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?
That there is about the clearest indication that stretching is the thing that could make a difference.
It was intended to be a bit of humor, but flexibility has a genetic aspect to it, and it was made quite clear that none of this PT or stretching is going to make me flexible, but it will help. Interestingly, my rigidity is all in my lower body. Most of the typical pre-swimming stretching that is done does not target the areas of my body that need stretching.
Interesting, though, that I've been swimming for almost 3 years, and never had this issue.
That there is about the clearest indication that stretching is the thing that could make a difference.
It was intended to be a bit of humor, but flexibility has a genetic aspect to it, and it was made quite clear that none of this PT or stretching is going to make me flexible, but it will help. Interestingly, my rigidity is all in my lower body. Most of the typical pre-swimming stretching that is done does not target the areas of my body that need stretching.
Interesting, though, that I've been swimming for almost 3 years, and never had this issue.
