Hi, 51 year old guy (UK) here who's recently started swimming during lunch break in order to try and loose a few pounds. I've been going most days for a few weeks.

I go at 12 noon adult session lane swim.

The locker room and showers are open type with no privacy.

I haven't been in this situation for decades (probably since high school) and upon observation it appears about 3 or 4 in 10 men go naked.

I haven't taken the plunge yet and I keep my shorts on.

Today after my swim there were 5 men all showering naked chatting away quite happily.

I waited at my locker till the showers cleared as I thought I would look odd showering in shorts with the rest of the guys naked.

What's everyone else's thoughts on this situation?

Should I join the "nudist club" or not?

Hey everybody! I am reporting back after my summer swimming laps outside at my NYC parks pool—I hit my 25 miles on Friday, right under the wire! I’ve never consistently lap swam before, and getting past my first mile in a day felt like a hurdle (as did getting up early!), but I settled into a routine and by mid summer was logging 40 laps a day. It was so great to start my days swimming outside, with so many other New Yorkers from a range of ages, swimming levels, etc. Last night I got invited to the end of season lap swim celebration with all the other 25 milers!

I loved it and am already going through withdraw. Do any New Yorkers have recs for an indoor pool? Chelsea rec is pretty close to my work so that may be the default, but I’m wondering if I should try to join a masters team or get some coaching too? The laps definitely got easier but it was still a challenge by end of summer so thinking maybe I need some coaching/training to get better?

Anyway thanks to everyone here for your encouragement and tips early on! Psyched to become a swimmer in my 36th year!

About 3000km/1,864.11 miles - from south to north, swimming towards winter 🥶🥶

He's updating his instagram regularly (knutivan_swimmer), I think he's done about 700 km so far. Oh, and his boat sank at some point and he lost everything, so he had to get a new boat and clothes and equipment.

Give him some love and encouragement!! It's going to get real cold and dark soon.

(www.instagram.com/knutivan_swimmer/)

I usually swim early in the morning so my pre-swim meal is just my breakfast wich consist of 4 slice of bread with chocolate/biscoff spread wich is enough for my morning swim.

But now I'm considering also going to swim in the afternoon after work but then it'd be a longer session so I'm wondering what you all eat before to have enough energy and strength for your session

EDIT : whats also your post swim meal if you have one ??

I am reading Katie Ledecky's book Just Add Water and I really enjoy reading about her competitions and then watching them on YouTube. I was too busy with life to follow her trajectory while it was happening. Any other books by or about swimming superstars I can read?

Hi all! Im sorry if this is a silly question as I’m incredibly clueless, but I’m wondering how you guys know what to do/plan your workouts when you’re swimming?

I currently swim like 3x a week for an hour or so, and for the whole time I’m frolicking around doing front crawl as I’m absolutely baffled as to what else to do 🙈 I’m training for an Olympic distance triathlon in a few months and come from a running & cycling background as I’ve been doing both of them since I was a kid, but I’m pretty new to swimming and started at the beginning of August.

I’m definitely aiming to get a little bit faster as it currently takes me just under 27 minutes to swim a kilometre and I’m not sure if doing the exact same thing every single time is doing me much justice or not?

If anybody has any suggestions or advice on how you actually know what you’re doing or what I should be doing it’d be totally appreciated, thank you!!

I watch so many YouTube videos about front crawl (I guess especially for long distance) and I usually see stuff about taking your time, not rushing to the next stroke, one arm almost waiting for the other while extended to make the most of the glide.

I had a swimming lesson though for improving my techniques and the instructor had told me to keep my arms moving so that one arm is never paused? It kinda put me off but I'm having to decide between YouTube videos and swimming teacher, it feels silly but the YouTube style has worked alright for me so far in terms of energy conservation

Hello everyone!

For years, I have been only doing one type of swimming whenever I get to swim in the pool: I get inside and just go freestely until I get tired or until certain time passes (in my case, 30 minutes or around 1 mile).

