Starting All Over Again

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sun, 24 Oct 2004 14:40:20 GMT

So I wish to quash my opening comment that I thought it wasn't good for weight loss. Clearly it is. I guess it's "possible" that we can allow you to retract that statement....(just kidding of course!) I am very glad to hear how well you are progressing! Keep up the good work!.....(and don't starve yourself too much.....You're allowed to indulge a little when you're working out).

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 15:09:41 GMT

If you expend more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. There is absolutely no reason why you cannot lose weight swimming, unless of course you continue to consume more than you expend.

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 14:09:15 GMT

There is a lot of belief among those who do "dry" workouts that swimming isn't good for weight loss. I don't agree - I lost 35 pounds myself, so I know it works.

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 12:51:44 GMT

Originally posted by AnnG Maybe those who say a person can't lose weight swimming don't have the skill level to train aerobically, i.e., they are just paddling around in the pool. I would venture a guess that if a person just strolled around the block once a week would not lose weight either. I believe a person who cannot swim well has a better chance of losing weight than an efficient swimmer, the not so good swimmer has to fight harder. George

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 10:16:24 GMT

I have heard that it isn't optimal for losing weight but I step on the scale myself and realize different results. I guess if I were leisurely paddling around the pool without getting my heart rate up, that's one thing. So I wish to quash my opening comment that I thought it wasn't good for weight loss. Clearly it is. :o

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 08:57:35 GMT

My longterm goal is also to lose 50 lbs but know that swimming isn't the best way to do that, mbriones, I don't agree about swimming not being the best method of weight loss.....I am 5'11'' and medium framed but weighed 275 + pounds in Mid May....I started swimming again (after a lay off of about 18 years) around Mid May and having been swimming regurly every since....Now I'm down to 210 pounds. The fat literally melted right off of me. I think swimming is amongst the best exercises for losing weight. I also started like you...I could barely swim 2 or 3 laps at first....Now I swim several miles at a time with no problem....I swim multiple 100 butterfly sets and 200 I.M. sets with no problems.....You WILL get better....It won't even really take that long.....Just keep doing it and you will see. You may not see that much improvement for a few weeks..BUT it will come.....You will be amazed 4 months down the road how far you came....and that 50 pounds will be long gone!! newmastersswimmer

RE: Starting All Over Again

AnnG — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 06:34:40 GMT

Maybe those who say a person can't lose weight swimming don't have the skill level to train aerobically, i.e., they are just paddling around in the pool. I would venture a guess that if a person just strolled around the block once a week would not lose weight either.

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 06:03:59 GMT

Swimming that kind of distance seems very excessive for yours truly at this point. Eventually, sure, but for now, I need it to be in manageable chunks. I feel like I can add 50 yards now as I am comfortable, and have learned to take it slow and easy so maximize my pace and my endurance. Thank you though, I aspire to swim like that!

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 05:51:31 GMT

I may have posted this before, but here it is again... If you have been out of the water for a longtime, your first work outs should be slow and easy trying to hold good form. A good start would be to do 1 mile or 2000 mtrs a day (don't forget to take a day or two off a week). Stop as many times as you wish using any stroke, until you can complete the swim without stopping. Don't increase your distance during the first week. After the first week, or once you attain the nonstop swim, go an little farther. Compare yourself to a race horse that has been turned out and rested. Go at a leisurely speed or you will breakdown. This slow work builds the capillary system. A race horse jogs or does easy work for six weeks before it starts to do timed work outs. Don't do repeats or sprints until you are ready. Again be sure you take one or two days rest each week. George Park www.swimdownhill.com

RE: Starting All Over Again

AnnG — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 05:47:54 GMT

I am curious as to why you think swimming isn't going to help you lose weight, I am happy to see in subsequent posts that you are finding otherwise. It's the only exercise I use, and this spring in combination with a low carb diet I lost 17 pounds which have stay off through the summer and several vacations. I am determined to keep the weight off and so far its been easy. Exercise is exercise, expending more calories than you consume however you do that will take off weight. The trick is finding something you love to do so you will keep doing it. For me, that's hitting the pool . . .

