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
Started with Masters about a year ago after a 40 year break from swimming. Took the last year to work on my strokes and steadily increase my yardage. I swim at 5:30 am so I don't swim "with" a group however I do catch up with other masters on the weekend and they will provide you with stroke tips that you miss from your horizontal plane. Now I am doing intervals (recently inspired by a meet)
Some things I have learned by being on my own as well as tips from others are:
warm up to swim, don't swim to warm up - do dry land to lubricate the shoulders, hips and knees along with some stretches
when you find yourself dreading getting in the water, just act like it is your wudu, and be thankful you have the opportunity to swim consider it a blessing
actually do a little water warm up (I do about 200 just to start pushing the lactic acid out of the muscle)
plan your workout. if you don't have a plan, you don't have a clue, this goes for life outside the pool as well. i plan for the whole week
mix up your workouts, don't get burnt out.
carry a small white board with your workout written. this formalized things and will make you more accountable. you'll have a better chance of completing what you set out to do.
pick a thing to concentrate on while doing a set (turns, finishing stroke, head position that kind of stuff) get it on white board
do a warm down of some sort even if its just goofing off and pushing yourself off the bottom of the pool. think how you had fun as a kid. hot shower helps too.
Started with Masters about a year ago after a 40 year break from swimming. Took the last year to work on my strokes and steadily increase my yardage. I swim at 5:30 am so I don't swim "with" a group however I do catch up with other masters on the weekend and they will provide you with stroke tips that you miss from your horizontal plane. Now I am doing intervals (recently inspired by a meet)
Some things I have learned by being on my own as well as tips from others are:
warm up to swim, don't swim to warm up - do dry land to lubricate the shoulders, hips and knees along with some stretches
when you find yourself dreading getting in the water, just act like it is your wudu, and be thankful you have the opportunity to swim consider it a blessing
actually do a little water warm up (I do about 200 just to start pushing the lactic acid out of the muscle)
plan your workout. if you don't have a plan, you don't have a clue, this goes for life outside the pool as well. i plan for the whole week
mix up your workouts, don't get burnt out.
carry a small white board with your workout written. this formalized things and will make you more accountable. you'll have a better chance of completing what you set out to do.
pick a thing to concentrate on while doing a set (turns, finishing stroke, head position that kind of stuff) get it on white board
do a warm down of some sort even if its just goofing off and pushing yourself off the bottom of the pool. think how you had fun as a kid. hot shower helps too.
