The campbell community center pool
I've been an avid cyclist from late 2011 and usually throw in a jog about once a week or so, somewhere between 3 and 5 miles. Well being an 'older' guy, the jogging is starting to take a little bit of a toll on the joints.
I know that swimming as an exercise has less impact on the joints and there are very few injuries. (If your a competitive swimmer, a rotator cuff injury is probably the most common) Most recreational swimmers take it easy, so injury is less common.
So I decided a few months ago to give lap swimming a try and if I liked it, the jogging was eventually going to be phased out. I've taken swimming lessons as a kid, but never tried lap swimming. All of the times that I have been in a pool as an adult has just been a free swim and just messing around. I've snorkeled in Hawaii a few times, but that is much different diving down to check out the reef and coming back to the surface.
So after 11 swims once per week, I'm getting a bit more comfortable with the water. At first I was uncomfortable as I'm not used to having my head underwater and breathing out. (Along with all of the timing needed for freestyle/crawl stroke)
Here is a screenshot of the data from yesterdays swim with the Garmin Connect iPhone app. The data was taken with a Garmin Vivoactive HR watch which I plan to do a review on in the future. (As I purchased it to collect the swim data and replace my aging GPS devices)
Detailed data
Graphed data
When I first saw the data for Swolf, I needed to look it up as I had no idea what it was or meant.
Here is the same data, but pulled from the Garmin Connect website. So you can view the data easier on your computer screen instead of your phone. The graphs also have pull down menus to change the graph by time, distance and w/rests. You can see the times that I stopped to either recover or add/remove the fins/hand paddles or use the kickboard.
So I'll be adding swimming into the workout mix going forward. The pool that I am going to is at the Campbell community center and is outdoors, so I'm pretty sure that I will not be going in the cold days during the winter. Spring, summer and fall is OK with me.
At the community center pool, it costs $40 for 10 visits (I get a little discount for being over a certain age...) Getting into swimming is low in cost as all you need is goggles and a swim suit (a jammer is typical for men). The other accessories are inexpensive, fins and hand paddles which I highly recommend as they are a huge help in sustaining your speed which keeps you streamlined in the water. Tip: Youtube has some great videos for improving your swimming stroke to become more efficient as a swimmer.
I haven't met too many people where swimming was their main source of exercise. You do need to pay a swim center (unless you have a pool) and you probably need to drive to get there. (I'm about 5 miles away) When you get older, do you think swimming can be a part of your exercise routine?
Happy Tuesday!