Official (lap) swimming thread

[chassis]

I have had periods of fairly regular lap swimming. I swam in elementary, and was on the high school swim team. In HS I dove, and swam 50 free when needed.

After college, when I had the time and opportunity, I have put in one session per week, mostly in the colder months. 1 mile per session is my PB. In 2020 I experienced a shoulder impingement when I was swimming a mile per week, so took a break and since then swam off and on.

Today after two years off, I got back in the pool and it felt great. 50 meter facility at a local university, my preferred place to swim. People at universities using 50 meter pools tend to want to lap swim, and not horse around, which makes for a better experience.

I swam 650m, which felt great and I don't think I overstressed the shoulder. Plus I treated myself to a new Tyr suit and Tyr goggles!

I hope to get in the pool once per week until it is warm enough to bike.

So who swims? When? Where? How many yards? What are your goals for swimming?

[UncleWede]

Was doing anywhere from 750-1200 every 5th trip to the gym. It's been a year since I had shoulder surgery and I simply can't do a crawl yet, so haven't done any laps.
For me, swimming laps has always been controlled drowning. At one point I got a snorkel and that allowed me to actually concentrate on the physical swimming aspect, instead of worrying about the breath. Yeah, I know, that's the better part of the workout. I just love being in the water.

Right now, the unheated lap pool (25yds) is my plunge pool after gym. Tougher now, the cajuzzi isn't currently heated either. Have to waddle back inside to the sauna to warm up between plunges.

[chassis]

Swam 300m yesterday. Short swim, and a good one. I can feel the shoulder tightening a little and want to take it slowly to avoid a flare up of tendonitis/impingement.

[chassis]

300m today felt good. I have made the decision to commit to bilateral breathing. It puts less strain on each shoulder, something I need to take note. The right shoulder feels a little tight when swimming, but hasn't flared up. I will take things cautiously with low yardage, concentration on good form, and bilateral breathing. Love 50 meter pools!

[M_Six]

Never heard the term "bilateral breathing." Makes sense, though. I never really thought about the idea of breathing from one side only as odd, but it sort of is.

[chassis]

I am working on form as a priority. Yardage is secondary to developing a new swim stroke.

My overall fitness/weight is where I want it, so I don't need to crank out big yardage. If I tried to do 1,000 yards or 1 mile per session with my current stroke, my shoulder would not be happy. So I am training the body to breathe bilaterally and am adopting other improvements so my stroke is more efficient and less strenuous in an undesirable way.

I swim in the colder months, so there is no hurry. I will make some stroke changes now, then get back on the bike outdoors in 6-8 weeks or so, then come back to swimming next season.

[BMWCCA1]

In college they used to require us to swim one-mile as a warm-up prior to water-polo practice. And that was twice a day, first practice we were in the pool by 6am.

I believe that was something like 65 laps. That was nothing then. I sincerely doubt I could get anywhere close to that today without drowning. More power to you guys for sticking with it.

[chassis]

Yes it’s impressive to see the swim team in the pool when I am there for lap swimming. Muscle mass and VO2 max is impressive for those folks. They make it look easy, stroke efficiency contributes to that.

[oem.plus_440gc]

I swam competitively in HS and was an ocean lifeguard for 7 years so quite a bit of swimming experience here. I still try to get in the pool frequently (but I go through streaks of swimming a lot and then not at all depending on my schedule). When I get in the pool, I typically shoot for about 1200-1500 yards in 30-45 minutes. Usually broken down into 200-400 yard sets. I also set my breaks between sets based on heart rate to attempt to keep my heart rate above a set value for the full workout.

Even with all my years of swimming, I still can only breathe on one side. Not ideal. Never took the time to break the habit years ago and don't care enough now to try. As a sprinter (50 yd and 100 yd freestyle) I took so few breaths in a race it never affected me enough.

Anyone who wants some good swim workouts/tips/advice, feel free to PM me.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by oem.plus_440gc

Even with all my years of swimming, I still can only breathe on one side. Not ideal. Never took the time to break the habit years ago and don't care enough now to try. As a sprinter (50 yd and 100 yd freestyle) I took so few breaths in a race it never affected me enough.

Hah! Me, too.

And I also never got myself to open both eyes under water. It's become so natural after 65-years of swimming that I just don't think about it. I just can't get my body to do it. Really never needed that depth perception anyway. .

[oem.plus_440gc]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

Hah! Me, too.

And I also never got myself to open both eyes under water. It's become so natural after 65-years of swimming that I just don't think about it. I just can't get my body to do it. Really never needed that depth perception anyway. .

I just have a super weird "thing" where I can't get my brain to connect with the right muscles in my face to get my mouth to move to the other side to breath when swimming (if that makes sense). O well. Too late to learn now!

As long as I get in the pool and turn some laps, I'm happy for me.

[keleptose]

I swim (or am trying to occasionally)! I swam competitively for about 10 years, stopped my sophomore year of high school because of the pandemic. I want to get back into it! I have been lifeguarding for ~3 years now and my current job has a nice setup that I really want to take advantage of now that I have my own wheels! We sadly only have an 8 lane, 25 m(?) pool. I am hoping to get back to ~2000yds a practice.

[chassis]

300m swim, felt good. Pool was a bit more crowded than recently. Swim meets have canceled lap swim for the past two weeks, so it was good to get into the pool.

Practiced more bilateral breathing and it seems to be working well.

Weather is warming, so for the next month or two I will be alternating between walking, swimming and biking according to weather and pool availability.

[chassis]

Swam 400 yds today, felt great.

Bilateral breathing is the new normal for me. I am not as efficient with bilateral breathing as I am with one-sided breathing, but over time it will improve.

Shoulder felt OK after 400 yds, the longest distance I have swam in 2-3 years.

Swim season is almost over, because (someday, hopefully!) warmer weather means a change to biking season.

[eliphil]

I love to swim but can only do so in summer or when I’m in Florida. I am considering renjoining the gym w a pool but I’m concerned about how clean they keep the pool and being in close quarters w others germs. Not sure what to do. When I do swim it’s about 60 laps in a 40 ft pool

[chassis]

Anyone in the pool? Cooler weather means I stop the rides, sadly, and get into the pool for the winter. Will continue this season with bilateral breathing and working up to 1 mile per session.

Does anyone use a lap counting device, either manual/physical or electronic? I lose count of laps.

[chassis]

900 yds today. First pool session of the year. Felt good. I want to work up 1800yds / 1 mile per session. Bilateral breathing is going well. I am concentrating on stroke form to avoid shoulder impingement, which I experienced through swimming overuse a few years ago, and hope to avoid.

[chassis]

1200yds today, nice swim. Focused on form and smoothing out my stroke. Experimenting with shorter reach and higher cadence. Bilateral breathing is going well, feels natural. Shoulder so far so good.

[eliphil]

Just swam 6 out of 7 days south Florida felt great hot tub as well

[chassis]

Originally Posted by eliphil

Just swam 6 out of 7 days south Florida felt great hot tub as well

Well done! How many laps, yards or minutes per session?

[eliphil]

About 50 laps per session

[chassis]

1800yds! Great swim. I will stay at this yardage for a while. Had a lane to myself the entire time, a nice surprise.