Minimum days without swimming that will get you rusty?

Former Member
Former Member
How many days without swimming (illness, travel...) will make you rusty? Not only losing the speed, but also losing the techniques? How long does it take for you to recover the previous best performance?
Parents
  • I can take 2 days off with no problem.3 days and I can notice a little difference.5 days and I can definitely tell I've been out of the water. Same here. I try to swim as many days as I can each week, making sure I take at least one day off but no more than two in a row. I swim with my kids' team 3x a week and try to get to a local pool at least 2-3 times on the off days. If I have 3 in a row (if I don't make it to the local pool at all) I feel a difference - sometimes I just feel extra rested, others I feel a bit off or slow. If I miss a whole week, I really feel it. We had 2 weeks off over the holidays from the kids' team (an the local pool was also closed) and when I got back in, I felt very rusty and out of shape. ETA: as far as getting back into it, it can take me a couple practices to feel right again after a week or more off. But if I'm only off for a few days, I usually get back into a groove by the end of practice.
Reply
  • I can take 2 days off with no problem.3 days and I can notice a little difference.5 days and I can definitely tell I've been out of the water. Same here. I try to swim as many days as I can each week, making sure I take at least one day off but no more than two in a row. I swim with my kids' team 3x a week and try to get to a local pool at least 2-3 times on the off days. If I have 3 in a row (if I don't make it to the local pool at all) I feel a difference - sometimes I just feel extra rested, others I feel a bit off or slow. If I miss a whole week, I really feel it. We had 2 weeks off over the holidays from the kids' team (an the local pool was also closed) and when I got back in, I felt very rusty and out of shape. ETA: as far as getting back into it, it can take me a couple practices to feel right again after a week or more off. But if I'm only off for a few days, I usually get back into a groove by the end of practice.
Children
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