Heres how to turn a day at the pool into a satisfying workout.
Prepare Before You Go
First, find a pool and gather up your gear.
ensure to check the pools schedule in case you have to plan around kiddie sessions or water aerobics classes.
Youll also probably want a pair of goggles.
If they fit, youll be able to create enough suction that they stay momentarily stuck to your face.
They also bring more variety to what could otherwise be a boring workout.
It isnt easy building a workout from scratch, she said.
During this time, youre reminding your body what its like to swim.
Youll find your rhythm in breathing, and ease yourself into the workout.
Be sure and exhale anytime your face is in the water and dont hold your breath.
The pre-setallows you to practice the skills youll do in the rest of the workout.
Some workouts merge this with either the warmup or the following set.
The main setis just what it sounds like.
Its the longest part of the workout, and its where youll work the hardest.
The cooldownis the final segment, usually five to ten minutes of easy swimming.
A workout can be as long or as short as you like.
Their workouts, like the ones inthis plan from Active.com, tend to be simple but effective.
For more traditional swimming workouts, masters clubs tend to share daily or weekly workouts with their members.
Newer swimmers should start with the C level options.
Most swimmers will do freestyle if the workout doesnt specify a stroke.
Next, you do three intervals where you swim 150 yards and then rest for 30 seconds.
After that, you do another three intervals, this time on just 20 seconds of rest.
50 easy means 50 yards of easy swimming.
The next segment is another descending set of intervals, but this time we pull instead of swim.
That means youll do this set only using your arms.
you could put a foampull buoybetween your legs so your legs will float without you having to kick.
In the next set of intervals, some of them are labeled kick.
Instead, just put your face in the water and your arms at your sides.
A snorkel can help you concentrate on kicking without having to turn your head to breathe.
The cooldown is 100 yards, which again you could swim any way you like.
In some workouts, your rest between intervals is handled a bit differently.
For example, another of McLartys workouts includes a line that says 5x100 @ 3:00.
That means you start a new 100-meter interval every three minutes.
The faster you swim, the more rest you get.
If you get tired easily, the problem isnt necessarily your endurance.
The swimming lessons and clubs we mentioned earlier are great ways to work on your freestyle or other strokes.
(Even so, they usually do most of their training in a pool.)
But first, you begin by jumping into the pool.
Illustration by Sam Woolley.Additional photos byEvelynGiggles,Hy Crutchett,Miss Messie, andBuffalo Triathalon Club.
