Local Pool Closing, Need Ideas for Once Per Week Training

Former Member
Former Member
A whole drama has unfolded locally regarding the construction / remodel of the local aquatic center, but that is a different story. The result is that the local indoor lap pool will close for construction and remodel November 27, 2019 and won't reopen until Spring 2021 (not a typo, freaking 2021). The closest indoor lap pool is 74 miles away. Logistically and time wise, I can make that trip only once per week. With that trip I get a 3-4 hour window to swim. I am looking for some ideas on how to structure workouts effectively. ​ About me: I am triathlete, so my focus is on front crawl and Olympic (1500 meters) and Half Iron (1950 meters) distance. Normally, I swim 2-3 times a week for 1:20 or so. Before you ask. 1. No, I cannot invest $20,000 in a swim spa. 2. No, I really can't make more than one trip. 3. We have winter here, so there are zero year round outdoor pools. 4. Likewise, with winter, swimming open water is not really an option until late spring at the earliest.
  • Seriously!?!?! Is that a serious suggestion or just a joke? I mean I don't like to cause a ruckus on social media, and have always believed there's no such thing as a stupid question. But is uprooting the family and moving to a new town a serious suggestion for a local pool temporarily closing? If it is, fine. I apologize for any discrimination. Dan
  • Former Member
    Former Member over 4 years ago
    1. I just bought a treadmill, so not looking at purchasing equipment. 2. Candidly, that device is kind of a joke. You could probably jerry-rig something similar with resistance bands/weights and a weight bench. It wouldn't be ideal, but at least it'd work the muscles.
  • Former Member
    Former Member over 4 years ago
    Thank you for the continued replies. ForceDJ is right, "moving" isn't an option. I will probably have to do what __steve__ is suggesting and structure a session that includes a lot of easy'ish stuff with drills, do some video for the first hour or so, and then blast a normal'ish workout for the last 1.5 to 2 hours.
  • Tough situation to be in. I'm fortunate in that I have multiple pools year round and close by to choose from. However, I also travel a lot for work with changing schedules and finding my normal swim routine seriously out of sync. I was going t suggest the Hotel pool gym routine as well. What I look for a nice hotel that ideally has a rectangular pool... bigger the better. When you get in to swim get a sens of the size. Typically a hotel pool is going to be around 12-20 yards if your lucky. Usually you can count the number of tiles or coping at the pool. Once you have a gauge of the length you can the set about to working your targeted distance. Tethers are good but I find they restrict my natural breathing pattern. If you use a tether, use only for a short time. Try to find a time that nobody is in the pool and remove the divider line that typically separates the deep and shallow end. If you do flip turns, you can get a decent workout in.. If not maybe you can work on improvement. However... most importantly, recall your childhood and jump in that pool and play vigorously! jump, splash, swim sprint, swim underwater, circle swim, kick, pull... PLAY! Hopefully you get your pool back before 2021.