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?
Breaststroke burns a bunch of calories - just ask ElaineK, one of the most fit swimmers I've ever met. It's her stroke and she's amazing. So don't worry if it's what you prefer. I've heard that some folks are just naturals at it. Me, I swim it like a one-legged frog and I'm out of breath halfway across the pool.
Congratulations on your commitment to swimming. I'm just getting into again after a long layoff and am out of breath after a lap. It takes time, so be patient. And yes, as realAlbertan says, a FINIS Tempo Trainer Pro can help, just set it to a slow speed to start out.
Someone said to count the strokes between the time you see the flags and hit the wall, except in my case, it's more hit the wall and wonder where I lost count.:bump:
I'm now working with a swim coach to get my stamina back, so hopefully I'll be able to say I'm back up to a mile, or even two.
This week I swam more breaststroke and butterfly with a little freestyle and back. I did a 57 second breastroke and a 55 to 56 butterfly. I usually did from 58 to 1:08. I trying to use speed on certain ones but do some slow swimming and I swam only 1,000 at Thursday and 1,100 on Friday.
I've decided my "crazy swimming thing" for my 50th birthday is going to be 50 50s on :50. I've already started prepping for this and ugh, ugh, ugh. I'm not a very fast swimmer, and I hate pushing myself. But I'm going to do it. Basically it's going to be five sets of 10 x 50. I did two sets last Sunday, two broken sets last night (one 10 x 50 and two 5 x 50s). Wednesday and Sunday I'm going to attempt 4 sets. Provided I'm able to keep at this (in other words, no health, work, or family-related disasters) I will have built up to the full five sets by late May, and then will really work on speed. My birthday is mid-June. Wish me luck!
I've decided my "crazy swimming thing" for my 50th birthday is going to be 50 50s on :50. I've already started prepping for this and ugh, ugh, ugh. I'm not a very fast swimmer, and I hate pushing myself. But I'm going to do it. Basically it's going to be five sets of 10 x 50. I did two sets last Sunday, two broken sets last night (one 10 x 50 and two 5 x 50s). Wednesday and Sunday I'm going to attempt 4 sets. Provided I'm able to keep at this (in other words, no health, work, or family-related disasters) I will have built up to the full five sets by late May, and then will really work on speed. My birthday is mid-June. Wish me luck!
You can do it, Nancy! Happy early birthday!
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I did 4 sprint 25 two *** and fly. Later In did a 100 yard I'm at 1:54 and a 50 fly 2 minutes later at 56. I did only 700 yards total but was very tired because of the 100 I'm and 50 yard fly. I like to find out how I'm dong by the sprint work.
I did 4 sprint 25 two *** and fly. Later In did a 100 yard I'm at 1:54 and a 50 fly 2 minutes later at 56. I did only 700 yards total but was very tired because of the 100 I'm and 50 yard fly. I like to find out how I'm dong by the sprint work. Well, the swimming is helping my mental state since I have Asperger's and ADHD and learning disabilities. I swim a 200 yard I'm around $.15 or 4:17 Friday along a 1,000 yard workout. I swam a 1:53 100 ***, 49 50 yard freestyle and 53 butterfly with 1,100 yards. I did the I'm on Friday after the warm up and the Breastroke after the warm up. The swimming is helping me with mental state.
