool like that. I saw some years ago when I visited St. Malo and just yearned after them, but it was late fall and very windy so no one was swimming.

I'm still working on my stroke and still can't swim more than maybe 300 yards continuous with my new form, but it's getting better. It makes it more interesting to have a goal, and I keep trying out different things to see what works - especially as everything I fix seems to bring some new problem to my attention that I was cheerfully unaware of before.

I might start working on bilateral breathing, which is almost impossible for me right now, so that I can breathe every three strokes. Breathing every two throws off my rotation, and every four doesn't give me enough oxygen.

Nabozo, I actually take 14-16 strokes most lengths, but I couldn't say how I do it exactly. Have you tried slowing your stroke and really extending your reach with each glide to make sure you are actually gliding? And are you bending your elbow during your pull so that you are pulling mainly with your forearm rather than your entire extended arm? (Sorry if you were not looking for advice - I'm a teacher though not of swimming so it's a habit.)

I started swimming laps last year, and had been on an excellent streak of going 3-4 days a week. Never felt better doing regular exercise. Then this July, I injured something in my arm. I tried resting it and doing PT exercises that I found on youtube, but nothing helped. I got really bummed out and just stopped exercising altogether for a while. But last month, I started going again and just doing laps with a kickboard. It's not the same, but it's something, and I'm thankful that my wife encouraged me to do it. I have an appointment with an orthopedist to try to figure out the injury.

― peace, man, Friday, October 4, 2024 1:26 PM (five days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Just turns out to be shoulder impingement. She gave me a cortisol injection and a handful of PT exercises to try to work it out. Some of them were the PT exercises I had already been doing, but with a couple extras thrown in there. Supposed to do this for 6 weeks and then go back for a check-up to see if I'm ready to start freestyle or backstroking again. If I ever get a sports-related injury and just try to "sort it out on my own" I should kick myself.

And are you bending your elbow during your pull so that you are pulling mainly with your forearm rather than your entire extended arm? (Sorry if you were not looking for advice - I'm a teacher though not of swimming so it's a habit.)

― Lily Dale, Saturday, October 5, 2024 5:06 PM (four days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Errr no, I don't think I've learnt to bend the elbow, that's brilliant advice and your sharing of tips is most welcome, thank you.

I really need actual one-on-one instruction so I can get feedback on my form, because I can tell I'm all over the place. But when I was first starting out, I found it really helpful to check out various youtube channels to understand the basics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omkBPOvAuu8

So I am planning a trip to Europe that starts in a few days and ends with a swimming adventure thing in the Lake District. I will have a chunk of time between about the 3rd and the 12th where I want to wander around England and France, spending two or three days each in different towns, and doing as much swimming as possible along the way - either open water swimming or swimming pools that are really cool and/or big. (I only get a half hour at a time in my pool at home, so I need to build up my swimming stamina.) Any recommendations? I will probably start out in the southwest of England, head over to France, then come back and go straight to the lakes. If anyone has places they recommend for swimming in London, areas close-ish to London by train, or the west and/or south of France, let me know!

have you considered the channel crossing?

I would very carefully research any wild swimming in the UK, release of sewage into rivers and the sea has been happening on an unprecedented scale recently.

Ok good to know.

I believe there are still some nice lidos though.

Just realized I said southwest England when I meant southeast.