Training in hot water and racing in cold water.

Surely somebody out there has trained in water temps over 85 and swam in a meet in 78. Would like to hear how your body reacted to the difference in temp and any ideas on how to minimize the shock. Seventy-eight is by no means "cold," but when you train in 87 it is a big difference. Love to hear some tips and I promise I won't hit anybody with my rolling pin.

My only idea is cold showers. I have taken regular cold showers in the weeks leading up to a cold OW race when I did not have any opportunities to swim in cold water. I don't know if it made any difference at all, physiologically, but I at least believed I was preparing.

i used to swim in hot pools and race in cool ones. my muscles not only tighentened up but my asthma acted up. too radical a change . what state are u in

i used to swim in hot pools and race in cool ones. my muscles not only tighentened up but my asthma acted up. too radical a change . what state are u in Sounds like you can relate. I have asthma also and it does seem to act up when I swim in a pools with a normal temp (78-80). I live in Alabama. I guess everybody likes it hot here.

Elise - I swim/train in a community center pool and they run it hot for the folks with arthritis and the kids lessons. Training in it makes one work harder to figure out how to cool down. That is probably one of the adjustments, having to deal with staying warm in the cooler water. I tend to use an extended warm up at meets, and then try to get wet behind the blocks to reduce the shock value. Don't know if this helps, but I understand your issue well enough.

Elise - I swim/train in a community center pool and they run it hot for the folks with arthritis and the kids lessons. Training in it makes one work harder to figure out how to cool down. That is probably one of the adjustments, having to deal with staying warm in the cooler water. I tend to use an extended warm up at meets, and then try to get wet behind the blocks to reduce the shock value. Don't know if this helps, but I understand your issue well enough. sounds like what I should do. Thanks! I will try a little longer warm-up. ourswimmer - What you do sounds like a good idea as well. I may try filling a tub and sitting/lying down in 78 degree water. Glad others out there can relate. I keep hoping there is some positive training effect from swimming in hot water.

Don't have any suggestions better than what has been mentioned above, but this thread reminded me of my high school pool where the heater worked correctly about 60% of the time. When it wasn't working it was either too hot or too cold, but our coach had us swim regardless. I remember one practice where the water was so cold that by about 30 minutes into practice the tips of my fingers and toes were literally blue. We got to get out for about 5 minutes to take luke-warm showers. Good times, good times… :bliss:

Fill your bathtub with ice cubes and get cool.

I tend to use an extended warm up at meets, and then try to get wet behind the blocks to reduce the shock value. Elise, you make it sound like you dive in cold turkey for your races! Hardcore! Mr. Redbird already mentioned my two ideas. If you're finding breathing difficult just after entry, the splash water idea is going to help out a bunch. Make sure you get your chest and back, as this is where your breathing and circulation organs are.

Elise, you make it sound like you dive in cold turkey for your races! Hardcore! Mr. Redbird already mentioned my two ideas. If you're finding breathing difficult just after entry, the splash water idea is going to help out a bunch. Make sure you get your chest and back, as this is where your breathing and circulation organs are. I'm definitely going to do that especially since you mention circulation. I have felt like I'm not getting good circulation when I encounter the much cooler water. Some of my worst masters times came when I swam in a pool that was 75. Thanks for the tips. This will help out quite a bit!