Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

Former Member — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:51:48 GMT

Hi Suzie!!! I just wanted to pop in (a little late, but that's not unsual for me :blush: ) and say Congrats and I'm excited for you. I just started again and had my 1st practice after a few years hiatus. Let's just say that I quite swimming when my suit fit, and I RAN to the pool to hide in the water!!! But, isn't it amazing how great you feel. I was shocked how quickly the drowning feeling went away and how natural I felt in the water again. Congratulations again!!!

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

gigi — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:54:35 GMT

Congratulations! You got a lot of good advice here and with a coach and workouts at your pool you might not need my 2cents anymore but.... I love the "check it out anytime" convenience of books and I really really appreciated having "Janet Evans Total Swimming" by my side when I decided to get back into swimming in a bigger way. Excellent practical advice on strokes and training. Tons of workouts that go from 400yds up to 5000yds. I just loved this book! Check it out at the library... And enjoy!

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

Former Member — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:18:27 GMT

I did it!!! .....and I loved every minute!! This sounds sort of funny, but one of my fears was having really cold water!!! Well I slipped into the pool and it was perfect, I actually did 40 laps....but only about 14 of the laps were strokes, freestyle, breaststroke, & side stroke! The rest I used a kick board alternating flutter, front & back, and then the breaststroke kick. It felt so wonderful being in the water again, I can't wait to get back in....I'm going to try to swim 4x a week. I also had a wonderful surprise when I paid for my membership at the pool, there is a very strong Master Swimming program!! With lots of coaching, mostly during the day, but T&TH at night. I am very lucky!! JMKregor, I also swim at now at UK!! Thank you to everyone for their wonderful inspiration!!! I can truly see that my new "swimming family" is going to be very supportive, fun, and knowledgeable!!! Suzie:) Congrats Suzie!! Doesn't it feel wonderful?? :) Remember to pace yourself as you get going, and I'd recommend keeping a log of your yardage. It will help you as an inspiration to keep going. And, later on, you'll be able to look back and see how far you've come!! I'm proud of you. You did very well for getting back into the water. You should be very pleased with yourself. Keep up your consistancy, knowing you'll have good days and great days~and remember that the rest of us are in the 'same boat' with you in swimming for life and loving the chance to do just that. Best of luck to you. Happy waters.... bridge

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

Former Member — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:02:09 GMT

This sounds sort of funny, but one of my fears was having really cold water!!! Same here when I started back 4 months ago. Luckily, my gym keeps the pool warm. There's a local group, but they swim in an unheated pool. It's covered w/ a bubble during winter, but warm air just can't heat water, so I'm afraid I can't join them b/c I hate cold water and I know if I try to swim there I'll start dreading it. Glad to hear you're enjoying it!

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

Former Member — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:34:40 GMT

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

jessicafk11 — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:43:30 GMT

Welcome back to the pool! That's wonderful news! I agree with what others have said, but most of all, remember to have fun and enjoy being back in the water!

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

Former Member — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:56:05 GMT

Hi, Suzie! Check with the facility to see what programs they offer. Lots of places (gyms, YMCAs, even some municipal pools) have groups that can get you off on the right foot. Also, try asking the coach of your son's team if s/he knows of anyone offering classes or 1-on-1 training in your area. (There are some good trainers who offer classes at my gym, for example, and the local YMCA here has trainers.) If you've been out a long time, and especially if you've gained weight in the interim, having someone check your technique early on can make a big difference, b/c if you're working harder than you have to at your strokes, it's less fun and you tire out quicker. Thanks Sharpburger!! I just called the pool I will be swimming at and they have a coach T&TH nights, and they also have a workout that you can ask for during rec swimming times (which I will be mostly attending) ....now I really can't wait!!!

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

Former Member — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:24:11 GMT

Jeff, ViveBene, & Swimasaur.....Thank you!!! Thank you!! for the encouragement and info!! I feel like a little kid....I've got such butterflies about swimming tonight!! Swimasaur I really like your suggestion on how to get started....that's exactly what I'm going to do!! I figured I would also bring a kickboard and do some kicking too. It is awesome to hear that y'all have the same experience and are still swimming!! ....that definitely is encouraging!! I'll let y'all know how it goes!! Thanks again!!!! Suzie :)

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

Former Member — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:56:15 GMT

Help!! I just signed up and now officially a Master Swimmer....Now What??? I really don't know where to start...... I used to swim in High School....a long time ago. I now take my son to swimming and stay and usually read a book when I noticed "older swimmers"......so now instead of reading I want to swim!! I'll be swimming during open swim (so no coach avail), I'm about 100 pounds overweight......Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do...how I start this??? :confused: I want to start tomorrow, Monday, Jan 4. Thank you so much!!! :) Suzie Hi, Suzie! Check with the facility to see what programs they offer. Lots of places (gyms, YMCAs, even some municipal pools) have groups that can get you off on the right foot. Also, try asking the coach of your son's team if s/he knows of anyone offering classes or 1-on-1 training in your area. (There are some good trainers who offer classes at my gym, for example, and the local YMCA here has trainers.) If you've been out a long time, and especially if you've gained weight in the interim, having someone check your technique early on can make a big difference, b/c if you're working harder than you have to at your strokes, it's less fun and you tire out quicker.

