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?
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:
Hi Elaine, and everyone,
I am brand new to USMS and really new to swimming. I didn't swim in school, though I love the water and have visited pools and paddled around a lot, my whole life. I don't have the advantage now of living near great pools or near a team. I just got hooked again on swimming because my youngest grandsons and their mom (my daughter-in-law) introduced me to a very nice friendly pool near all of us. I haven't found a coach or lessons anywhere, and the summer is waning! Here in Maryland, I'm going to need to find indoor waters pretty soon.
I find YouTube videos amazingly helpful. (And I just put Elaine's book recommendation on my to-read list). But I'd really love to find adult beginner lessons around here. I can swim a half-decent side stroke, and my crawl seems passable to me, but I really could use a lot of work on conditioning (I have heard it referred to by swimmers as "dryland") so I don't overwork new muscles. I also need help with breathing tempo.
I am very, very aware I'm a newb and I try hard not to annoy or get in the way of the more pro swimmers -- I guess one nice thing about the pool I swim at now may be that everyone is about like me, so none of us annoy one another!
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:
Hi Elaine, and everyone,
I am brand new to USMS and really new to swimming. I didn't swim in school, though I love the water and have visited pools and paddled around a lot, my whole life. I don't have the advantage now of living near great pools or near a team. I just got hooked again on swimming because my youngest grandsons and their mom (my daughter-in-law) introduced me to a very nice friendly pool near all of us. I haven't found a coach or lessons anywhere, and the summer is waning! Here in Maryland, I'm going to need to find indoor waters pretty soon.
I find YouTube videos amazingly helpful. (And I just put Elaine's book recommendation on my to-read list). But I'd really love to find adult beginner lessons around here. I can swim a half-decent side stroke, and my crawl seems passable to me, but I really could use a lot of work on conditioning (I have heard it referred to by swimmers as "dryland") so I don't overwork new muscles. I also need help with breathing tempo.
I am very, very aware I'm a newb and I try hard not to annoy or get in the way of the more pro swimmers -- I guess one nice thing about the pool I swim at now may be that everyone is about like me, so none of us annoy one another!