I wonder if this is OK or do I have to add certain variety here. I just think that variety kinda ruins my flow, idk. Like, I can go breast stroke or backstroke, but both feel annoying and slow (probably because I barely practice them).

The pool I visit is just 75 ft long and is usually full of elderly people that can barely swim (just flap around), so I only noticed that I lack um... variety when I finally had "contestants" for the fast lane who suddenly started alternating their styles without any coach telling them to do so.

So what do I do: stick to my favourite or try other options? Does it matter in any way for staying fit?

Thanks in advance!

Is it just the depth? I normally swim in a 4 lane 25 yard pool, max 4 feet deep. While traveling I got to swim in a pool where the depth was 10 -12 feet. I think it was a 50 meter pool set up for short course and I was in the diving well area. My pace in the deeper pool was at least 1 sec better per 50 with way less effort than it should have been.
Only asking as the difference felt too great to chalk up to having a good swim day.

Hi, there, I'm curious what some more knowledgable people think about Cam McEvoy's training practices and in particular whether they can scale up to longer distances. It really is a revolution in swim training. For people who don't know, Cam has focused on speed and power over high volume and has broken a world record in the 50 Free.

In this short interview he gives some examples of his training philosophy being used in the 200 fly.

Also, in the context of Bob Bowman's team's PanPacs performance, I wonder if coaches like him, who still stick to a very high weekly kilometre training program, will start to adopt some of his practices. It was interesting that the Australian swimmers all seemed pretty fresh and I wonder if Dean Boxall has incorporated some of these strategies.

Hi all, I’ve just got a membership at my local pool as I’ve set myself the goal in the next couple of years of completing an Ironman.

For context I’ve done 1 sprint triathlon before and my swim training was 30 minutes twice a week and obviously I struggled with the swim part of the tri.

I’ve got at least 3 sessions a week I can commit to swimming now, so was just looking for a bit of structure if anyone has anything they could recommend?

Thanks in advance!

I live in a condo building where membership to the ground floor gym and lap pool is included with condo fees. From time to time, there are kids down there because they live in the building. Today, one of the kids was playing with various pool toys, including a noodle and a very solid kickboard. While lap swimming in my own lane, the kid extended the noodle past the lane boundary and accidentally tapped me with it twice. No big deal, you keep swimming. Well, then he quit playing with the kickboard so it floated over in my lane twice. You move it out of the way, and you keep swimming. Then he randomly decides to throw the kickboard in my lane while I’m in backstroke and it lands on my face and hits me so hard it left a bruise. I say, That’s it, this is coming out out of the pool then I remove it from the water and put it on the side. Mind you, this whole time, the boy’s dad is poolside on a laptop coworking. Lifeguard walks over because he saw it hit me and saw me go under. He asks if I’m okay then makes a comment like they’re just kids and gives the boy back the kickboard.

I left. I get that they‘re kids. I love kids. But once you have hit another swimmer four times with your pool toys, you lose the toys. And then, of course, after the lifeguard puts it in the water, the kid doesn’t even play with it so it’s just in there floating around.

i’m debating whether to say anything to management. I’m a renter, not an owner. If I were an owner, I would most definitely complain. I have a whomping bruise across my cheek now. It’s one thing that accidents happen. It’s another for me to say that’s it, this is staying out of the pool and remove it, then the lifeguard give it right back. And yes, I get that this is really the dad’s responsibility, but the dad’s not a paid employee and obviously doesn't give a sht about his kid or his behavior.

Thanks.

I am a 30 years old female. I normally swim 3 times a week but this summer I spent 2 months on the seaside. I swim up to 1,5km per day, freestyle, with a steady pace of around 1:55min per km.

I recently went to a wedding and was trying on some of my dresses. I found out that I don’t fit in as easily as before in the shoulders/back. I barely put on any weight compared to last year, about 2kg. And the weird thing is that last year I spent 6 months on the seaside and I didn’t notice this difference! But my technique got much better this year around.

