One 100 free to go in set. Two open lanes.(no lane lines in pool) Noodler comes over to stand in my lane to talk with friend. Pool is set at 85 degrees cause all the noodlers say it is to cold otherwise. I complain to guard, am told, "well there are a lot more of them then there are lap swimmers" Wont be if they keep this up. UGH! :frustrated:
You can always practice your starts if they are crowding your space. That will always get them going. They don't care for the "cold" water splashing on thier hair. Maybe I am talking about the deep water classes I encounter. Same difference isn't it?
No need to get really physical...once my daughter and I were swimming sharing a lane in a four lane pool...only us swimming...noodler class starting in a half hour...8 or 9 noodlers present...guess where? right on the edge of our lane, sometimes in our lane, standing there talking waiting for class, occassionally reaching out with a styrofoam dumbell... My daughter says "I got it" proceeds down the lane with the most violent splashing fly I have ever seen.... They promptly moved over.... :)
In that case would swimming with a pull bouy actually be a very advanced form of noodling?
I don't know if it's the noodlers or not, but some group is peeing in the pool. I know from the sudden change in water turbidity (ammounia + chlorine = gas) and the characteristic odor. I just suspect the noodle class since they stay in the pool for hours with coffee mugs on the side, without getting out once. Seems getting out the pool might push them into anerobic threashold.
Not to be too philosophical about all this, but the "noodle" fitness movement is just another example of the ongoing re-definition of fitness throughout North America. We are all getting vastly overweight and underfit. We cannot bring ourselves to see it, either in ourselves or our children, so we redefine what physical fitness really means.
It's the old schoolyard rule: if you are losing the game, grab your marbles, run home crying, and play a game you know you can win because you set the rules yourself.
If your kid is a lard-ass, call him "big-boned and bulked-up". If your own weight is more appropriate for a pygmy hippo, then take up a fitness program for that exact body type: floating around,doing little or nothing, and periodically pooping to keep the ecosystem fertile and viable.
There is a reason that the average North American is considered nauseatingly obese by the rest of the world. Noodling is just a symptom of the ongoing effort to accept our obesity and protect our all important self esteem.
Self esteem is highly over-rated.
My daughter says "I got it" proceeds down the lane with the most violent splashing fly I have ever seen.... They promptly moved over.... :)
And they say we aren't raising the next generation properly:)
Aquageek = Always funny!
I have actually conquered the noodlers at my local pool! You see, I AM A NOODLER!!! Let me 'splain. When I first started back into the pool a year ago, I started in the aqua aerobics class. I hadn't done any exercise in a while and with my rheumatoid arthritis, lifting weights and treadmills were not the way to go. I warmed up with a 200 in a lane, then grabbed my "weights" and joined the class.
Now, the noodlers were quite confused. You could see the looks on their faces as to why was a swimmer taking "their" class. At first, they NEVER cleared a lane for me to warm up and I constantly had to kick hard and violently splash to get them to move. I was baraged with dirty looks and constant complaints that I was "getting their hair wet". They also could never understand how I could rinse off, apply my cap and goggles and dive right in and swim. I never had to "adjust" to the water temp. (I am lucky that the thermometer of the pool is broken and always reads 85 when it is really more like 75).
Now, I am the lane line conquistadora. When the noodlers see me walk into the pool area, a lane is cleared for me to warm up in. I also pull and reset the lane lines before and after the class. During the class, I have my own "space". As I am in the class to boost cardio, I am in constant motion and splash A LOT. The newbies to the class often learn the hard way as to my routine, but sometimes are forwarned by the other noodlers. Also, the noodlers know to NOT EVEN TRY to get in my lane after the class to continue their noodling. I have another 2000yds to swim after class and slowing down or stopping is not an option.
Oh, and anyone, and I mean ANYONE who sits, lays, or stands on a lane line gets my wrath. Kids, newbs, noodlers, anyone, because when a lane line breaks at my gym, it will be at least three months before it's fixed and if I wanted open water training I'd make the 50 mile drive to the beach!!!
So, long story short, I arrived, I splashed, and I CONQUERED!!!
Happy Columbus Day! :wave:
I wish everyone who complains about noodlers would leave them alone. I think that this year I am going to join the noodlers. Why should I be a lap swimmer when the noodlers actually rule the pools. If I become a noodler I will try and ban lap swimmers.
I think I will call the Noodler Cllub The West Coast Noodlers do you think this club will be regulated by FINA. Do you think FINA will impose rules on the size of the Noodle? Come on everybody join the The West Coast Noodlers and be in charge of all swim hours.
Years ago, I swam in a 6-lane 25 m. pool - no lane lines- and usually I was the only lap swimmer. I was about 6-7 months pregnant and finishing up my set. Two noodlers - a senior man and a senior woman - got in the pool and stood right at the end of my lane so I couldn't finish or flip my turn. WELLLLLLL....... I was pregnant, hormones were raging, I was tired, and I flipped my turn right on them! And I got a strong push off>>>>> They complained to the lifeguard, who was laughing fairly hysterically. The lifeguard told them to use the rest of the pool. They complained about every day after that, BUT, they stayed out of my lane.
Figure out a way to hurt the noodlers ( other than death). They will stay out of your lane.
Handpaddles with force might work!
And what exactly is the frog being punished for?
I have to wonder why they bother. I've been swimming off and on since Feb, and 3-6 days a week for the last 6 weeks or so. I've lost over 30 pounds since I started, and I bet some of the noodlers would be lucky to have shed 2#.
Every day I see somebody floating there and I think they are wasting their time. The women anyways. Hanging ouy but not so much on the exercising part.
There is a large dude in the pool a lot, and I don't think I've seen him with a noodle, and he does laps. Slowly and surely, but ALWAYS moving. In fact, I think he's doing more over time.
Noodle perchers I think are just socializing, but my experience is that they stick to the open swim deep end out of the way. Guess I'm lucky.
Now if I get just get them to stop running the heaters while I'm trying to swim.
Hot, cold, hot, cold, hot, flip, repeat. Pick one already.
-eric
30 lbs!!! That's excellent! Way to go!
I avoid my pool now when they have noodle classes, but a couple of weeks ago I came to swim just after they finished. I hadn't seen them in months. There were a few new faces there, but I tell ya, the "regulars" looked exactly like they did the last time I saw them. No change at all, no thinner, no muscle tone. When I see individual noodlers in the pool while I'm swimming, they rarely seem to be exerting themselves. I often think how much better off they'd be if they just picked up a kickboard and kicked some laps. And as a matter of fact, several lap swimmers I've chatted with lately have mentioned to me that they've been losing weight since they started--one lost 21 lbs, another has lost 10, and I forget some of the others. These folks aren't very fast in the pool and their strokes leave a lot to be desired, but they're getting results.
