Who's on the B&B Swim Team?

[Chef455]

Swimmers, please identify yourselves. I'm about 3 months in swimming laps 4x a week. Right now I'm hitting around 35 laps in 45 minutes. I don't know (or necessarily care) where that falls in the grand scheme of swimming fitness, but I am tracking my workouts and I'm improving both time swimming and # of laps.

I use a snorkel when I swim. It helps me focus on swimming instead of stalling out because I'm not breathing correctly. Maybe someday I'll eliminate it but that's a good ways off. The snorkel has helped me immensely in just being able to keep my head in the water and focus on swimming. I also have some minor issues with my shoulder and it helps to keep me from over rotating.

I'd appreciate anyone willing to share their swimming journey/routine. Equipment they use, laps & time (now vs starting out) anything else that is relevant.

I'm considering purchasing some headphones (bone conduction?) and I would VERY MUCH appreciate anyone's thoughts and experiences with waterproof headphones they use when swimming.

 

[silverlifter]

I use to swim several times a week. Both ocean swimming (north to south Bondi and back) and 1500 in the pool. The technology didn't exist back then, but I couldn't imagine swimming with headphones; the drag alone would put me off. I'm probably an outlier because I don't exercise with earbuds either, but if I had to listen in the water, I'd prefer something in-ear as it would be less drag and a lot lighter.

You probably know all this, but it may be helpful for others...

For lap swimming in a pool, the most important thing is finding a lane that is your speed; there is nothing worse than being stuck behind people who have to swim in the fast lane because their ego won't let them acknowledge they should be in a beginner lane. Similarly, having someone tap your toes every second stroke for a half a lap because they want to pass does not make for an enjoyable swim.

Next is the pool itself. I have swum in pools where you dive in and realise that the water is a miasma of snot. Or, just as bad, the chlorine levels are enough to remove your nostril hair. A well maintained salt water pool is the ideal, but they are not easy to come across (at least in this part of the world).

Most pools will also have times for lap swimmers; generally just before and after work. These can be quite full on, so if you find a pool that allows lane swimming in off peak times, you are golden. Otherwise, learn the etiquette and just ride with some of the rough and tumble (people swimming over the top of you, taking up the entire wall as they chat while you want to turn), the normal sort of behaviour that accompanies lots of humans in a confined space.

In terms of times, I would aim for a 25 minute 1500 (in a 50 metre pool). Some days I would come in a little under, every once in a while I'd manage a 20. I was more focussed on consistency and the aerobic workout that beating times. I think when I started I was around the 30 minute mark, but I swam competitively when I was at school. I would encourage you to work towards ditching the snorkel; it will improve your breathing, stroke, and reduce drag; all of which will make for a better swim. You don't have to do it in a hurry, but it is a goal worth shooting for. Good luck!

Pro tip: always wear sluggos as a lap swimmer. You'll swim faster and no-one will mess with you!

 

[luvmysuper]

If you are flying to your destination, it is recommended to wait a few days before swimming with a snorkel, FYI.

 

[abies]

Hmmm... I've been known to swim.

I learned to swim as a child, took lessons and so forth, and then four years ago did a triathlon with some family. I kept at it, and gradually found myself enjoying the swimming part more than I thought I would. I kept swimming even when the triathlon part kind of got disrupted by the pandemic and related things, did some open water swim events and so forth.

I usually swim open water, doing either laps of 100m back and forth in shallower water, or swimming longer distances across natural bodies like lakes or ocean bays, like 1000-2500m across. I also swim in pools too sometimes as there are some nice pools around but I generally get frustrated by the overcrowding and unpredictability of availability (which can be a problem in open water too but not as much).

I haven't sought out coaching or clubs, although I know I probably should just for the feedback. I haven't really found any coaches I would want to pay, I haven't really found any small groups to go in on with small group custom lessons, and the clubs around me seem really intense, focused on traditional competitive pool swimming, and meet too early for my tastes. I also enjoy swimming in the morning and afternoon with the rowing teams, and the pools can't beat that.

A lot of the time has been me building up endurance and kind of figuring out what I'm doing wrong from watching videos and then trial and error and self-monitoring. Also coming to realize there is a lot of conflicting advice out there about proper swim technique and that a lot of it, even seemingly solid advice, is sort of nonsense, and a lot of the rest of it really varies by the individual.

I've never used any equipment at all. I have thought about buying some of the hand paddles that you need to maintain correct position to keep on your hands, just for the stroke feedback, but never really got around to getting them. I have mixed feelings about training equipment in general. The other thing I've been interested in are some of the new hand sensors that can tell you the velocity of your strokes; those types of things seem like they could be very useful for me in terms of understanding how different things I do affect my pull. However, they're very expensive and more importantly I feel uncomfortable buying something like that and it requiring a subscription to use. Even with the price as it is I might get a set if I could analyze all the data offline, and with whatever I wanted, but I haven't seen one like that.