[Houdini]

Anyone dig swimming?  I know there are plenty that surf here but swimming is but a tiny part of that game.

Anyone swim?  Either for training whatever or just for the fun of it?



Personally, I'm a huge fan: it's helped the chronic bouldering posture problems, plus an attempt to reverse a decade of tabbing. 

My current swimming trick (admittedly only possible due to running & increasing my Vmax) is to tread water (a la frogleg style) w/ my hands on my head whilst a wave machine tries to swamp me.  It's very difficult.  The wave machine is strong and operates 10mins every half hour.  It moves you up and down by over 1M.  I can manage more than 4 minutes before nearly drowning (and return my hands behind my back for an easier ride & 2 minutes respite, before a final 3 or 4 minutes last blast w/ hands back above the head.)  - putting hands on the head makes you sink fast and one has to frogleg hard to remain above water - which is not possible always and one must time ones breathing w/ the up and down of the wave, and when one will inevitably sink.

What happened to Yoss and his wetsuit down in Hastings?

Anyone train in a pool?

[Yossarian]

i can't put it on unaided...

and there's a limit to possible recruits for zipping up a whale in neoprene.

however, my new ambition is to swim the Channel. as well as cross the Atlantic in a RIB and ride a bike from Sydney to Perth, and climb Chouca, and shag Jennifer Ellison, and stuff. 

[GCW]

Swimming?  Holy shit, the thing I'm crap at.  The wife is a really good swimmer, I used to do it as a kid but recently I sink like a stone.  I struggle to keep my head above water in the bath.
My 3 year old swims around happily, rescues me from the shallow end etc.  Fuck knows what the issue is but water and the Lanky Twat do not mix.   

[Houdini]

Best thing I ever did for my swimming skills was to purchase shithot goggles and a noseclip (breath in & out via the mouth) = ecstacy.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

I don't swim as much as I would like to, even though I now I have decent pool 100m down the road! Normally its a winter evening training session for me, I tend to do nice efficient breast stroke, with the odd sprint length or two thrown in for good measure. A good cross training for arms/shoulders is breast stroke but arms only, with a leg float, or if your feeling strong, no float (ankles crossed), do a full length of that and you know about it. I was never any good at crawl as a youngster but now try and do a few lengths in a session to mix it up a bit, but I still prefer the symmetry of breast stroke. Getting your action really efficient is good fun, as is overtaking people whilst doing far fewer strokes than them. 

[Houdini]

I'm on the verge of buying mini-speedos 

Drag co-efficient, you understand...  Underwater swimming rocks and I'd say as much time can be gained by streamlining oneself as by being powerful.

I find crawling damn hard; back stroke is my best (and most powerful) style; breast most used and enjoyable.  Doggie?  Sometimes . . .

Butterfly = waddage. 

[Plattsy]

In the past when I've been swimming I've found I get finger fatigue. I'd maybe do half a mile first thing in a morning and after about 15 minutes my fingers would hurt. Never did work out why.

A friend used to butterfly really well as a kid. Now he's filled out big time his action reminds me of a walrus at full pace on land, so still quicker then me.

[SA Chris]

I was swimming once a week when we used to go to the University wall quite often. Now i have moved jobs and it's not so convenient. The old swimming pool in city centre has been getting a major facelift for the last few months, was due to open on 1st April. But now the council has decided thwy may not reopen it at all. Money well spent?

The beach is 15 minutes walk from work and I kept threatening to get the wetsuit on and go swimming at lunch in the summer, but we never really had one last year. Maybe this year?

I love swimming underwater, and can usually do a length underwater, then a recovery length of breaststroke back, and repeat 3 or 4 times before I start getting concerned about blacking out or hyperventilating or something.

Trying to keep your nipples clear of the surface while treading water is a good exercise too.

[Falling Down]

I really rate swimming and have been 4 times this week before work to prepare for a surf trip in a couple of weeks.

10 x Breastroke (warm up)
10 x Slow Crawl
4 x Intervals (2 fast crawl + 2 breastroke)
10 x Slow Crawl
10 x Breastroke (Warm down)

Speedos, Goggles and a water bottle at the side of the pool.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Speedos, Goggles and a water bottle at the side of the pool.

  do you feel less restricted swimming in the buff?

[Houdini]

Trying to keep your nipples clear of the surface while treading water is a good exercise too.

I've finally cracked the frogleg water treading whilst the wave machine is @ full pelt.  Guess it's 1.2/1.4m peak-to-trough and it's on for 10 minutes every half hour.  I do it easily now, w/ my hands on my head, a few times a session.

(Good breathing technique and regarding the wave pays dividends here.  Next objective is to do 10mins w/ my arms bolt upright.)

[Houdini]

Found a pic of my facilities.  Not the outside 25m bit or the inside wave pool, but the super warm indoor bit w/ lots of Victorian era ceramics.  This is where the yummy mummies and hot Turkish (under 21) minxes hang-out mid week.  The central pool is ice cold, the pools above and below are rather warm w/ bubble blowing bits in the lower lit pool plus spouts that pummel water onto your shoulders for a full-on water massage (out of shot).  The zone right at the top is the hot shallow part.  As you would imagine, when I'm not froglegging like a twat in the wave pool, I can be found here, nursing a stiffy in the aerated section...   

[nik at work]

Maybe you should ask Stevie about swimming seen as you've hit it off so....