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 05:29:12 GMT

Hi gang Well, I'm continuing my workouts; just completed my third week of being in the water. Made some major milestones this week. First, and try not to laugh, I did 2 laps without having to stop in between! That was major. The next thing was that I started integrating some Freestyle. My *** stroke is my strongest stroke and I used our clock yesterday to time myself - 28 seconds (25 yards). I used to race with my *** stroke and my sister and I were talking about it (she's a master's swimmer - 30 + years now!) and she remembers my fast *** stroke when I was a kid. A lady in our group, very experienced, was coaching me and encouraged me to go slower. It had never occurred to me to do that; I have always gotten into the pool and gone flat out no holds barred. So I learned the importance of establishing a comfortable pace, which allows me to do more laps back to back and I am feeling good. I have also noticed that my body is changing. I am toning up all over and am losing fat on my thighs. In fact, my thighs are 'flattening out' on the sides. I have never seen an exercise regime produce results like this so quickly. I have heard that fat loss is difficult when swimming, but if you swim hard enough, it'll happen. I think it is! So I'm at 500 yards right now in a half hour. I'm going to increase it by 10% starting Monday. I read in the "Getting started" article section that an increase of 10% is healthy and will avoid injury. I also bought the Fitness swimming book loaded with workouts. I have to get the syntax down on the names of the strokes, but I see some workouts in there I can definitely do! Off to eat breakfast. A light breakfast.

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 09 Oct 2004 13:57:47 GMT

Originally posted by mattson You mean I'm not getting any benefits during channel surfing? Next you'll be telling me that leaning back in the recliner chair is not considered exercise. ;) Well, if you can figure out a way to work your thumb into your swimming stroke, you can probably benefit from the "remote control aerobics".

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 09 Oct 2004 08:55:51 GMT

Originally posted by craiglll@yahoo.com mbriones- Check out the thread I started about e-mails & viruses. It is kind of freaky if indeed some one took the otyher persons e-mail address & sent to me a virus. I don't know enough to know how it was done,though. Is htere a way I can keep it from happening in the future? thanks, Criag There are loads of viruses out there that send themselves from the infected computer to people in the address book on that computer. It also picks one of the names in that address book and "spoofs" that address as the senders address. The only way you can avoid getting such email entirely is to cancel your email service. You can stop such emails from hijacking your computer addressbook by religiously using current antivirus software - best to use something that automatically updates its virus signatures daily - because new viruses are released/discovered daily. If you've been using email long without such protection, its a strong possibility your machine is currently infected and sending such email/viruses out to others. I use MCaffee Viruscan Online. There other such services.

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Sat, 09 Oct 2004 07:42:24 GMT

mbriones- Check out the thread I started about e-mails & viruses. It is kind of freaky if indeed some one took the otyher persons e-mail address & sent to me a virus. I don't know enough to know how it was done,though. Is htere a way I can keep it from happening in the future? thanks, Criag

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Fri, 08 Oct 2004 16:38:48 GMT

Originally posted by mattson You mean I'm not getting any benefits during channel surfing? Next you'll be telling me that leaning back in the recliner chair is not considered exercise. ;) Alas, no exercise there. However getting out of the recliner (for instance, to get that next beer) is, indisputably, good solid exercise (especially if done repeatedly, for which those beers will serve as all-important carbo loading, as indicated in another post).

RE: Starting All Over Again

mattson — Fri, 08 Oct 2004 12:22:53 GMT

Originally posted by Scansy His breaststroke has about as much effort in it as using the remote control to change the channels. You mean I'm not getting any benefits during channel surfing? Next you'll be telling me that leaning back in the recliner chair is not considered exercise. ;)

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Fri, 08 Oct 2004 10:57:20 GMT

I have a friend who took up swimming so he could do tri's. He was a runner and biker for years before that. He only works on his freestyle, because that suits his needs. But he does breaststroke as a "recovery lap". I watched him one time. His breaststroke has about as much effort in it as using the remote control to change the channels. I work on all four strokes and a 100 SCY *** sprint - giving it all that I have - really wipes me out.

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Fri, 08 Oct 2004 09:54:38 GMT

Originally posted by mbriones Hi everyone Well, my *** stroke might be as much energy as lifting the remote to change a channel, but to me, it's relative. I am out of shape; this was my second time n the water. I tried doing Freestyle and lasted as I figured, half a lap, so I broke back into my *** stroke again. Do you know I didn't feel as trashed after a lap as I did on Day 1? My wind was much better. I didn't want to stop 3/4 of the way across the pool to catch my breath. There was a DEFINITE difference. The other difference was that the other day, in 30 minutes, I got in 200 yards. Today - I did 450 yards! I timed my first lap to see my best (probably) speed and it was 32 seconds to do 25 yards of my flat *** stroke. I felt like I could have swam more but my sister, 30 years in the Masters, told me get in for a half hour and swim as much as you can. So there you have it! I'm hungry now....time to raid the kitchen (not really...I'm on a diet bigtime)... Marian the Newbie :cool: Congrats on your progress. That is the stuff that will keep you going back to the pool time and time again.

