If you swim 3 or more times a week

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:46:54 GMT

1. Married for ages about 20 years - we lived together first, so i don't quite remember. 2. Daughters are 10 and 13 - i swim with the 13yo most Sundays. 3. Work full time (in the UK) - but currently the commute is easy - only 10 miles... 4....and the Health Club pool I swim in is 5 mins and on the way to work. I get up at 5:30 am, drive to the Health Club, run for 30-40 mins before Club opens at 6:30 and have an hour + in the water. I can still get to work for 9 am (after a fashion). When I had less regular working patterns, I got out of the routine of swimming at times. A reliable working routine, without out of hours commitments or (much) commuting is probably essential to regular swimming. Also I find that being quite mad helps as well : )

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:19:04 GMT

1) Are you married/living with SO? 2) Do you have children living at home? 3) Do you work full-time? 4) Do you drive 20 minutes or more (each way) to the pool? It seems like everyone I know who makes it to the pool 3 or more times a week either doesn't have kids or doesn't work full-time. I'm not sure I've found anyone who fits into all of the above categories. If you do, how the heck do you do it? :bow: 1.Married 21 years 2.Ages 10 and 13 (both age-group swimmers) 3.Retail store owner - 50 hour weeks commom. 4.Our SCY pool is less than 10 mins, our SCM pool is about 20 mins or so. I usually only have an hour available 2 days a week (2800-3600 is the hourly goal), and squeeze 90 minutes 1 day where I'll try and swim for 45min. and lift for 45 min. Saturday mornings, my daughter has to be at the pool by 7:15AM so I'll take advantage of those early hours too. The biggest issue I have is finding time for adequate rest!

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:57:23 GMT

1. Yes 2. Yes 3. Yes 4. I swim en route to work I'm up at 4:30am and in the pool by 5am; I cross train (usually biking) at 6am, back in the pool to cool down and at work by 8:30am.

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:30:55 GMT

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:53:18 GMT

swim 5X per week, most early mornings as the rest of the family wakes up and gets ready for hte day married, 2 kids, full time job, 5 minute drive to the pool

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:20:52 GMT

Convenience is the key to my workout. I work 3 min from the pool so you know where my lunch hour is spent. My home is 5 min from pool so Sat and Sun lap swim is convenient. I realize this is not a normal situation. Most Swimmers have to travel 20 min plus. So, I do take advantage of the "Convenience". Swim Hard,best wishes for you to find convenience.

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:43:33 GMT

1-yes, 17yrs 2-yes daughter 12, son 9 3-yes, on call 24x7 and commute one way is 75 miles 4-no-pool is 5 minutes from me :-) I do most of my training while it does not intrude on family life. Swim m-w-f in the morning before everyone is up. On Tue/Thur I train with the USS team from 3:30-530pm. Saturday I will swim with USS team from 730-10am. In my evenings after everyone is asleep is when I do the weights/core work and run 5 miles on treadmill every other day. greg

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

swimshark — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 04:00:22 GMT

1) Are you married/living with SO? 2) Do you have children living at home? 3) Do you work full-time? 4) Do you drive 20 minutes or more (each way) to the pool? 1. yes, married 12 years 2. yes, an almost 3 year old 3. I work from home, full-time mommy 4. it's about 20 min drive. I practice 4:30-6am 2 weekdays, minimum and 7-9am on Sat all with age group team. I also am now getting in 1 workout while Matthew is in pre-school 1 day a week. The pool is really close to his school. I have the option of kid kare if I want to swim more but I use it mostly to go to spin, yoga or pilates at the same facility. I get done at 6am, drive home by 6:30, kiss my husband good bye in the garage and he's off for his hour long drive to work. He's very supportive toward my swimming.

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Muppet — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:15:32 GMT

Susan (SLKnight), Just curious, as we approach the 50 response mark, what do you think of the responses so far?

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

slknight — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:40:42 GMT

Susan (SLKnight), Just curious, as we approach the 50 response mark, what do you think of the responses so far? Interesting. I definitely commend all those who are waking up super early to get to the pool. :applaud: Honestly though, I have NO desire to do that. I swam at 4:45 am as an age-grouper and don't want to repeat that. :p I have noticed that few people drive as far as I do to a pool. :( That's the price I pay for my small-town life in Vacationland. I used to live in a place with lots of pools though (NoVa) and have no desire to return. The other thing I have going against me is the age of my son. He's not old enough to leave home alone while I'm at swimming and he doesn't yet swim so I can't swim at the same time he does. I swam twice last week (5000 meters one day and 4200 yards the other). Considering my son had minor surgery on Monday and we had an ice storm on Friday (two days that I normally swim), I feel pretty lucky I even got in what I did. I'm very fortunate in that I have a super-supportive husband despite the fact that he's in grad school and has limited time. I wasn't going to swim yesterday morning because I was feeling lazy and he basically kicked me out of the house and made me go.

