Swimming with health issues - share your stories?

My "health issue" is my weight (280 lbs and 6'0" tall) and age (55), and perhaps a heart issue. My doctor recommended a stress test for me, but I have a $2000 deductible with my insurance, and the stress test is about half that, so I'm foregoing he stress test for now. I decided to get back to swimming, for the first time in 25 years (I'm new to this site). I swim at my local LA Fitness, and have been doing so for nearly 6 weeks. I've found that what I can do now is a very small fraction of what I could do at age 18. Back then I could swim 4000 meters in less than an hour, but I now find swimming that distance, in a week, to be exhausting. My cholesterol and blood pressure are very high, and I'm taking medication for both. My goal is to mostly just to get back in shape with swimming, but I'd like to compete in Master's swim races from time to time too. Although I'm not remotely ready for that now. My competitive swimming days ran from 1960 to 1974, which was, I think, a great era in Ameican swimming (Mark Spitz, all of the great Olympic swim teams of that era, Indiana University's great success, etc.). Those days seem long ago and far away now, but my goal is to use swimming to get back to the fitness and fun of those times. I've noticed that some of you have mentioned losing weight with swimming, and I'm using that as my inspiration. Best wishes to all of you other Masters swimmers with health issues. Best of luck with your health concerns, and with your swimming goals.

Thanks Alison, I'll try, but not before I get into halfway decent swimming shape. Right now I can swim only 150 yards of free before switching over to breaststroke, and 25 yards of butterfly before switching over to freestyle. Pretty pathetic I'm afraid, but I'll get back in shape eventually." Write that (the distances you can swim) down with the date and keep track of everything you accomplish each time you get out of the pool. Next, set goals for doing just a little bit more. Then, look back at your log (Use the F.L.O.G. on this website; it's great!) often to remind yourself of how you have improved. Repeat. Often. When I look at where I started, in February, when I switched from swimming laps for fitness to where I have come since joining Masters and altering my workouts to prepare for competition, it keeps me feeling encouraged. The same happened when I got back in the pool after many years out of it and started fitness swimming. I was very fit and well-conditioned for dryland, but I just about died trying to knock out some decent yardage in the pool. I tracked it, developed goals, followed my plan, and improved. You will be amazed at how quickly it will come for you! As for your earlier post about us gals being supportive, you go girls! :cheerleader:

Thanks Alison, I'll try, but not before I get into halfway decent swimming shape. Right now I can swim only 150 yards of free before switching over to breaststroke, and 25 yards of butterfly before switching over to freestyle. Pretty pathetic I'm afraid, but I'll get back in shape eventually. The SCY sounds a little like a meet I swam at, at the University of Pittsburgh, while a member of Suburban Swim Club. I was a senior in high school, and many of the attending swim teams stayed at one of the hotels in downtown Pittsburgh. It was indeed "a party with a bit of swimming in between."

Nothing nearly as serious as some of the health challenges many of you are working to overcome, of course, but I have wicked allergies and post-nasal drip which makes it difficult if not impossible to get through a hard workout at times. If I'm having a bad day and forget to take my medicine and nasal spray far enough in advance, I have trouble even making it through warmups (like this morning!).

Thank you very much, Conniekat8, swimshark and ElaineK! You ladies are certainly much more supportive than I remember my male teammates being back in the 60's and 1970's. Again, best of luck in achieving your goals, and I will keep you updated with my progress. Craig, you'll have to come down to Colonies Zone meet soon. The SCY one is a party with a bit of swimming in between.

Best wishes to you, too! Good luck with your goals and may you have tons of fun accomplishing them! :cheerleader: Keep us posted on how you are doing and stay close to the forums; they will prove to be a tremendous help to you, no matter what it is you are trying to achieve. I was a newbie Masters swimmer, this past February, and I have found my fellow forumites to be very encouraging, supportive, helpful, and terrific! :applaud: Thank you very much, ElaineK, swimshark, and conniekat8! Your kind words of encouragement are very much appreciated. When I experienced swimming as an age group/high school/freshman year college swimmer, I experienced it virtually completely as an individual support, and it's very good, and very pleasant to have early indications that Master's swimming is more supportive than age group/high school swimming, at least as I experienced it. Getting back into swimming a little bit -- this is my 6th week back in, after many, many years of being out -- has reminded me what a great sport it is. When I was in junior high and high school my two favorite, and best, sports were football and swimming, and I loved the positive aspects of both sports that are totally unique to each. One of the tremendous aspects of swimming though, that football lacks, is that a 55 year old guy can still participate in it. As much as I hate to admit it, there is no way that a guy my age can put on the football pads again, and play full contact, hard-hitting football the way I did at age 19. But, I can still participate in swimming, in mostly the same terrific way that I did from age 5 thru age 19, and it's a wonderful feeling to know that that type of participaticaption is still available. Thanks again, ElanieK, swimshark, and conniekat8 for your support, and I will keep you updated with my progress.

Best of luck to you, too. Thank you very much, Swimshark. Please see my reply to ElaineK.

Best of luck to you, too. Thank you very much, Swimshark. Please see my reply to ElaineK.

Thank you very much, Conniekat8, swimshark and ElaineK! You ladies are certainly much more supportive than I remember my male teammates being back in the 60's and 1970's. Again, best of luck in achieving your goals, and I will keep you updated with my progress.

My "health issue" is my weight (280 lbs and 6'0" tall) and age (55), and perhaps a heart issue. My doctor recommended a stress test for me, but I have a $2000 deductible with my insurance, and the stress test is about half that, so I'm foregoing he stress test for now. I decided to get back to swimming, for the first time in 25 years (I'm new to this site). I swim at my local LA Fitness, and have been doing so for nearly 6 weeks. I've found that what I can do now is a very small fraction of what I could do at age 18. Back then I could swim 4000 meters in less than an hour, but I now find swimming that distance, in a week, to be exhausting. QUOTE] Take care of your health first - I'd listen to your doctor and get the stress test. I know its expensive, but you need to be careful. Swimming will help with the other issues with weight, cholorestrol and the BP - it did for me. I started out doing 45 min 2500 yard sessions and now, two years later, I'm up to about 3700-4000 in an hour and 15mins - and could be doing more iin that time, but I take extra time between sets to stretch a lot. Don't sweat the "what I could do at 18" versus now stuff - enjoy the time swimming. During the summer I can use the outdoor pool to train and I'm usually the only on in first thing in the morning (opens at 5 am) for the first 30-40 mins and I really find that time to be a great mental health break. Good luck