[Drew]

I really should take it up again, but the nearest pool, really isn't that near, and it's shit, and expensive. I wouldn't mind expensive, if it was good. But it's shit!

My best stroke's were Front Crawl, then Back Stroke, Butterfly, then Breast Stroke. I used to swim for an amateur team, and comparatively, Butterfly was my best stroke (as in everyone else was shit, and I was half decent), so that became my thing. It's really, really, REALLY fucking good for getting broad shoulders! I've lost it a bit now, but I can still do 25m pretty swiftly, and can manage 50m without totally killing myself. I once did a 200metre race. I came second but that's cos there were only 4 people stupid enough to enter!

I really want to get back into it now actually.

Ok... I may no live there yet, but I will do at some point in the future, so, aside from Pond's Forge, where is there that's pretty decent to train at in Sheffield. I'm talking a 25m pool ideally, but anything above 15m should be enough.

[Houdini]

Maybe you should ask Stevie about swimming seen as you've hit it off so....

Maybe you should find another thread to spam.

Drew,  I wish I could get my co-ordination centre around butterfly . . .

[Houdini]

Had a 2 1/2 hour session @ the pools today.

4 x 10 minutes of hands-on-head treading water w/ wave machine, plus 40 x 25m = 1Km of breast stroke.  Most verily did I stroke them afterwards I can tell you.  Fantastic it was to have a lane entirely to myself as the rain came down (outside pool) and disturbed the light mist atop the water.  Quite zen actually.


Spent the rest of my time ogling boids:  Wednesday is ladies sauna day so there are hardly any men to be seen . . .   'Cept me of course 

[webbo]

you must have done alot of oggling as theres only hours exercise in your 21/2 hour session.

[Houdini]

I see this is the fishing thread now too, huh?

*takes bait*

Guru, I was being unusually modest . . .   

Break it down:  Get there @ five to ten.  Change and rush to wave pool for ten.  10 mins wave action/hands on head frog-legging (rude awakening); 20 mins of underwater 10m widths and general plooshing.  10 more mins wave/frogging followed by 20 mins underwater widths/plooshing, couple of minutes ogling.  (That's one hour.)  10 mins more waves/frogging then skip widths for the hot pool/water massages/rest for 20 mins.  (Hour and half.)  Back to waves/frogging for last session followed by 20 -25mins/1km lengths.  (2 & a bit hours)  retreat to hot pool/water massages/ogling for the remainder.  I was kinda bushed after that.

(Sunday was pool too, Mon I ran, Tues I ran, today rest/scoff/walk dog/drinky poos.  Tomorrow is big run day.)

Actually I don't mind your ribbing as finally after 2/3 year w/ out tabs and going cardio nuts I feel on the cusp of real fitness.     And I haven't fucked myself up yet either.  *touches wood*

The problems w/ my swimming are:  my crawl is shit, my butterfly a joke, my back is OK but a chore, breast it must be.  My breast is co-ordinated, I breathe well.  But it's tough on the old inner thighs; as is froglegging to a machine wave.  But it felt good and I'll push to 2 km next sesh.  OK?  Plus I left after 2.5 hours when I could have ogled for another 20, I'll stay for that next time too.  What was I thinking?!  *scratches head*

[webbo]

so given your original post 4x10=40 mins+1000 mtres b/s=20 mins=1 hour.maybe your time would be better spent improving either your memory or your maths.

[Houdini]

Read again, Grandad, or wipe your specs.  Never said that. 

4 x 10 minutes of hands-on-head treading water w/ wave machine, plus 40 x 25m = 1Km (not one hour) of breast stroke.

But this is off-topic bull.  (Weather is minging here, running's off.  Could be the pool again  )

Anyone got any pool routines?    You still swimming Webbo?

[Drew]

Drew,  I wish I could get my co-ordination centre around butterfly . . .

The problems w/ my swimming are:  my crawl is shit, my butterfly a joke, my back is OK but a chore, breast it must be.

If you want to get your Butterfly up to anything above splashing (nothing personal, just a gross generalization of most people I've seen who can't swim 'fly), then you're gonna need to be pretty good at 'crawl. Basically if you've got the breathing thing on Breast stroke down then it's not too far off. The only problem then is you need the 'crawl technique honed, so that you can do it on both sides at the same time! The best piece of advice I was given (my old swimming coach was an Olympic bronze medalist - he got it for the 'fly leg of the Medley Relay), was how to kick properly. It's one big kick which propels your head out of the water, and one smaller kick which... well I don't know what it does... but it's vital to success. It's hard work, but I reckon the benefits are worth it.

[webbo]

the last time i went swimming was about 5 years ago.the missus made me go on holiday to the isle of lesbos.it looked rocky and promised mountain biking.however after looking at every bit of rock in the area and finding it all to be shit and not be able to find a bike to hire.after a day sitting by the pool i was so bored i took plunge.
i started off with about 40 lengths(15 metre pool) but by the end of the week i was doing one session of about 100 then another session later.
i'm off to tenerife at easter so i might back my trunks so you never no it could yet another come back.although as a triathlete swimming was my weak(very)sport.
used to swim about 4 times a week,got alot stronger at it over the years but never much faster.

[Houdini]

The missus made me go on holiday to the Isle of Lesbos.

What did t'wife do while you swam?   

[webbo]

she tried to stop my daughter and her friend from pointing out the ladies with the same inclination as the name of the island.
"look mum couples" as she put it.

[Houdini]

Oh them?  They're more into muff diving than swimming, reckon.