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Julie Roddin — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 04:31:03 GMT

1) No 2) No 3) Yes, and lots of travel 4) Yes I try to swim 4-5 times per week and swim at three different locations. All are at least 20 minutes. I do have a pool very close to my house that has a masters team but I don't swim there often. Work is my main obstacle but I have gotten very comfortable swimming while I'm traveling and really enjoy the opportunity to swim with other teams!

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 11:10:08 GMT

I'm a single guy. I don't see how you married people and parents pull it off. In between being chained to a desk 40 hours a week, swimming 3x (sometimes 4x)/week and lifting 3x/week, I basically have zero free time on weekdays, and on weekends I'm pretty busy with chores that I don't have time to attend to during the week. This is probably why a lot of my married coworkers are overweight and always seem harried.

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

jgale — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 03:57:48 GMT

1) yes 2) Until recently, yes. Now, no. 3) Yes, with a fair amount of travel 4) No, we are fortunate to have a YMCA and two municipal pools within 10 to 12 minutes of my home. We have another YMCA that is 20 minutes away but opens at 5:30 AM that I also use. I make it a priority and use the various pools in the area based on my schedule. I get up early to get my morning swim out of the way. If that is not possible, I will swim in the evenings. It is not unusual for my workout to be my Friday evening recreation. As a member of the YMCA, I can generally find a pool to workout in while traveling. I also use the Places to Swim search function on this site to find pools. It takes a little additional planning but it is rare that I have to miss a workout while away from home. I have been swimming for about four years and started when our son was just starting high school. Prior to swimming, running was my daily fitness routine and I approached it the same way. It helps to view my workouts/swimming time as my recreation and play time. It can be a challenge but I try to make it work. I also use a workout partner to keep me honest. It helps to know my friends will waiting for me at the pool in the morning.

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

orca1946 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:49:22 GMT

You must 1st like to swim & have a team that pushes you to be there. I do 3 swims & 3 gym workouts per week. Yes it's time consuming , but ti clears my brain!

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:33:28 GMT

1) Are you married/living with SO? 2) Do you have children living at home? 3) Do you work full-time? 4) Do you drive 20 minutes or more (each way) to the pool? ********************* 1)Married - 28years 2)Empty Nesters starting this year 3)Average 50hrs/wk 4)Very lucky - YMCA is one mile from my office. I swim over lunch. I normally swim 3 days a week, Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday. :banana::banana: Tulsa, Oklahoma

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:03:10 GMT

1) Are you married/living with SO? 2) Do you have children living at home? 3) Do you work full-time? 4) Do you drive 20 minutes or more (each way) to the pool? It seems like everyone I know who makes it to the pool 3 or more times a week either doesn't have kids or doesn't work full-time. I'm not sure I've found anyone who fits into all of the above categories. If you do, how the heck do you do it? :bow: 1) Yes - for 23 years 2) Yes - 3 of them, 2 in high school, 1 in middle school 3) Yes - unfortunately I have to 4) Yes - just over 20 mins to the pool at 6:15 a.m. I swim M-T-Th-F from about 6:35-7:55. The pool is thankfully on my way to work so I don't add much to my commute distance. My wife gets the kids ready for school every morning. She does not work in a "job" sense right now. She doesn't like "training" types of sports so we are not competing for the early a.m. time slot.