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

ande — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:07:54 GMT

Welcome start where you are with what you have take it really easy at first then build up I also suggest you walk as much as you can each day you might enjoy and benefit from Swim Faster Faster Feel free to ASK ANDE

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

__steve__ — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:45:51 GMT

Welcome Suzie, I'm a green Masters swimmer too, but I never swam when I was younger. I have my first meet this month. The only help I can think of is to have fun reorientating yourself and enjoy the benefit of the world's greatest form of fitness. I'm 43 and physically look better than I ever have in my life.

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

Swimosaur — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:40:03 GMT

Hi Suzie, I started swimming again 14 months ago with a story almost like yours -- used to swim in HS (an unmentionably long time ago), and 50 lbs overweight. I agree with Jeff above to set goals, modest ones, and to be patient. What worked for me, specifically, at the outset, was the following: First I found how far I was able to swim continuously without collapsing from exhaustion (200 yd). My whole workout then consisted of 5 times 200 yd, with ample rest between (probably two minutes rest). That was enough, so then I got out of the water. I didn't time anything. I did that about 5 times a week and also some aerobics classes. I thought a stretch goal would be to swim a continuous 1650 within 6 months. Thankfully it took less than three months, though initially I had to swim about half of it backstroke. Then I was able to set new goals. Fast forward to the end of the year: I've lost 50 pounds and swam an 800 SCM free, among other events, in competition, with results that make me quite happy. So I would say, set modest goals, be patient and persistent, and keep your eye on the long term.

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

ViveBene — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:35:26 GMT

Congratulations! In the event you want some coaching eventually, here is a list of places to swim (from the main page), where you might also find a coach: http://www.usms.org/placswim/ There is a wealth of information on the site and the forums, and many posts from returning swimmers. Getting in is the first step, getting in tomorrow and the next day the second step. :D When you are comfortable with being back in the water, work hard enough to pant. Enjoy the swims and the good feeling after! Available on the site or the forums: --Daily workouts (which can be scaled down and modified) --Workouts from others who spontaneously put up threads (Betsy's one-hour workouts, Jonathan's "Fun, and Fast") --Interesting blogs --A personal fitness log, or "flog," under My USMS, where you can track your mileage in the pool or anything else you are working at --Specific threads on how to swim faster faster, how to improve various strokes, how to kick better --Chat on reading, movies, nutrition, nice places to swim --Tons of encouragement!

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

jeffsab — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:10:18 GMT

Welcome back! My $0.02: I had a really hard time, both physically and psychologically, getting back in the pool until I had lost quite a few of the 45 pounds I had gained in the 20 years out of the pool (since high school). I found that running was the way to make those pounds disappear. Now that I'm thin again, I feel much better in the pool. Regardless of weight loss issues, prepare yourself for a long path. Set modest goals that revolve around frequency in the pool rather than yardage. Good luck!

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

jmkregor — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:40:59 GMT

Hi Suzie! And welcome, welcome back to swimming! I know I'm biased, but if you're swimming in Kentucky, you're very very lucky! Just keep coming to the pool, and have fun! I swim at UK on MWF at 11, and Sunday at 10. Always happy to have another SKY member!

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

Former Member — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:18:14 GMT

Happy New Year from one Suzie to another! :applaud:I think it is absolutely terrific that you've decided to start swimming again! I'm a coachless swimmer, myself, and have found this website to be enormously helpful. Eventually you'll be able to do workouts like the ones you can find on this website, but for starters, the best thing is to just get in there and swim. I totally agree with Jeff about setting modest goals that revolve around frequency instead of yardage. I would add that besides frequency, you should set goals for how long you will swim. I don't mean continuously, I mean how long you will spend in the water per session. For example, when I first got back into swimming as a grownup, and I had to stop at every end of the pool to rest, my goal was to work out for 20 minutes, at least 4 times/wk. I think what really made me fall in love with swimming is how I could feel myself getting stronger almost every time I swam. It wasn't long before I was only resting every TWO laps, then every four, and so on. I would increase the duration of my workouts by 5 or 10 minutes at a time, until at some point, instead of trying to keep my workouts going for a certain amount of time, I hated when it was time to exit the pool. At first, right now, since you're just at the beginning, it may be hard to work on improving your stroke, but you'll be able to do that as you build up some strength. You can do this on your own, or you may want to get help (perhaps your son's coach could advise you some). I find that trying to improve my technique has been half the fun of swimming as an adult. Lap swimming is a great way to lose weight. There are several people at the gym I swim at who've told me their weight loss success stories. One gal I see a lot has lost 40 lbs and is still losing--she tells me that her husband has caught the swimming bug, too, and last I heard had lost over 20 lbs. One guy I know lost 25 lbs last year and has kept it all off and looks great. I'm glad you're here, and that you have the gumption to start swimming! Best wishes, Suzy

RE: Help!! I'm now officially a Master Swimmer...

no200fly — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:24:12 GMT

Suzie - I started back in swimming 5 years ago - after a short 25 year break. Ande is right, start with what you can do and build up. I would suggest that you try to find a masters team to workout with. You don't know how many times I would go to the Y to "swim a couple of thousand" only to talk myself into shorter and shorter distances after I got started ("maybe only 300 today") . Being with a group and a coach really makes a difference. Bes of luck to you