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art
1903 Posts |
 Posted - 04/12/2007 : 12:52:05
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Is it TT who recommended swimming? I thought I'd give this a try as an alternative to my usual bone crushing runs along the concrete sidewalks that abound in my neighborhood...
I could only do 20 minutes, which actually isn't too bad for someone who hasn't swum a stroke in over 20 years....The thing that really surprised me, was how used my legs were afterward...They still feel like jelly 3 hours after.
So. Who swims? Any recommendations for a rookie? The truth is I've always been a miserable swimmer, but I'm desperate to find new, more forgiving modes of x-training...True, most of the debilitating aches and pains I've incurred are TMS, but the lesser stuff, the chronic stiffness and creakiness that I've had for years now in the same spots, that's the real deal....Anything I can do to lessen the load is a plus it seems to me...
Any tips highly appreciated..
A. |
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sensei adam rostocki
USA
167 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2007 : 13:05:58
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I am an avid swimmer since I really love the water. I especially love the ocean and can't wait till beach season starts soon! Swimming is a great full body workout as well as great cardiovascular exercise. Swimming will get you in the best shape of your life if you do it frequently and seriously. Take that from a certified personal trainer and long time swimmer...me. My best to you, Sensei
CURE-BACK-PAIN(dot)ORG |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2007 : 13:16:17
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Thanks Sensei...
The key for me will be to find something I can do for a long enough time to make a dent...I don't consider 20 mins much of a workout, though of course I know I have to ease into anything new, especially at 56...My girlfriend is a superb swimmer...Just a lovely, graceful australian crawl that seems without effort...I do an ugly breast stroke with a little side stroke thrown in, along with some water treading...No question, it's a heckuva workout, as long as I can keep it up, and of course if I don't drown first.... |
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hsb
149 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2007 : 13:44:12
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ARt-
Get a little more confident in the water then you should join a USMS masters swim team. They are fantastic. A coach will help you and it is not only for competitive swimmers. The only prerequisite is that you are over 18. There is no pressure. And the ages vary. A group swim I find is much much better - swimming up and down a pool alone and doing laps can be very boring. Their website is USMS.org and you can find a local team.
Hope this helps.
HSB |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2007 : 13:50:05
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Thanks HS...It does help...Over 18? Just sneak by... |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 04/13/2007 : 22:06:51
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Hi Art,
Yes it was me who has been recommending swimming and deep water running, thanks for remembering. I'm on my way down to the pool in a few minutes in fact.
If you did 20 minutes on your first outting to the pool, that's quite good. You're possibly exhibiting some TMS perfectionist traits by wanting to look like Johnny Weismuller from the git-go'  . The breast stroke is quite an energetic stroke.
When I started doing pool work for some post tennis soothing, my goal was to do only a dozen laps. After a few weeks I was able to do 30 minutes. I do a lap of free-style alternating with a lap of backstroke.
I would do a half hour before getting bored and going to the hot-tub. Swimming is not a very social sport--hard to talk while your head is under water.
Over the years, I've taken some swim lessons from a few good coaches, a couple of dozen lesson total. I have a decent style for my two strokes and it gives me something to work on to keep me from getting bored. One of my great goals in life is to learn how to do a kick-turn before I die. I've taken several lessons on the kick-turn but didn't practice it and so still can't do it--gotta' have goals though.
I found with swimming, the kick is only about 25% of the propulsion and I wasn't getting much range of motion for my arthritic hip. So I am now doing deep-water running which serves my purposes better. I purchased an AquaJogger belt and their accessory "footies" for some resistance. I try to do this for a half an hour and sometimes up to 50 minutes. Because the feet aren't hitting solid ground, one can get a greater range of motion for the leg joints.
It's not necessary to run out an purchase the equipment right away, a kick-board hugged to the chest offers enough flotation or one or two of those inexpensive pool-noodles work too, but then you can't have the arm movement.
As we age, pool work is one of the best exercises for our achey bodies whether from TMS pain or gray-hair of the skeleton. I have observed elderly people and people with physical infermities resemble dolfins once they hit the water.
Good Luck,
tt
Some of my favorite excerpts from 'TDM' : http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
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Edited by - tennis tom on 04/13/2007 22:33:04 |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 04/13/2007 : 22:37:33
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| Art--I don't swim much nowadays because it is sort of a hassle, but I love anything around the water. A few yrs ago, I was swimming regularly and had made it up to two miles (in a pool), which was pretty good because my strokes were amateurish (self-taught). Yes, swimming is a great all around exercise and is easy on your joints, but for that reason it also does nothing to build bone density. Also, you have to work harder to get the same cardio workout swimming as opposed to running. That said, it's a great complement to running or cycling. |
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Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2007 : 00:20:11
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Tennis Tom said:" I purchased an AquaJogger belt and their accessory "footies" for some resistance. I try to do this for a half an hour and sometimes up to 50 minutes."
