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

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.