So, with my regular pool downed for maintenance, I've been swimming at the other gyms in this chain. I was swimming at the next-closest the other day and noticed a sign saying T/Th the pool is closed at 7pm for a Masters' workout, and on the gym schedule there's a "Competitive Swim Training" listed. So after spending much of the day nervous over it, waffling heavily (what if it's too tough, what if people are mean, people at this gym are widely regarded for being less than chill after all, what if, what if) I finally convince myself I'll go and at least give it a try.
It turned out to be, essentially, very much a DIY workout. There was a very small whiteboard attached to a "wet floor" sign with the workout written on it, tucked next to the kickboards and not visible from anywhere in the pool. No "teacher", no coach (someone who might have been in the coach had a printout of something at the lane they were swimming in?), no direction whatsoever. People came, no one seemed to follow any particular routine, other than that they knew each other. I kept checking to see if I was somehow missing something, but no. I did my own little workout, of course, because why waste the time, but ...
Is this what a practice is supposed to be like? Because this felt like basically just an adults-only lap swim hour. I would've been just as well off printing out a workout from the forum and following that. It was kind of disappointing to go expecting something resembling a class ("competitive swim training" is an actual category of class that the gym chain offers, because I've seen it elsewhere, and seen it run at other gyms, usually with kids/teens) just to do the same thing that I could've done first thing in the morning by myself. :(
Each Masters team is going to be a bit different and have its own culture.
Teams can vary from being extremely structured, focused on competition, to those that are relatively unstructured fitness groups.
Most are somewhere in the middle. Remember that most USMS members do not regularly complete.
Our team always has a certified coach on deck with a structured workout on white boards. Most folks will follow the coach's workout, but some (triathletes & competitive swimmers) will deviate depending on their competition schedule. Others just prefer to swim laps on their own. The coach tries to organize the lanes to group folks together appropriately.
I'm more of competitive swimmer and enjoy workouts based on challenging sendoffs. I'll also tweak my workouts if I have a meet coming up or if I want to work on a specific weakness. Out of courtesy, I try to let the coach know how and why I'm deviating from the posted workout.
As mentioned, each Masters team is going to have its own culture or personality. Probably a good idea to drop in and swim with a group a few times before committing to formally join.
Each Masters team is going to be a bit different and have its own culture.
Teams can vary from being extremely structured, focused on competition, to those that are relatively unstructured fitness groups.
Most are somewhere in the middle. Remember that most USMS members do not regularly complete.
Our team always has a certified coach on deck with a structured workout on white boards. Most folks will follow the coach's workout, but some (triathletes & competitive swimmers) will deviate depending on their competition schedule. Others just prefer to swim laps on their own. The coach tries to organize the lanes to group folks together appropriately.
I'm more of competitive swimmer and enjoy workouts based on challenging sendoffs. I'll also tweak my workouts if I have a meet coming up or if I want to work on a specific weakness. Out of courtesy, I try to let the coach know how and why I'm deviating from the posted workout.
As mentioned, each Masters team is going to have its own culture or personality. Probably a good idea to drop in and swim with a group a few times before committing to formally join.
