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 NancyEE,
I was very reluctant to get fins and paddles. I didn't think fins was going to be useful for me other than making me faster. But boy was I wrong. I join a masters class and the coach loves to give kicking sets. I got tired of being so slow, so I got fins. First week I wore them were so painful. I kept on getting cramps. I guess eventually my foot got used to it. My legs are much toner now (Yipee!) and it helped me learn how to do underwater kicks as well as extremely useful when I was learning how to swim butterfly. My coach once told me that swimming with fins may make it seem like you are swimming faster with less effort, but really it's very taxing on your legs. It helps build endurance. I also discovered that kicking on your back with fins are great for those lower abs. Now I always incorporate them in my solo swims. I had a similar discovery with paddles. I actually have biceps now!
Hi NancyEE,
I was very reluctant to get fins and paddles. I didn't think fins was going to be useful for me other than making me faster. But boy was I wrong. I join a masters class and the coach loves to give kicking sets. I got tired of being so slow, so I got fins. First week I wore them were so painful. I kept on getting cramps. I guess eventually my foot got used to it. My legs are much toner now (Yipee!) and it helped me learn how to do underwater kicks as well as extremely useful when I was learning how to swim butterfly. My coach once told me that swimming with fins may make it seem like you are swimming faster with less effort, but really it's very taxing on your legs. It helps build endurance. I also discovered that kicking on your back with fins are great for those lower abs. Now I always incorporate them in my solo swims. I had a similar discovery with paddles. I actually have biceps now!