Me too! I use my Aquajogger belt and hand weights and ankle weights (they're made of styrofoam which offers resistance like "weight" under water. This way you stay upright and can kind of dance around with every move being like working weights, except much softer.
I do it in the pool several mornings a week with my girlfriend who is also using the TMS approach, so we talk about this stuff while exercising. It's great fun.
I highly recommend getting this equipment (you can get online).
Nowadays I'm so recovered I actually prefer going to Gold's Gym and doing the harder, heavier stuff. Amazing. I can hardly believe I'm saying this!
Keep on keeping on.
xx
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
Edited by - Wavy Soul on 04/14/2007 00:20:37 |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2007 : 02:07:46
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quote:
Originally posted by wrldtrv
Yes, swimming is a great all around exercise and is easy on your joints, but for that reason it also does nothing to build bone density. Also, you have to work harder to get the same cardio workout swimming as opposed to running. That said, it's a great complement to running or cycling.
WT,
Recent studies have refuted that swimming does not build bone density. Water does create resistance. In defense of swimming as opposed to running, swimming also develops the upper body. Some of the best physiques of any athletes are on swimmer's.
some of my favorite excerpts from 'TDM' : http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2007 : 05:50:49
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Hey guys,
What fun! I'll check out that aqua belt thingy online...I imagine it's something to keep you bouyant and stable?
TT, you're right. I have a huge amount of perfectionism/competitiveness, no matter what the activity...But I think it's a net plus. The competition is mostly with myself, and it makes stuff that might otherwise be kinda tedious and boring fun...At the same time, there's not much in the way of personal improvement possibilities in my old sport of running...With each passing year I get slower. It's quite depressing actually...I find that to perform at the highest level possible for me, I have to take a bunch of days off in between, and I prefer to work out almost evry day if possible...
I've been a runner since my early 20's and I'm happiest when doing something physical...It gives life a kind of meaning that's refreshingly unassailable from an intellectual point of view, since it's completely outside that realm...It just is what it is, the human body being used, which is just the thing it was designed for...I feel quite sorry for sedentary people. They don't grasp what they're missing. The day I can no longer do some form of meaningful exercise is that day I'm going to seriously consider sucking on a gas pipe....or maybe I can take up heroin..I know you'll approve of that TT |
Edited by - art on 04/14/2007 05:53:08 |
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Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2007 : 10:02:34
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quote:
I feel quite sorry for sedentary people. They don't grasp what they're missing.
Yeah, really. And I was one of 'em my whole life until quite recently. I feel sorry for my old TMS-ridden self. At least my new slightly-less TMS-ridden self doesn't let nothing stop her!
xx
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2007 : 23:46:28
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| TT--I hadn't heard about the recent studies you mention re: swimming and bone density. Do you remember where you saw that? |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
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weatherman
USA
184 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2007 : 14:15:15
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Art
Ever considered cycling? It's a very non-jarring thing, even mountain biking unless you crash. I agree swimming is a very good exercise but I find it about the most boring thing in the world - probably because you aren't going anywhere. Too much like running in circles. Also a hassle because you usually have to adapt to someone else's schedule to do it. (I might be OK with a swim to an island in a tropical ocean, but Montana doesn't have any).
Just a thought - if you like swimming more power to you.
Weatherman |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2007 : 16:02:39
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Hey Weather...
I don't like cycling per se, but I'm a huge fan of kickbiking, which is essentially a scooter mounted on a bicycle frame...Very low impact, a tremendous workout, and lots and lots of fun...I don't understand why it hasn't caught fire yet in this country, though in parts of Europe it's more popular...
If interested, just google up kickbikes... |
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weatherman
USA
184 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2007 : 22:24:48
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Art
You have my curiosity. When you say scooter, do you mean no pedals? I.e., you push off on the ground rather than pedaling? I've never seen such a gadget but it does sound like exercise.
Weatherman |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2007 : 22:55:03
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| Yes, that's right, no pedals, just kicking. |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2007 : 23:43:47
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| Thx for the link, TT. Sounds like swimming might have a modest effect on bone density, but only in older people vs their nonexercising counterparts. Actually, that seems to make some sense because this is the at risk group (older women especially), so any resistance exercise would seem to be better than no resistance at all. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 04/16/2007 : 12:25:39
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WT, you seem very concerned about this osteo-porosis thing, why is that? I view it as just a part of the panopoly of "diseases" being foisted on us, with the aid of the popular media, in the hope we spend money on it, bolstering the coffers of the med/industrial complex.
some of my favorite excerpts from 'TDM' : http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 04/16/2007 : 23:42:46
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TT--Not really. I'm not obsessed with the topic; it just happens to be one of those things--sportsmedicine--I'm interested in. No big deal.
BTW, I wouldn't make light of osteoporosis. It's a real, not artifically created "problem". It can have very serious consequences. When an old person breaks a hip it is often a death sentence. |
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swimming
