swimming

Swimming is more than just a great way to beat the heat. Swimming is a great form of exercise that hits so many health and wellness bases:

Cardio

Swimming is cardiovascular exercises. It gets your heart pumping.

Respiratory

Swimming enhances our lung capacity. In research comparing amateur but regular swimmers with amateur but regular runners, the swimmers had better lung capacity on all counts. Running is certainly good for lung capacity, but researchers think perhaps the pressure and resistance of the of the water helps build lung capacity even more in swimmers.

Resistance Training

The water itself creates resistance and not just for the muscles around our lungs and ribs, but every part of the body, so it helps build muscle tone and increase overall strength.

Full Body Workout

Pick pretty much any swim stroke and you are going to get a full body workout. Your core, glutes (part of your core), arms, and legs all get involved in the workout.

Calorie Burn

If you are into the workout to burn calories, there isn’t much you can do that burns more than swimming (maybe running). Of course, your intensity and choice of stroke matter.

Low Impact

The ability to be buoyant in the […]

Maggie Downie2021-06-28T21:51:33-04:00

Adult Swim Lessons

I had to take adult swim lessons because my swim lessons were a total failure the first time. When I was a little girl, my parents signed me up for swimming lessons. They were a nightmare. I was most afraid of jumping off the edge of the deep end or even worse the diving board a mere foot higher. The instructors claimed they would catch me, but they lied. When I came back up for air alive, I had to swim to the edge of the pool like my life depended on it. This may have been a useful learning tactic for some kids, but it wasn’t helpful to me. Luckily, the water provided chronic ear infections so I had to miss more lessons than I attended.

For a time my mom would bring me to watch the lessons and see what I could learn from the bleachers of the pool. Not much. After years of lessons, I never actually learned to swim. I could doggie paddle, but much beyond that was beyond me.

Mini-Tri

When I signed up for a mini triathlon I knew I’d be doing the breast stroke with my head […]

Adult Swim LessonsMaggie Downie2021-08-23T16:03:33-04:00

Body Image of Young Girls

A few weeks ago I was swimming at the gym and a young girl (I’m guessing 8-years-old) stopped me and said, “If you want I can teach you how to swim so that you’ll actually lose weight.” After my initial embarrassment (because everyone in the pool heard), I laughed it off. I assumed that she thought I looked so awkward swimming that I was getting nothing out of it. And, I may be reading too much into it, but I think there is a valid discussion point here.

(Picture to left: Me, today with the body of someone an 8-year-old thinks should lose weight.)

I posted the comment on Facebook and told my classes about it. People had differing views but many were really upset. And it got me thinking about young girls and body image.

First of all, there is the good point that I wasn’t swimming to lose weight. I was training for a triathlon. And I swim because it’s good for my joints and keeps me running. Lots of people swim because they enjoy it. Losing weight is certainly not the […]

Body Image of Young GirlsMaggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:51-04:00

Triathlon Training Part IV: I Have Exercise ADHD

The third time I hop in the pool to train for my triathlon, I’m not fast. I’m not sure I’ll ever be fast. I was back up to 25-minutes again, but I definitely didn’t push myself as hard. Not because I couldn’t, but because I kept getting distracted. I’m the same way when I walk. I fall into a leisurely pace. I actually have to think, walk faster, walk faster, in order to walk faster or I naturally slow down. I’m not sure if speed walkers need a constant reminder to keep going. It’s the same thing with swimming for me. The second my mind wonders, my speed disappears. But my mind wanders a lot—from what I’m going to do in a class, to how cool Mark Twain is, to what I’ll eat later.

I think my exercise ADHD will hold me back from ever winning a race. And I’m totally okay with that.

Instead of speed, I worked on not touching the sides so that I don’t get that brief second of having a security blanket. I think I’ll be okay in the open water, even though everyone tells me that is what I should be nervous about. It’s […]

Triathlon Training Part IV: I Have Exercise ADHDMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:34:24-04:00

Triathlon Trainin Part III

I have to admit, there was a piece of me that was happy I’d done something I’d never done before—swimming till my heart felt like it would burst. It made me feel good to know I’d done it, but I was still dreading more.

So begrudgingly I forced myself back into the pool—for the workout and the commitment, not because I wanted to. A friend on Facebook told me that if I could get in the pool one or two more times before the race I’d see a huge difference. I didn’t believe him a lick.

I shoved my earplugs in, swam and swam, and looked at the clock. Better time. I did it in 21-minutes and it felt awful but not excruciating like the last time. I only had a couple of moments where I felt like I would drown in four feet of water. And I didn’t have to stop and do the backstroke for a lap. (Note: by the way…the back stroke […]

Triathlon Trainin Part IIIMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:34:24-04:00