Why do you swim?

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:51:17 GMT

Hmm, lots of reasons. A great workout Low impact, good for my knees (Started swimming regularly after I hurt my knee running) Swimming relaxes me Helps me focus/turn off my head from the day's stress - reboot. Helps correct my posture from a days work of slouching at my desk. It can be as challenging as I want I'll never stop learning how to be better, fast, and still relaxed Cold mornings/warm pool Secret mini races with the people on my left or right I'll stay fit for the next Aquathlon season I feel better after a swim, always I get to watch other people's funny funny pool habits, wonder if people are laughing at me, laughing about laughing at people laughing at me.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 06:04:30 GMT

What, there's an option? When I was a kid I wished that I could swim at school so that the other kids would see that I wasn't such an athletic looser. I had dreams of being chased by "bad guys." The harder I tried to run, the closer they got. My legs just wouldn't coordinate themselves. At the last moment, I'd jump into the air and swim away with ease. The other day someone told me that it was a pleasure to watch me swim. Okay, he was probably hitting on me, but he said that I looked as if I had been born in the water. When I swim, it is a pleasure for me. I feel at home and everything seems right. Years ago a friend asked me if I had to be an animal, what animal would that be, and without hesitation I said I'd be a Blue Whale. If I could find a sponsor and quit my job, I would swim all day long!!

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:09:07 GMT

Apparently I swim because: I like to get out of a warm bed at 5 am in the winter I like to swim in an outdoor pool all through the winter I like to devour breakfast in the car while driving to work I like to start my workday feeling tired I like to compete against people who always beat me ;) Brian Haha....excellent reasons!

RE: Why do you swim?

Stevepowell — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:24:10 GMT

Aside from the sheer joy of playing in the water, which never seems to fade no mater how many decades go by, it is a veritable fountain of youth in many many ways.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 07:59:12 GMT

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:39:06 GMT

There's something zen-like in undulating through the water near the bottom of the pool. Using my whole body like a whip and feeling the crack at the end of each wave as I coast through the water produces a nice calm, almost meditative feeling. I too love the color blue and find joy in floating weightless under the surface. I'm also glad someone shares my love for the flow of breaststroke, wave-like and piston-like at the same time.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:16:29 GMT

I swim because it is the only thing I have found in life that can compete with the intoxicating solitary intensity and repetition and technicality of ballet, which I can no longer do thanks to musculoskeletal disease. I love the feeling of weightlessness coupled with the motivating knowledge that I must at least finish this length or sink! I love the feeling of being submerged in water. I love the color blue. I love the marvelous contraction and extension that is breaststroke.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:35:36 GMT

That is really, really cool! Way to go!!

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:34:13 GMT

The last few weeks, I've since had testing done again: - Weight: 166.6 - last Saturday, 50 lbs lost - BMI: 24.7 - today, normal - Body Fat%: 14.1 - 3 weeks ago, 4 skin-fold test - Blood pressure: 114/65 - today, normal - Cholesterol: 222 - today, still borderline high-risk, but making progress Congratulations! :applaud: Keep up the good work! P.S. LOVE Alpharetta. Beautiful area.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:23:07 GMT

In September of 2006, I returned from a wedding in New Orleans (where I think I ate every creole/cajun dish left in the city). Feeling miserable, as I was 165 in college, I stepped on the scale: - Weight: 216 lbs - and i was still only 5'10"! - BMI of 31.0 - officially obese In a subsequent physical blood testing revealed - Blood pressure: 129/89 - borderline hypertension - Cholesterol: 260 - very bad high risk I started swimming again after a very extended layoff to try to get healthy so I might see my kids graduate - they're now 7 and 8! The last few weeks, I've since had testing done again: - Weight: 166.6 - last Saturday, 50 lbs lost - BMI: 24.7 - today, normal - Body Fat%: 14.1 - 3 weeks ago, 4 skin-fold test - Blood pressure: 114/65 - today, normal - Cholesterol: 222 - today, still borderline high-risk, but making progress Along the way, I decided to swim in a meet just for kicks, and I was hooked. The meets keep me motivated to stay in the pool.

RE: Why do you swim?

Michelina — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:07:38 GMT

There are tons of reasons... and I could add to this every day as new ones come up but here you go: - to stay fit - to have fun - to be with others that know magical things happen in water - to find clarity in a world full of chaos - to keep me out of trouble - to get me into trouble - to get to travel the country with friends - to keep the family together - to keep my sanity

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:42:48 GMT

Sharing several hours a week with my 13 year old daughter discussing technique, nutrition, swim team gossip, and a love for a challenge and push, this is why I swim. Friends to kick my butt, friends to have a Saturday morning breakfast with, relationships that strengthen you, this is why I swim. These are definitely my favorite two reasons on this forum post! I swim because I want to be able to do everything that I am coaching my swimmers to do, and to be able to pace my swimmers throughout practice on any given day. I swim because it relaxes me (as crazy as that sounds), when I am in that pool I am relaxed no matter how hard the workout it...I am relaxed!