Is it me getting older? I don’t think I swim nearly enough to get bigger in the shoulders, what do you think?

I’ve been swimming for several years and recently joined a Masters swim team. I have dry earwax, and when water gets into my ears, the wax tends to swell and trap the water in my ear. To prevent this, I usually wear earplugs while swimming.

Now that I’m training with a team, I’d like to be able to hear my coach’s instructions and communicate more easily with other swimmers. Are there any preventive measures, such as ear drops or other treatments, that can help keep water from getting trapped in my ears so I can avoid using earplugs during practice?

Has anyone with a similar issue found an effective solution?

Hi everyone.. 53m only 3 weeks into starting swimming for fitness. I’ve always been able to swim but I have never done it for fitness (never done laps).
I’m pretty rubbish endurance wise but I’m happy to be able to swim 1km (40 laps of my 25m local pool) .. I can’t do much more than 50m without stopping but getting to 1km after about 35 minutes in the pool..
so I have been doing 10 laps, then get in the sauna for 10 minutes (because I like it) then 10 more laps, sauna etc… just the little habit I have gotten into..

In your experience, would breaking up the swim be helping or hindering my progression ?

Question 1: is it "cheating" to use breath control to tread longer? I've noticed that if I tread water with my regular breathing cadence, I start getting fatigued after around 4-5 minutes. But if I breathe strategically (holding air in my lungs for longer, only working my arms and legs harder when I'm exhaling to compensate for the temporary loss in buoyancy) I can tread basically forever. But is that bad? If I have good technique should I be able to tread forever while breathing completely normally?

Question 2: I'm confused about how eggbeater kick pushes the water down. Is there any diagram or visualization that shows how the movement actually affects the water? I feel like it would help me to understand the physics of it.

Question 3: I've gotten further confused about eggbeater because some instructors describe it alternating one-legged whip kicks (which means my knees should go up and down, right?) and others have told me to just make big circles with my feet which feels like a totally different movement in which my knees stay pretty much level. Which is it?

My son broke two metatarsals in his foot and just had a cast out on today. 6-8 weeks depending on progress. Before the injury he was swimming 9x/wk (Mon-Sat with doubles on M,W,F). He wants to set himself up for success when he eventually gets back in the water but he knows nothing will ever be a perfect match.

He’s thrown out a couple ideas including an AirBike or rower for cardio, potentially while using an altitude training mask. Dumbbells and cable machines for strength, etc.

He’s primarily a back/free swimmer. Anyone here ever had to be out of the water for a couple months and found a way to not completely lose progress?

(For context, he just turned 15 last week and is a top-100 NAG swimmer)

I keep getting water in my nose when I do it. Cant go more than 50 meters before I have to stop and clear my nose.

Does anyone else get really bad calf cramps when swimming? I can be going along fine and then out of nowhere my calf tightens up and I really struggle to keep going. Sometimes I have to stop and stretch and wait for it to pass. I am still a beginner so I am wondering if I am doing something wrong. Also it tends to happen more when I push off the wall.

So basically whenever I exhale underwater I always feel out of breath and when inhale I always feel my head just coming up instead of just rotating my body

Hi all, new to swimming(?) I suppose. Trying to incorporate it into my life on a regular basis. Took swim lessons 20 years ago. Don’t know how to flip turn. Started about 3 weeks ago, can go for at least 45min nonstop.

Few questions.

1. Is it rude to not formally acknowledge when someone asks to split lanes? I hate stopping once I’ve started, so usually when I see someone trying to split lanes I just move over. They always seem to catch on. However, I don’t want to come across as mean spirited.

2. About 1/3 of the time, ONE side of my googles gets a little water in it. Any way to reliably avoid that?

3. Can I teach myself (via reading and videos) how to flip turn or is that dangerous? I don’t really have time or money for lessons right now. Definitely something I want to do further down the line, just to get better form.

