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?
Parents
Former Member
I'm a new solo swimmer. We have a lovely 50yd. pool at the gym I belong to, and while it's a half hour drive from my house (I live in the boonies in between two cities) it's only a 2 minute drive from my work. I started going to the gym to lose weight as 200lbs on my 5'3" frame is just too much, but quickly discovered the severe plantar fasciitis in my left foot meant bicycling was pretty much my only option for cardio besides the pool, and I just simply can't stationary bike long enough mentally to burn more than 200 calories. I hate it and get bored, so down to the pool I went. I love being in the water, it's like home to me lol, and I'm very comfortable there. I started out swimming two laps and being so out of breath I thought I was dying a month ago, to swimming 28 laps (100 yds. each lap) today. I alternate between breaststroke and backstroke. I wish I could get more into freestyle, I see all the other lap swimmers doing it exclusively, my form isn't horrible either (I had lots of swimming lessons as a kid and learned all the proper techniques for each stroke) but I just can't get into it like I do backstroking. I'd do it exclusively except I make myself do the breaststroke every other length just because it's more of a challenge physically and to avoid repetitive injury as well. There is a masters team there I'd love to join as well, but when you live in a different school district, your nine year old doesn't get on the school bus until 7:10 and all practices are at 6:30 am, it doesn't work for me right now at all schedule-wise. Maybe one day when she's old enough to reliably get herself up, dressed, fed, and on the bus on time every day, but until then I'm stuck with solo swims after work 4-5 times a week. I also walk a mile in the lazy river with all the old timers after each swim as well lol.
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I'm a new solo swimmer. We have a lovely 50yd. pool at the gym I belong to, and while it's a half hour drive from my house (I live in the boonies in between two cities) it's only a 2 minute drive from my work. I started going to the gym to lose weight as 200lbs on my 5'3" frame is just too much, but quickly discovered the severe plantar fasciitis in my left foot meant bicycling was pretty much my only option for cardio besides the pool, and I just simply can't stationary bike long enough mentally to burn more than 200 calories. I hate it and get bored, so down to the pool I went. I love being in the water, it's like home to me lol, and I'm very comfortable there. I started out swimming two laps and being so out of breath I thought I was dying a month ago, to swimming 28 laps (100 yds. each lap) today. I alternate between breaststroke and backstroke. I wish I could get more into freestyle, I see all the other lap swimmers doing it exclusively, my form isn't horrible either (I had lots of swimming lessons as a kid and learned all the proper techniques for each stroke) but I just can't get into it like I do backstroking. I'd do it exclusively except I make myself do the breaststroke every other length just because it's more of a challenge physically and to avoid repetitive injury as well. There is a masters team there I'd love to join as well, but when you live in a different school district, your nine year old doesn't get on the school bus until 7:10 and all practices are at 6:30 am, it doesn't work for me right now at all schedule-wise. Maybe one day when she's old enough to reliably get herself up, dressed, fed, and on the bus on time every day, but until then I'm stuck with solo swims after work 4-5 times a week. I also walk a mile in the lazy river with all the old timers after each swim as well lol.
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