Workouts in warm water

I cannot handle warm water in the 80 degree plus range. I prefer the water to be in the 77-78 range or I find myself getting queasy. I seem to be in the minority. Rob

I cannot handle warm water in the 80 degree plus range. .... I seem to be in the minority. Not really, most of the posters above are describing how to deal with the warm water. When all you have to swim in is warm water, one learns to acclimate. It took me some time to figure out how to swim at the Community Center here... they keep the water warm for the Arthritis and Aerobics classes. I would go elsewhere, but for the commute time, additional expenses, and lack of any team to work with nearby.

We had an interesting situation at our Y a week or so ago. As my swimmers were entering the water they commented on how warm it felt. It's usually 85 degrees for the older folks in the other classes. I said something to the guard who assured me it was no warmer than usual. One of my swimmers had happened to bring his digital thermometer (he'd swum the night before and thought it was too hot). He stuck it in the water and it read 92. So the guard talks to the maintenance guy and he goes to check the (mercury) thermometer. He insists it's 85. He then goes to get his little laser thermometer (forget the technical term). I'm with him as he points it at the water. It reads 91. Then there is a mad scrambling to fix the problem. So much for mercury thermometers. Sometimes it pays to bring your more technologically advanced thermometer to the pool...

I once discussed optimum pool temps with the guy who maintained the pool at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Their studies determined that temps above 84 degrees do not allow your body to dissipate heat adequately, and it forces your body to allocate too much of your energy to heart and lung function instead of your muscles for swimming. And, because their users (olympic-caliber swimmers) often do very long (hours-long) workouts, and have very low body fat, if the water is too cool they will start to get cold at the end of their workouts. Because of these factors, they keep their water temp at 80.1 degrees.

We had an interesting situation at our Y a week or so ago. As my swimmers were entering the water they commented on how warm it felt. It's usually 85 degrees for the older folks in the other classes. I said something to the guard who assured me it was no warmer than usual. One of my swimmers had happened to bring his digital thermometer (he'd swum the night before and thought it was too hot). He stuck it in the water and it read 92. So the guard talks to the maintenance guy and he goes to check the (mercury) thermometer. He insists it's 85. He then goes to get his little laser thermometer (forget the technical term). I'm with him as he points it at the water. It reads 91. Then there is a mad scrambling to fix the problem. So much for mercury thermometers. Sometimes it pays to bring your more technologically advanced thermometer to the pool... Most of the pool that I have managed do a "double check" system with a mercury thermometer as well as a digital thermometer in the filter room/pump house. It's never fun swimming in warm water, but most pools do have to keep a temperature that all patrons can handle. We keep our pool at 83 right now which seems to please almost everyone. I know that my swimmers bring extra empty bottles to fill up with cold water that they dump over themselves during a difficult set...

I used to be okay in warm water, because the pool at my gym is probably close to 88 degrees. Ever since I joined my team, I can't do a full workout in the gym pool anymore because the team pool is 80 degrees maximum. I went to the gym pool yesterday, and I kept having to stop and rub the cold water bottle on my head because I was getting overheated.