RE: Why do you swim?

mjtyson — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:16:29 GMT

I read an article years ago that summed up my reason for swimming and I will quote the guy now (I skipped ahead so if someone has already said this, ignore me): Chlorine is my Prozac. Besides swimming being a calming thing for me (after my HR has returned to normal), I also swim because my knee is crap. Just as I started to love running, my right knee started acting up. MRI results showed that my miniscus (sp?) is gone or otherwise worthless. I also have some round growths in there. Now when I run, my patella and another bone (forget the name) bang together. I can make it about a mile, mile and a half before it starts acting up (which is perfect as my military run every years is 1.5 miles). So I swim.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:54:27 GMT

i swim because i can understand this state of matter. i have been in water consistently before birth, from birth, and after birth. i used to do it to survive, then to play games, then to be strong, now to be fast. i am liquid. when i see a body of water i think how long it would take me to get across it - where i would end up on the other side, study the waves, the currents, the wind, and the goemetry - because i swim. because i swim i am fluid. i can glide through water, understand how dynamic it really is, feel it in my fingers and churn it with the flex of my feet, listen to it and let it clear my thoughts. that is why i swim.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:51:39 GMT

Jim, you sure are warped, and hilarious!! Do you only write articles for magazines (Men's Health), or have you published other work? I swim because it saves on soap and water and deodorant costs. I swim because the solitary mental life of the writer at home by himself needs balanced with a hard physical reduced thought life of few distractions and sharp focus on endurance, speed, and slip stream. I swim to eat, eat to sleep. sleep to work, work to swim.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:47:32 GMT

Are you jmiller in disguise? ???

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:44:30 GMT

I've been thinking about this because in the last couple of months I've lost almost all of my motivation to compete. I still swim because I love the way it feels, and because it's part of my identity that I don't want to lose.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:00:14 GMT

because I've got too much of energy to do nothing (not in weekends), even after having classes all day long.. I just need to feeeel my body. I need to be active, to be tired after swimming. It started as a way to built up endurance which is usefull when you ride a dirtbike. But now, after two months, I really enjoy swimming.. maybe i feel better in a pool than on my CRF...

RE: Why do you swim?

Donna — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:26:39 GMT

I started as rehab for a bad back. When I made the switch to morning workouts I found that some days I would actually have pain free days on occasion. Even after 4 years I till deal with back pain, but it is alot better than it had been. I also used to be a competitive swimmer as a kid and getting back in just took me back to where I was. I love it. The weight loss was another great benefit going from 220 to 158 lbs. which I have tended to hover around 165 normally.

RE: Why do you swim?

Big AL — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:08:38 GMT

Cuz I like to eat and I was tired of becoming a fat depressed toad. :afraid:

RE: Why do you swim?

Allen Stark — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:46:17 GMT

Sorry,redundant idea.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:52:19 GMT

Reading that post was funny because I love to ski. I've been skiing since I was 5 or 6, and you're absolutely right about the feeling. I haven't been in a few years, and jumping in the pool made me feel just as good (if not better). Also, I think the heart rate thing has to do with being athletic. The average person's heart rate is between 60-100, while athletes have between 50-60 bpm. If I don't work out at least once a day, I get really tired and grouchy.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:36:36 GMT

I've been swimming all of my life, competitively and not competitively. I'm not swimming competitively anymore. The swimming has become cross-training for other things. It's the best cross-training for three other things that I do. (1) mountaineering. Long-haul 1000-2000 yd sets are wonderful for putting the pedal to the floor and sustaining it, nonstop for a good 12+ minutes. The training that swimming does for the breathing turns into nice, efficient slogging at high altitudes with thin air. It also enables good climbing skirts past avalanche areas where stopping becomes a danger. (2) backcountry skiing. If you love swimming, you'll love this too. It feels about the same to me. It's a total body workout. (3) biathlons. The long swimming sets make you really familiar with your heart rates and breathing rates. Controlling and timing your breathing and heart beats are an edge for holding a target rifle and squeezing off shots. Call me a masochist, but I love to get my heart and lungs pounding to an extreme at the instant of trying to do something steady with dexterity. I really enjoy the challenge of combining two extremes. In high school, it used to be water polo and then youth symphony practice. Oh yah. If I don't jack up my heart rate, I feel sleepy all the time, so much that I have a hard time staying awake.

RE: Why do you swim?

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:53:08 GMT

Every reply said very well, but this reason escaped me when I thought about the reasons why I swim. When I read this part by Lump, I just realized one big reason why I enjoy swimming so much. I can say it brings out more good things about me than any other physical activities I do. If I go back to swimmingless, an important part of who I am would be missing. :D Thanks, and because of what I said I'm seriously considering a career change at 37. I have a decent good in the business world but its just not cutting it anymore and its really not who I am. I guess I'm having a mid-life crisis of sorts, but I'm ready to do something I actually like or love. The search has started.

RE: Why do you swim?

norascats — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:47:46 GMT

Because I can. I love the feeling of being suspended in the water. I could tread water for hours. Swimming is one sport I have mastered to a lvel of easy competency. I'm not that fast, but I can still swim competently, and will be able to even as I get old.