Swim jet vs. lap lane?

Carl, When I was obtaining information about the pool, I found out from my sales rep because I kept asking about the top speed and what was the fastest that the current could go. I was not sure I could live with a top speed of 58 seconds per 100 yards for the types of training I wanted the pool for. That is when he suggested that I might be interested in the new 7.5HP that they had just developed which had a much higher top speed. I am happy with the pool and it has been great for getting me back in shape. There have been a number of times I am able to swim a practice late at night or at random times during the weekends, when I would not have worked out before. I also started swiming once or twice a week with masters team so that my turns don't stink. I am just now starting to use it for interval training and hope to become better at pushing myself without someone to race. I got all the bells and whistles too (MP3, front and bottom mirrors, lights, remote control, pace clock, etc.). If I could make some improvements to the endless pool, they would be as follows: (a) I would be able to increase/decrease speed more precisely and set intervals. You can't change the pace by 1 second, sometimes it jumps 3, 5, or 7 seconds on the pace clock. I would also like to autoprogram it for repeats/active rest, 1:00 minute at 58 sec per hundred, then 30 sec active rest at 2 minutes per hundred pace, then fast again. Perhaps I will be able to upgrade someday since my controls are all electronic. (b) I would like an underwater digital clock that is reasonably priced. I bought an underwater lap counter for $70 from FINIS that works pretty well but I would prefer digital. I decided it was not worth $1,000 for one though. If you just swim without a clock, it is hard to gauge how long you have been swimming. I am still relatively new to swimming in the pool, but it has been a good experience so far. Patrick

Carl, One thing that occurred when I was installing my endless pool is that the pressure guage was set too low. I found that I was able to overswim my 7.5HP unit pretty easily, which shouldn't happen with its top speed. After a call with endless pools, I was able to adjust the gauge which increased the top speed of the pool dramatically. Perhaps the pool you tested was not set properly. I will be interested to hear how you like the River Pool and its current. Patrick Good tip, maybe that was the issue. The guy who owns the pool said he only swims at lower speeds, so it didn't make a difference to him. I really didn't want to think that the Endless Pool people could be that far off in their speed calculations. So how did you find out about the 7.5 hp unit? They still don't have that advertised on their website. They only talk about a 6hp upgrade. So are you happy with the endless pool?

Not that I could afford either but I would take a lap pool (25m minimum) anytime. I swim because I enjoy swimming. I race once a year to see if extruded disc has affected much (or little). When I swim, I vary distances and speeds and a swim jet would mean that I cannot vary my swimming pace whenever I felt like it in the middle of a swim. Some of the things I do in a 25m pool are 1- push off easy and swim rather easily to the 12.5m mark and try to suddenly accelerate to the wall (as if I were a -water, of course- polo player who needs to get to the dropped ball because my team is counting on me for that (and nothing else). 2- Swim very hard and fast a 25m (90%+ power) then swim the 25m at 50% or anywhere near that would let me "catch my breath" by the 50m 3- Do a medium (50%) 25m and sprint home from the turn (not windmilling and slipping my arms through the water, but really powering it and accelerating to the finish. 4- push off doing the fastest SDK (not very fast) or SFK ( a whole lot better) that I can just past the 12.5m mark and then seeing in a how few -powerful- strokes I can finish fast to the 25 wall. So far my best has been 2.5 cycles. 5- I like being able to slow down, speed up, backhaul, u-turn, change lanes or make any change(s), should any Amanda Beard or Nathalie Coughlin-look-alikes or (you don't need to know) XXX suddenly appear in the pool.

When planning a workout for a swim - in - place pool, use your heart rate as a basis to determine the type of workout you wish to do.... Aerobic, Aenerobic or Max Vo2.. To begin your workout - 4 min warmup strokes of your choice, rest 30 seconds. Then swim 9 minutes take a 60sec rest, then swim 8 min - swim 7 min - swim 6 min - swim 5 min - swim 4 min - swim 3 min - swim 2 min - swim 1 min (resting 60 seconds between swims) Finish with a 4 minute cooldown. This workout takes takes 60 minutes then a 2 minute calf stretch

Hi, New member and first post. RE: Swim Jet VS. Lap Lane. I have been swimming most of my 62 years but not competitively . I do have an "Endless Pool" in my basement that is very convenient and one is able to go as hard or easy as desired. The current volume is very adjustable for all levels. I purchased the motor with extra HP for interval training and it is fine for me but maybe not for the elite swimmers. Maintenance is minimal and easy to do for most handy folks. The initial cost was a lot for us but relative to ones resources. We spent about 50 K for the pool and finished room in our basement. It can be done much cheaper on a deck , slab , garage etc. The motor needs to be replaced after 5 years which I did last year and I found that to be pricey but I was able to do it all myself in about an hour after draining down the water level. All in all I love my pool for exercise and play for the grandchildren . I find it easy to "cheat" on effort as one can "almost surf" on top of the current with very little effort if desired. I am a "broken down" long distance runner and installed the pool to help extend my running / triathlon career which so far is working Feel free to be in touch and if in my area come try my pool . Good Luck , Mike

How long do the motors/pumps/jets last?

As an "Adult-onset" "fitness swimmer" (30min mile) Here are my observations of my 55ft pool: One person said: I personally would not like a 50-60 ft pool as all that flipping would make me dizzy. Hope the above information helps. 30 years ago I got dizzy when I switched from a 50m to 25 yds :-) You get used to it. On the other hand, your flips get a lot of practice (96 turns per mile) and you wont need to do crunches of sit ups anymore. The problem with a pool 'll only get about 10yds of actual swimming in. The rest is just pushoff/kick. You'd end up wanting to join a club :(. Good point, which may settle the issue if you are that good of a swimmer. But I'm not. At 6'1" I still get 6 strokes between each turn. Here's what a 55' pool looks like with yours truly swimming & flipping in it: http://youtu.be/E0BQ7Tkn7UI I'm curious about the price difference between your two options. Also, how do you track your time in an endless pool?

I'd much prefer a 25yd pool over an endless pool. My backyard pool is 20x40 and it's way to short. After a flip turn you have 2 strokes before you go into a turn again. It's also not good at absorbing the waves and the pool gets choppy very quickly. If the water is within the normal level I get can very easily get waves going that get water out of the pool- and 20x40 is a pretty large. If the water is too low then than the water won't filter correctly. If you build a legit "long" pool I'd just make sure you get it built to absorb the waves. That might cost money if you look at the design of lap pools.

Tell us what you decided! I'm surprised at the number of folks here that have "endless pool" experience. Personally I think that an underwater-lit, back yard, single lane pool would look so cool. Someone mentioned wave action in a narrow pool. Has anyone tried one? My personal fantasy has been to have an "endless pool'. as in a circular ring about 100ft diameter... no turns, just swimming in a continual curve.

if you want to save a ton of money, you can use swim chords. they are basically a bungee chord attached to either your waist or ankles (i prefer the ones that attach to my ankles) and you swim in place. no need to stop and vary the motor speed. they cost 30 bucks, a fair bit cheaper than an endless pool. just my 2 cents