Hey, solo swimmers! :wave: Welcome to the thread for all of us who train solo. Whether you train on your own due to a lack of a Masters team in your area (or for any other reason), this is our virtual locker room. Please post training tips that you think would be helpful, or anything else you would like to share with the rest of us. Have a rant? Go ahead and vent here! :rantonoff:
I'll start with a tip:
The most frustrating thing for me training solo is not having a coach on deck to evaluate my stroke and keep me on track, so I bought a waterproof camera and enlisted the help of my husband to periodically shoot video of all four strokes. Shooting underwater video became a knee/back buster, so I bought a camera mount and attached it to PVC pipe, so my husband could stand up straight to shoot underwater video. The camera gets dunked underwater, and he twists the pipe to pan the camera as I swim by.
Today, I bought a 2-pack of 12-inch "Gear Tie" reusable rubber twist ties (available at Home Depot), so I can tie the PVC pipe to the pool ladder (located in the corner of the pool) and shoot video myself. (If I angle the camera just right and keep it on wide angle, I can video me coming and going.)
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After each video session, I upload the videos to my desktop computer and compare my stroke to my favorite Go Swim stroke videos to see what I'm doing well (or not). I also post them on the Forums for feedback.
Ok, solo swimmers, what's your tip?
Hi Elaine!
I swim on a masters team, but my work schedule doesn't allow me to swim with them all of the time. I would estimate that I swim solo 50% of the time. I swim 4 times per week total. For me, this is a great way to swim because I have unique challenges based on whether I'm on my own or swimming with my team.
Swimming with the team forces me to stay with intervals set for me, not by me, & pushes me through nasty sets that I probably wouldn't make myself go thru on my own. There is the incentive to keep up with (or lead) my lane mates & swim faster just because I'm so competitive. I really push myself when I'm swimming with a group.
When solo, I drop it down a notch, paying more attention to technique, and doing a lot of kicking, pulling & drills. I make sure I get plenty of rest unless I'm doing an interval set of some sort. I also tailor my workouts towards upcoming events. For instance, I have a sprint pentathlon coming up, so I'm doing lots of stroke-work, drilling, & of course 50s. I wouldn't be able to do this sort of workout with my group & that would be very frustrating for me....
Yes I agree to swim on your own requires an easily-accessible pool where you can swim like a swimmer & not have to navigate thru noodlers & lap swimmers. I finally found a pool that works well for me in this regard; at most I'm splitting the lane with one other person.
Hi Elaine!
I swim on a masters team, but my work schedule doesn't allow me to swim with them all of the time. I would estimate that I swim solo 50% of the time. I swim 4 times per week total. For me, this is a great way to swim because I have unique challenges based on whether I'm on my own or swimming with my team.
Swimming with the team forces me to stay with intervals set for me, not by me, & pushes me through nasty sets that I probably wouldn't make myself go thru on my own. There is the incentive to keep up with (or lead) my lane mates & swim faster just because I'm so competitive. I really push myself when I'm swimming with a group.
When solo, I drop it down a notch, paying more attention to technique, and doing a lot of kicking, pulling & drills. I make sure I get plenty of rest unless I'm doing an interval set of some sort. I also tailor my workouts towards upcoming events. For instance, I have a sprint pentathlon coming up, so I'm doing lots of stroke-work, drilling, & of course 50s. I wouldn't be able to do this sort of workout with my group & that would be very frustrating for me....
Yes I agree to swim on your own requires an easily-accessible pool where you can swim like a swimmer & not have to navigate thru noodlers & lap swimmers. I finally found a pool that works well for me in this regard; at most I'm splitting the lane with one other person.