4. Is it dangerous to use headphones? What about using one? As I’m adding time, sometimes I get agitated by the silence. Though the idea of playing anything feels dangerous…

5. I read/talk to people who say they can’t even swim two laps nonstop. I’m not trying to be arrogant; I’m not in shape. Am I going TOO slow/too inefficient or something that I can still go long without stopping (I stopped at 45 min but I could have done at least another 15)? My pace is like 2:40 100 yards (told you I am short and slow).

6. Besides a mile run, I don’t warm up. Is that ok?

7. Usually I do bilateral breathing (every three strokes) but sometimes it’s every four. Is that ok?

8. Any other advice you’d like to offer?

Thank you!!

Hi, i’m 15yo and i never learned to swim. always avoided going in the pool with my friends because of the fear of getting joked on. this year in highschool i started a swim course as everyone have to but obviously the PE teacher cannot follow 25 people at the same time, i learned pretty much nothing other than how to not drown with ur head under the water and how to blow bubbles. during the summer i went with my sister on some of those little pools where only old people go to relax so i could try to learn smth with her in safety. it was very very low because im always been terrified of going underwater. the thing that makes thing more difficult isn’t learning the movements itself, but the fear that constatly says to me “don’t do this, don’t do this”. during the last week i learned to a little more confortable with my head under the water and how to swim frog style but i have still MANY hard times.

1- When i swim, i can do it only on very short stretches, because i keep my breath in and then start bubbling slowly with my mouth, but it doesn’t last long.

2- Very unpopular, when i “swim” i cannot “go back standing”, like i cannot turn vertical or on my feet, so i have to rely/lean on something/someone to go back standing. I practiced it with my sister for over an half an hour and i just cannot do it without losing my balance or getting very uncomfortable.

3- I cannot swim with my head up. as i already said, i only can do very short stretches, because when i try to lift my head up to take some air in, i start to panic as i lose my balance.

4- I learned starfloat but only for some seconds then i start so panic so much i have to rely on something, if i do it but reversed (so with the face on the water) i can do it quietly until i have to breathe.

How can i improve? What am i missing? Any ideas?

Ever since I was five years old, my mom had enrolled me in swimming lessons. For me, there were nine levels, and after that, there were lifeguard courses, like Bronze Medallion and etc.

I've been swimming for years. I am now 14 years old, turning fifteen, and now I absolutely hate it. When the levels got more competitive, like timed swims or lifting up a weighted brick from the bottom of the pool, I dreaded going to lessons because I absolutely hated it. Every time I swam, I felt like throwing up, and I felt my throat closing up. I also have asthma if that has anything to do with it. But I also feel emotionally nauseous and it feels draining to even think about it.

Once I finished level nine two years ago, I haven't swum properly since then. Now my mom is pushing me to do Bronze Medallion, and I feel sick. I can't physically do timed eight laps, and every time someone asks me to go for a swim, I recoil and refuse. I can't describe how nauseous I feel when I think about it.

I don't know. I know my mom is going to pressure me into being a lifeguard anyway, but I just don't know how I could face the pool again because of how much I don't like it. How can I get rid of this feeling?

Edit: I tried talking to my mom about it, but she refused to accept that I don't want to swim. She had actually planned the Bronze Medallion course already, and I'm already enrolled. Today, I had my first lesson, and I'm really behind everyone else. I told the instructor that I have asthma and that I didn't feel comfortable doing the full-distance swim, so he said to at least try.

But thirty minutes before the swim started, I felt really nauseous about it, so I called my mom to pick me up. She reluctantly agreed, but she said I had to try the distance swim again during my next lesson. I think my mom has this hidden belief that I'm just being dramatic and that I'll actually be fine and pass because now she keeps telling me how she's going to buy me whatever I want when I pass or that when I pass this week, we'll go to a restaurant. She's been using the word "when" I pass instead of "if," and now I feel horrible because I know I won't.