Hi everyone...
Tonight is my very first masters swim practice and I'm really quite nervous.
While I've been a competitive swimmer since the age of 5, swam on a US team, competed in both long course and short course US Nationals, and then went and swam in college.....I'm a nervous wreck about tonight's practice. Although I have more than enough swimming experience, I'm terrified that I won't fit in with the master's team.
I've been "out of the water" for 6 years now and I'm very out of shape and I've gained a considerable amount of weight. I can't believe that I've allowed myself to get like this, but it obviously didn't happen over night. So I've been doing cardio and weights at the gym to get myself back in shape but it doesn't seem to be working very well. I realized how much I miss swimming and that I'd like to get back into the sport and thats how I got interested in masters swimming. I'm excited to swim for me...not for the coaches, not for my parents. I'm looking forward to ENJOYING swimming, rather than dreading practices and having kick boards thrown at me if I have to stop during a set. I'm excited to meet people and have fun.....but I'm still so nervous to step foot onto the pool deck.
I guess I'm mostly embarassed. I know its silly to be like this, but I'm afraid everyone will be in good shape and I'll get run over during the practices. I'm wondering if maybe I should put off swimming for a little while until I can lose some more weight.
Can anyone please shed some light on their first masters practice and what you might have been feeling?
I really appreciate any help or advice that you can give me. Thank you!
Parents
Former Member
It sounds like you're off to a good start! Keep it up! It does seem like you may be trying to make too many huge changes at once. Just be careful not to completely overwhelm yourself. It's okay to make changes more slowly, like over a few weeks or months, if it will help you stick to them. If you can make all the changes at once, that's great; most people just can't stick to an entirely new lifestyle all at once.
You mentioned you feel like you are depriving yourself of all sweets. I find that if I try to cut all sweets out of my diet for a week or so, I end up eating enough by the end of the next week to cancel any good it did. Instead, I try to allow myself one small cookie or candy a day, usually in the evening. That way, I'm not eating junk food all day, but I don't feel deprived.
It sounds like you're off to a good start! Keep it up! It does seem like you may be trying to make too many huge changes at once. Just be careful not to completely overwhelm yourself. It's okay to make changes more slowly, like over a few weeks or months, if it will help you stick to them. If you can make all the changes at once, that's great; most people just can't stick to an entirely new lifestyle all at once.
You mentioned you feel like you are depriving yourself of all sweets. I find that if I try to cut all sweets out of my diet for a week or so, I end up eating enough by the end of the next week to cancel any good it did. Instead, I try to allow myself one small cookie or candy a day, usually in the evening. That way, I'm not eating junk food all day, but I don't feel deprived.