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

dorothyrde — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 06:38:31 GMT

Thanks for all the feedback thus far. I'll respond to some specific comments later (supposed to be working at the moment). To answer my own questions: 1) Are you married/living with SO? Yes. 2) Do you have children living at home? Yes - age 4.5 3) Do you work full-time? Yes. 4) Do you drive 20 minutes or more (each way) to the pool? Yes. 40-45 minutes each way. I think my biggest problem might be the distance to the pool. It seems like most of you have a much shorter travel time. There is a Y that's closer (15-20 minutes) but that would mean swimming by myself (no masters team) and joining the Y. I might have to do that to get in a few extra practices. I generally make 2-3 practices a week, but I'd like it to be 3-4. I just can't quite seem to get there. Susan. because of the age of your child and your driving distance, I think you are doing quite well to work-out 2-3 times a week in the pool. I know when my daughter was around 3 was when I started focusing on working out more at home. I did not swim then, did not learn until she was 7(she is almost 15 now), but I have been an avid exerciser since age 12. Over time I have accumulated a lot of fitness equipment, so much so, that my DH and I finally devoted a small room downstairs to storage for it, because it was taking over my family room! I think when kids are young, it is the toughest time for "me" time. Hang in there, it gets better as they get older(and they can actually participate with you).

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

ande — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 04:12:04 GMT

1 yes 2 yes 3 yes 4 yes 1) Are you married/living with SO? 2) Do you have children living at home? 3) Do you work full-time? 4) Do you drive 20 minutes or more (each way) to the pool? It seems like everyone I know who makes it to the pool 3 or more times a week either doesn't have kids or doesn't work full-time. I'm not sure I've found anyone who fits into all of the above categories. If you do, how the heck do you do it? :bow:

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:43:48 GMT

I swim 4 to 5 times a week between 2.5 and 3.5 k per swim. 1) Yes, not a swimmer but supportive 2) Yes, 17 and 19 3) Yes, but I can manage daily schedule pretty easily; typically swim early afternoon (less often) or end of business day (more often). 4) Less than 10 minutes from SCY and LCM Having older kids makes a hue difference.

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:34:44 GMT

SLknight, Your thread brings out an important aspect of masters swimming. Variability in training. Unlike "real" swimming (i.e. USA Swimming), Masters swimming demonstratess an extreme variation in race preparation. Does it really mean anything when someone of comparable talent who swims 5-6 days a week for an hour or hour and a half beats someone doing less than 10,000 yds. a week? Of course not...... so..... we swim for ourselves. After all..... it's just Masters Swimming. John Smith

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:25:04 GMT

1) Are you married/living with SO? 2) Do you have children living at home? 3) Do you work full-time? 4) Do you drive 20 minutes or more (each way) to the pool? It seems like everyone I know who makes it to the pool 3 or more times a week either doesn't have kids or doesn't work full-time. I'm not sure I've found anyone who fits into all of the above categories. If you do, how the heck do you do it? :bow: 1) Yes, and she has also started swimming again (she was much better than I as a young'un, albeit unrealized potential) 2) Yes, ages 7, 5 and 3 3) Yes, at least 50 hours per week 4) I drive 20 mins to work, and the pool is another 5-10 minutes from the office We do it like this: wife swims/yoga/pilates from 6-7a M-F, and sometimes fits in a workout on the weekend. I swim during the lunch hour 4-5x per week, and then at 6:30a on the weekend. It can be done. In our case, the sacrifice is going to bed at +/- 10:00p every night. I haven't seen Letterman since college (and even then, with 5:15a workouts, it was a rare treat).

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:50:02 GMT

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:55:10 GMT

Ok, I was curious how gender might factor into this survey and so far it's 17 guys vs 7 girls. Is this just because more men swim in general and masters in particular?

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Muppet — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:47:30 GMT

1) Are you married/living with SO? 2) Do you have children living at home? 3) Do you work full-time? 4) Do you drive 20 minutes or more (each way) to the pool? 1 - no and no, but do have sig other, which keeping her happy is a full time job :kiss1: 2 - no, but am a child living at my parents' home :thhbbb: 3 - yes, ~45hr/week, some travel 4 - from work, average is about 45 min to pool; then 20 min pool to home my input will certainly look a bit skewed, as i am probably the youngest responder by several years...

RE: If you swim 3 or more times a week

Former Member — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:38:35 GMT

1) Are you married/living with SO? 2) Do you have children living at home? 3) Do you work full-time? 4) Do you drive 20 minutes or more (each way) to the pool? : 1) Neither married or gf 2) Nope 3) Oh yea..in fact M-F work 8-5(sometimes closer to 6 or 7). A lot of Saturday and Sundays work out of town doing clinics from 8-4:30. Then traveling home. 4) M-W-F(and Saturdays when I am home) Yes. Swim 5:40-7:15ish. T-Th-Sunday...no. Different pool is about 10 minutes I swim at least 5x a week for an 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Try to get in 6 or 7 when possible.