I'm 63 and now cleared by my Drs. for swimming (not running or biking) after some major medical problems. Vascular and cardiovascular side effects from treatment come into play as I begin building endurance in the pool.
I'm fortunate to have the best coach (and the busiest) in the country to work with. As important as what my coach will do to bring me along, will be the help of a sports oriented Cardiologist.
Does anyone safely compete at a high level with ongoing guidance and input of a Cardiologist with satisfactory results? By satisfactory I mean age group competitive.
Are there reliable wrist heart monitors on the market? I haven't been in a pool in so long, I wasn't aware that the swimming community is made up of such great people - they're so much more laid back and sociable than marathoners.
Sorry if this topic has been discussed elsewhere. I'm still getting familiar with all that's available - it's intimidating.
Thanks,
Steve
Last week after a hard workout, I had constant chest pains the following day, but no post training discomfort since then after backing off last Friday, Monday and Weds ...
Is the Finis' Aqua Pulse available yet? Thanks, Steve
When swimming, I use a heart-rate monitor like this one:
Amazon.com: Mio Zone Plus Heart Rate Watch: Health & Personal Care
This monitor gives a pulse reading when you press a button. I put it on the pool deck - it performs poorly when it's in the water - and I check it every now and then. Most often, however, I leave the monitor at home and check my pulse with my finger and the pace clock. The monitors with chest straps don't work for me: the strap slips every time I push off a wall. The Aqua Pulse is a promising idea, but I haven't seen it yet in the Real World.
I started moving toward the pool about 10 years ago; I quit competitive swimming 35 years ago, ran and rode bikes for a while, and took up golf in the 1990s under the theory that, because it was a sport, I would get some exercise. I've had a cardiologist for about 15 years, and my goal in getting back into the pool was fitness, pure and simple. I started very slowly: at first, 10 years ago, I started walking, then built up to a few miles of running. That's when I started wearing a Polar monitor with a chest strap - it has an alarm to warn of a high pulse. The next step, which took a couple of years, was to start swimming again: I swam three or so times a week, usually between 1,000 and 2,000 yards at a time - and always feeling that it was a stretch to go beyond 1,700 yards a day. My original plan not to swim master's. But along the way, my gym added a master's team a few days a week, and that came at about the same time that I was trying to step up my yardage. For a while, I avoided meets, and my first meet was the SCM meet at UCLA almost three years ago. These days, I swim 5-6 times a week. I've been told to avoid weights, and sometimes I feel a bit of pain after sprinting, so I don't do a lot of speed work, and stick more to aerobic conditioning. My inclination, learned in my youth, is to "swim through" the pain, but this is extraordinarily bad advice for anyone who is not a very fit kid. Instead, I think it pays to have a bias toward care and caution ... In my case, if there's any sign of pain, I just stop, figuring that I can come back another day if I'm still standing today ...
Last week after a hard workout, I had constant chest pains the following day, but no post training discomfort since then after backing off last Friday, Monday and Weds ...
Is the Finis' Aqua Pulse available yet? Thanks, Steve
When swimming, I use a heart-rate monitor like this one:
Amazon.com: Mio Zone Plus Heart Rate Watch: Health & Personal Care
This monitor gives a pulse reading when you press a button. I put it on the pool deck - it performs poorly when it's in the water - and I check it every now and then. Most often, however, I leave the monitor at home and check my pulse with my finger and the pace clock. The monitors with chest straps don't work for me: the strap slips every time I push off a wall. The Aqua Pulse is a promising idea, but I haven't seen it yet in the Real World.
I started moving toward the pool about 10 years ago; I quit competitive swimming 35 years ago, ran and rode bikes for a while, and took up golf in the 1990s under the theory that, because it was a sport, I would get some exercise. I've had a cardiologist for about 15 years, and my goal in getting back into the pool was fitness, pure and simple. I started very slowly: at first, 10 years ago, I started walking, then built up to a few miles of running. That's when I started wearing a Polar monitor with a chest strap - it has an alarm to warn of a high pulse. The next step, which took a couple of years, was to start swimming again: I swam three or so times a week, usually between 1,000 and 2,000 yards at a time - and always feeling that it was a stretch to go beyond 1,700 yards a day. My original plan not to swim master's. But along the way, my gym added a master's team a few days a week, and that came at about the same time that I was trying to step up my yardage. For a while, I avoided meets, and my first meet was the SCM meet at UCLA almost three years ago. These days, I swim 5-6 times a week. I've been told to avoid weights, and sometimes I feel a bit of pain after sprinting, so I don't do a lot of speed work, and stick more to aerobic conditioning. My inclination, learned in my youth, is to "swim through" the pain, but this is extraordinarily bad advice for anyone who is not a very fit kid. Instead, I think it pays to have a bias toward care and caution ... In my case, if there's any sign of pain, I just stop, figuring that I can come back another day if I'm still standing today ...
