Hello - this is my first post as I stumbled across this website while looking for workouts.
A little bit about myself....I am 44 years old and have been away from swimming (or any kind of real phsycial activity) for a number of years. I swam competitively as a youth, in high school and in college. I was swimming with a masters team, but felt the workouts were geared towards those interested in competing. The rest of us were just sort of thrown in a lane together!!
4 months ago I decided to lose weight and get back in shape. Although I walk almost daily, I missed swimming. I just discovered that the local community pool has lap swimming 3 days a week and water aerobics 2 days a week. Perfect!!
The first week I swam the following:
200 free swim; 2 free kick
200 back swim; 200 back kick
200 free swim; 200 free kick
200 *** swim; 200 *** kick
200 free swim; 200 free back
The problem is....where to go from here. I am looking for any advice, suggestions, etc. on where to take my workouts from here.
My goal is continue on my own through the summer, take a swimming class (where I can do laps) at the local community college, and then join the masters program (when I feel I can keep up). I am hesitant to join the masters now, as I feel I may get discouraged.
As I said, any suggestions, advice, workouts anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Parents
Former Member
If you've made it this far, then (IMHO) you've already discovered one fantastic resource for swimming, whether you want to compete again or not. I've found some excellent workouts on this site that are easy to adapt to fit my schedule and workout goals.
Like you, I'm returning from a lengthy hiatus — though I never competed — and so far have found that this site has broad appeal for every level of swimmer.
Finally, I think that your idea to take a swimming class is a good one. If nothing else, classes will give you a refresher on proper technique and make you more aware of your stroke. With that, you may find yourself meeting your goals faster than you think.
Sparky
P.S. A note on pools: We have a public pool a few blocks from my house that has extremely limited lap swim times. As such, it's jam-packed anytime I try to go. Instead I joined a health club with a short (20-yard) pool that almost nobody uses. It makes it tougher to do conventional workouts, but on the other hand I can take as long as I want. :)
If you've made it this far, then (IMHO) you've already discovered one fantastic resource for swimming, whether you want to compete again or not. I've found some excellent workouts on this site that are easy to adapt to fit my schedule and workout goals.
Like you, I'm returning from a lengthy hiatus — though I never competed — and so far have found that this site has broad appeal for every level of swimmer.
Finally, I think that your idea to take a swimming class is a good one. If nothing else, classes will give you a refresher on proper technique and make you more aware of your stroke. With that, you may find yourself meeting your goals faster than you think.
Sparky
P.S. A note on pools: We have a public pool a few blocks from my house that has extremely limited lap swim times. As such, it's jam-packed anytime I try to go. Instead I joined a health club with a short (20-yard) pool that almost nobody uses. It makes it tougher to do conventional workouts, but on the other hand I can take as long as I want. :)
