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
Skip—you are going to get a lot of replies from know-it-alls who will tell you 80-81 is the appropriate temperature for competitive swimming. Don’t listen to them. You have it correct: 82-83, even 84, is perfect. Those who disagree are not spending enough time on the wall recovering from fast swims.
83-84* adversely affects my performance in a sprint set. I start to overheat.
If you're getting cold after a fast swim, maybe you're spending too much time on the wall. I'd recommend you get going again sooner :bolt:
Lots of good pools are around 80F. If you find that temperature too cold, a cap is your first line of defense and earplugs are your second. A guy on my team wears a thin shorty wetsuit to every workout and you could try that if earplugs and a cap aren't enough.
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
I suppose my first question is do you swim with a cap? I don’t usually, but it does help retain some heat. Other possible alternatives include a swim shirt or wetsuit. Folks at my local pool regularly swim with these. Perhaps you’ve already excluded these though.
To directly answer your question, cold is a trigger for asthma for me, so a small handful of times over the past seven years, the cold has triggered coughing. Not a bad issue though for me.
Skip—you are going to get a lot of replies from know-it-alls who will tell you 80-81 is the appropriate temperature for competitive swimming. Don’t listen to them. You have it correct: 82-83, even 84, is perfect. Those who disagree are not spending enough time on the wall recovering from fast swims.
80-82 IS ideal for fast swimming...so much so that is a USA and USMS rule. Your perfect 84 is unhealthy for most, and a guaranteed asthma attack for me. there is no amount of reasonable time to cool off after a fast swim.
What is boils down to for training is personal preference. If 80 is too cold, try wearing a silicon cap to retain heat in your body. Try exerting a little more during your swim, or unlike Doug's advise, take LESS time between reps. :2cents:
Skip--As a fellow 69-year-old, I empathize with your discomfort in cooler water.
Doug--With respect, I have this nagging feeling that your attempted pre-emptive response might actually define know-it-all. Despite your effort to head it off, there is much room for a conversation about appropriate water temperature and honest differences of opinion here.
This is a question that often stirs up controversy! Of course, there are individual factors that will determine what the "ideal" water temperature is - but as some of the forumites have mentioned, the USA Swimming/FINA mandate is that a pool temperature between 77 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit is mandated for competitive swimming. That's generally the ideal temperature. But temperatures at pools, in many instances, will depend upon the clientele. If the pool is geared more towards lap/competitive swimmers, the temperature will be within the mandated limits. If it's for general use, it will normally be kept higher. The best facilities are those with two pools held at different temperatures for different uses. The most challenging situation is actually when the pool temperature is too warm. If the pool is too warm, you need to stay vigilant, adjust your workout, and keep hydrated. If it's too cold, as others have suggested, you can wear a cap, earplugs and even if necessary a light wetsuit.
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.