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Fri, 08 Oct 2004 08:17:15 GMT

Hi everyone Well, my *** stroke might be as much energy as lifting the remote to change a channel, but to me, it's relative. I am out of shape; this was my second time n the water. I tried doing Freestyle and lasted as I figured, half a lap, so I broke back into my *** stroke again. Do you know I didn't feel as trashed after a lap as I did on Day 1? My wind was much better. I didn't want to stop 3/4 of the way across the pool to catch my breath. There was a DEFINITE difference. The other difference was that the other day, in 30 minutes, I got in 200 yards. Today - I did 450 yards! I timed my first lap to see my best (probably) speed and it was 32 seconds to do 25 yards of my flat *** stroke. I felt like I could have swam more but my sister, 30 years in the Masters, told me get in for a half hour and swim as much as you can. So there you have it! I'm hungry now....time to raid the kitchen (not really...I'm on a diet bigtime)... Marian the Newbie :cool:

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 15:19:42 GMT

Try keeping a workout log. You may not see much improvement from one day to the next, but in six months you'll be impressed with your progress when you look back on your workouts. I have nothing to add, but just wanted to repeat this. Workout logs are great, especially after couple of seasons as you can go back, figure out what kind of progress you've made, what worked and what didn't, you get a record of your injuries, days you've been too sick to workout, etc... I'm on my third year of keeping logs, not just for swimming, but for all my sports/workouts and the wealth of information they provide is amazing....

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 11:52:11 GMT

Hi Marian, As you may know, there are some more useful resources in the Fitness section of the USMS web site. It sounds like you have some swimming background, but it never hurts to take a refresher course on some of the basics. The "Getting Started" section has articles on Pool Etiquette and Using the Pace Clock -- and also a Pace Chart and Circle Swim Diagram. The Fitness section also has monthly articles. Topics include: training, health, nutrition, motivation and other topics of interest to all types of swimmers. If you're looking for something to stay motivated, try one of our Fitness Events: The Check-Off Challenge encourages you to try all the different strokes and distances, and it can be done at your own pool during lap swim, or in a more structured environment such as a coached practice or swim meet. The 30-Minute Swim challenges you to see how much you can swim in a half-hour, and is a great way to prepare for the One-Hour Swim and other Long Distance Postal Championship events. The Virtual Swim Series is designed to take the monotony out of your trips back and forth across the pool. Now you can "Swim America's Waterways" and join others throughout the country and world in applying any pool lengths you actually do to virtually swimming some of the most interesting bodies of water in the US. Enhance your swimming experience by checking out all the great Fitness resources offered by USMS. Swimmingly, Bill

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 08:25:17 GMT

Originally posted by Guvnah Depends on how you are doing the stroke. Doing it with competition pace and quality is very demanding. But I recall from my childhood days (before any type of competitive swimming) that I could do a relaxed breaststroke all day, it seemed, but couldn't do freestyle to save my life at first. Don't the YMCA (or the Boy Scouts or Red Cross, one of them, if I recall correctly) swimming classes teach breaststroke (and elementary backstroke) as "resting strokes"? You are totally correct. Many elderly people swim *** at our local pool but they do it at a very sedate pace. The wave, which is the style used in competition today, is much more grueling to perform. I would rather work harder each lap than swim the gravy train for a few hours.

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 07:14:20 GMT

Originally posted by Guvnah I recall from my childhood days (before any type of competitive swimming) that I could do a relaxed breaststroke all day, it seemed, but couldn't do freestyle to save my life at first. Don't the YMCA (or the Boy Scouts or Red Cross, one of them, if I recall correctly) swimming classes teach breaststroke (and elementary backstroke) as "resting strokes"? I agree. Breaststroke can be very a resting stroke, but competitive breaststroke is anything but restful - it is a very demanding stroke. I find that I dread the 200 *** as much as (or maybe more) than the 200 fly.

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 07:03:23 GMT

Thanks for all of the great help here! The way I do the *** stroke is the way of yesteryear. I don't "dolphin" out of the water; I stay flat. Only thing that comes up is my head when I am gasping for air every other stroke. Once I was warmed up yesterday, sometimes I could do 3 strokes before needing air. I talked to my sister last night, who has been a masters swimmer for over 30 years and she said stay in the pool for about a half hour and see how much I can do in that time. I've also ordered "Fitness Swimming" which was recommended here on some of the workout threads. I'm going back tomorrow. I'm a little sore around my legs today but not bad! Marian :cool:

RE: Starting All Over Again

Former Member — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 06:44:23 GMT

Welcome Marian. Swim swim swim and anjoy your self, this is What you have to do.