Greetings, I am a regular distance swimmer, 3 - 6 miles a week. At my current YMCA pool they keep the water temperature at 82 - 83. That is fine. It takes 30 - 45 seconds to adjust after jumping into the water. Swimming, no problem, 2700 yards yesterday.
However, we are in the process of relocating to another part of our metropolitan area, Columbus, OH. I checked out the pool in the new area the other day-- the water is Cold. I swam a thousand yards, and was cold the whole time. I'm gonna try again tomorrow. I was told by their aquatics director that they keep the temp at 80 degrees for competitive swimming.
Well, it is cold. I am also a 69 year old Heart Patient. I may be more susceptible to cold since my heart attack and bypass surgery 19 months ago. Not sure.
I am wondering if others give much thought to water temperature or if they ever have problems with it being too cold.
Thanks
Skip Cornett
Columbus, OH
Greetings, I am a regular distance swimmer, 3 - 6 miles a week. At my current YMCA pool they keep the water temperature at 82 - 83. That is fine. It takes 30 - 45 seconds to adjust after jumping into the water. Swimming, no problem, 2700 yards yesterday.
Well, it is cold . I am also a 69 year old Heart Patient. I may be more susceptible to cold since my heart attack and bypass surgery 19 months ago. Not sure.
I'm 68 with not heart problems and feel the cold much faster than when I was younger too. We don't have a thermometer at our pool, but I've become pretty good a guessing the water temp between OW and pool swimming. In the early summer growing up on LI the outdoor pools would be pretty cold (below mid-60s) and it would take more than a few laps to get warmed up. But, my metabolism was about 50x faster!
At least in my opinion 84+ gets too hot, and as others have said, it can push your heart rate up. Our Y kept the water at 85+ and it was way to hot for me and other swimmers doing sets and I stopped swimming at the Y. At I think about 80 and below (before they turn the pool heater on in the fall) I need to keep moving in our current pool. At about 80 if I hang on the wall for a couple of minutes talking after the main set and before the cool down, I start to get cold and stiffen.
In open water I don't have any problem down to low 70s as long as I keep swimming; I wear a shorty wet suit below that, but prefer a full suit at below 65 or 67. You would want a wet suit designed for swimming, not surfing. They do change your buoyancy (body position in the water) and many swimmers don't like that. Personally I think you would find just about any neoprene wet suit to be too warm in a pool.
Some Tri swimmers use swim "skins" (I think that's what they are called), which must have some minimal insulating capability and drag reduction, but are nylon and not neoprene, and surfers use rash guards (nylon tee shirt, some have 1mm +/- insulation too). Rash guards tend to get baggy and might not last long in the pool before becoming problematic, but guess it's worth a try - get poly for durability and not nylon or lycra, if you can find it.
Greetings, I am a regular distance swimmer, 3 - 6 miles a week. At my current YMCA pool they keep the water temperature at 82 - 83. That is fine. It takes 30 - 45 seconds to adjust after jumping into the water. Swimming, no problem, 2700 yards yesterday.
Well, it is cold . I am also a 69 year old Heart Patient. I may be more susceptible to cold since my heart attack and bypass surgery 19 months ago. Not sure.
I'm 68 with not heart problems and feel the cold much faster than when I was younger too. We don't have a thermometer at our pool, but I've become pretty good a guessing the water temp between OW and pool swimming. In the early summer growing up on LI the outdoor pools would be pretty cold (below mid-60s) and it would take more than a few laps to get warmed up. But, my metabolism was about 50x faster!
At least in my opinion 84+ gets too hot, and as others have said, it can push your heart rate up. Our Y kept the water at 85+ and it was way to hot for me and other swimmers doing sets and I stopped swimming at the Y. At I think about 80 and below (before they turn the pool heater on in the fall) I need to keep moving in our current pool. At about 80 if I hang on the wall for a couple of minutes talking after the main set and before the cool down, I start to get cold and stiffen.
In open water I don't have any problem down to low 70s as long as I keep swimming; I wear a shorty wet suit below that, but prefer a full suit at below 65 or 67. You would want a wet suit designed for swimming, not surfing. They do change your buoyancy (body position in the water) and many swimmers don't like that. Personally I think you would find just about any neoprene wet suit to be too warm in a pool.
Some Tri swimmers use swim "skins" (I think that's what they are called), which must have some minimal insulating capability and drag reduction, but are nylon and not neoprene, and surfers use rash guards (nylon tee shirt, some have 1mm +/- insulation too). Rash guards tend to get baggy and might not last long in the pool before becoming problematic, but guess it's worth a try - get poly for durability and not nylon or lycra, if you can find it.
