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.)
10687
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?
I joined the Fitness Challenge. I'm am new to this :) . I have been swimming since August. Just joined Masters. I also swam summer and high school as a kid.
That's fantastic, Swimtastic! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.:rolleyes: ). Congratulations on taking up the best sport and exercise there is and for taking the step to join Masters. :welcome:
I mainly swim solo since I live about 35 minutes from the pool and the hours of the workouts never seem to coincide with what Im doing or when I can or want to go! Im sure its bec I lack alot of discipline about times and schedules. But hey swimming is a free floating sport so why be tied down to a time slot!!
:welcome: to our world (and thread), girlfish!
Hi Elaine,
I just found this post and have joined up. I started swimming a few years ago at age 54 having never swam in my life except for the normal childhood swimming fun times. Finding swimming has been a great adventure and I just love it! My problem is consistency especially not having any club in my area. I am still learning the different strokes and improving continually. I did compete in the 2016 Senior Games but there was only 1 other swimmer in my local games which was very disappointing. It sounded good to say I won 7 gold medals, LOL!
I just started back swimming this week after a 4-5 month layoff. The goal is weight loss. One thing I find very disappointing about the USMS workouts is they all run up 2500-3000 yards per workout. Heck the warmups are more my style right now. I m excited about the Fitness Challenge workout starting out at lower yardages which will help alot.
Looking forward to fun and some good advice! Keep swimming!!
:welcome: I'm glad you joined us here on the Solo Swimmers thread! Welcome back to the pool after your layoff. I'm glad you are enjoying swimming!
Following the Fitness Challenge workouts is a great place to start your journey. I checked them out, and I think you would be on the right track to follow that plan, since it is designed for swimmers just like you!
I wrote a couple of articles for Swimspire that may help you as well:
www.swimspire.com/.../
and
www.swimspire.com/.../
I hope my tips will inspire you and help you to stick with swimming!
As for the USMS workouts that have 2500-3000 yards, they are not written in stone! Feel free to play with them to suit you. You could either reduce the number of repetitions per set or cut back the number of sets to total the amount of yardage best for your current fitness level. In addition, alter the interval times if needed.
Keep us posted on how your doing, ok?
Cheers!
:cheerleader:
Hey Everyone! Just subscribed to this thread. I swam competitively from the age of 6-19 and hated every second of it. Then I "grew up"(I'll be 25 soon) and realized how much I missed it. I joined Masters back in April/May of 2017 and I have loved every second of it. There are quite a few local groups I could swim with but I'm broke and I don't want to pay team dues. I have a meet coming up on the 4th of February that I am super excited for. I am swimming in 6 events: 400 Free, 200 Free, 200 IM, 100 Fly, 100 Back, and 100 Free. I also just signed up for the Fitness Challenge. I am happy that money is going to a good cause plus you get a free cap.... I mean come on, who doesn't love free stuff!
I did my senior Olympics, I won 200 IM, the only woman in the 60-65 age group. It was 4:05.87. I won 100 yard breaststroke in my age group and their was 2 to 3 women at 1:50;34. Last year i pop a 1:48.58. so I was not that slower. I got 2nd in 400 yard freestyle at 8:22.16. I was pretty tired by the time I got to that even. Next Year I will do a 50 yard fly instead since there were no women in the event.
:welcome:, Casey! Nice to have you here! I am always happy to hear stories like yours. Things are lot different when you choose to do something on your own as an adult. I'm glad you returned to swimming and love it now.
Good luck at your swim meet! I hope it goes well for you. More importantly, I hope you have fun!
Good luck!
:cheerleader:
