So i haven’t written on the blog for awhile now because I really haven’t thought of things to write about.  I need to start brainstorming things I suppose.  Anyway, since I’m on a swimming binge right now, I will write about that.

Ever since I saw Michael Phelps kick butt last year at the Olympics, I have wanted to start swimming again.  I figured that it was great exercise because you are working both your arms and legs plus you are getting a lot of cardio work in.  After a year of not following up, I finally decided to get started last week.  Starting out, I really had no idea  what to do.  Where to swim.  What to wear.  What the swimming etiquette was.  What kind of training program to do.  The first thing I had to do was some research on the net.

Where To Swim

If you don’t have a pool in your backyard or apartment complex then you’re going to have to research a little to find a place to swim.  You have a couple of options here.  If you’re swimming for fitness, a kiddie pool isn’t going to do.   Here’s some options:

1)  Health Club – 24 Hour Fitness, Ballys, LA Fitness, Etc.  Not every location has a pool so make sure to check online and see how close one is to you.  This is probably the most cost efficient way to go since most of you have gym memberships already.

2)  YMCA – My local YMCA has an indoor heated pool and is biking distance for my apartment.  Membership is $60 a month though so that’s pretty steep for somebody who is just going to be swimming 2-3 times a week.

3)  High School Pools – Some high schools offer free swim for non students.  I found it difficult to find a school in my area that offered this though.

4)  College Pools – I checked out the pools at UCLA and Santa Monica College (SMC) and they were both superior to anything I had found up to that point.  Both pools are outdoors so you can get a good tan while you are getting exercise so that’s a plus.  The UCLA pool in the summertime has a bunch of Euro exchange students getting tans on the grass so you get eye candy too.  =)  The big negative though is PARKING.  UCLA parking is $10 now (I think) and SMC parking is nonexistent.  It’s basically too much of  hassle to try swimming at these places.

5)  LA City Pools – This was the option that I chose.  The City of LA currently operates around 60 swimming pools throughout the city so there is a good chance that there are at least a couple within a couple miles of where you live.  Here is the website:  www.laparks.org/dos/aquatic/aquatic.htm  When you find a pool near you, check out their individual link to find out the swim times and how many lanes they have open.  I chose the Westwood Park pool since it’s right down the street from me.  The Westwood Pool is close to my apartment, indoor, heated to 80 degrees, and is open till 9 so it had a lot of the criteria that I was looking for.  Admission is only $2.50 or if you’re a WEJ like me, go get a library card and get in for only $2. What a deal!  Haha.

What To Wear

Ok so you found a place to swim.  Now what to wear.  At the very least, you’re going to need a good pair of swim goggles.  Go down to your local Sports Chalet or Sports Authority and grab a pair.  I’m not really a swim goggle expert so I didn’t know what to buy.  Goggle prices ranged from $8 to $30.  I picked up a pair of Speedo Hydrosity goggles for around $15.  I chose this pair because, according the box, the goggles are meant for long training workouts and daily swim exercise so there is an emphasis on comfort.  Ok so far so good.  How bout some good old Speedo bottoms?  I remember the first time I saw my roommate walk out to the pool in a pair of Speedos.  I almost vomited in my mouth.  Hahaha.  Leave that stuff for the EUROS please.  Luckily, nowadays, you can get Speedo shorts that go down to your knees.  I’m a novice swimmer, so I’m sticking to my simple boardshorts for now but I suppose if i get more into swimming, then I will eventually get some streamlined knee shorts.

Swimming Etiquette

So now you got your handy swim gear and are ready to tackle the pool.  There are certain rules to be followed so you don’t look like a total d-bag.   Most pools will want you to rinse down before you get in so you don’t foul up the water with your dirty self!  =)  Chances are that you’re going to have to share a lane with somebody so remember these things:

1)  Usually the lanes are marked Slow, Medium, and Fast so pick the lane which best suits your swimming ability.  I usually just pick the Medium lane.
2)  Before you enter the lane, make sure the other swimmers in the lane are aware that you are joining them.
3)  Two lap swimmers per lane may split the lane. Three or more lap swimmers must circle-swim the length of the lane counter-clockwise.
4)  Passing swimmers while lap swimming in lanes can be dangerous.  Swimmers must exercise caution approaching the wall and should allow faster
swimmers to proceed unimpeded.  Or you can switch to a slower lane.

Training Programs

Ok so I haven’t really researched this part yet but I definitely need to.  The first time I went to the Westwood Pool (last week), I simply jumped in and started doing laps.  I guess that’s a good thing to do for your first time so you can get a baseline of where you can work up from.  Here’s a simple program that I found online for all you beginners:  http://swimming.about.com/od/trainingplans/qt/Swim_Training_Plan_to_Get_Started_Swimming_Build_to_500_Meters_or_Yards_.htm  I already can swim 500 meters in one session but I’m going to try to do it in that format (which I cannot do at the moment).  I guess the main point is that you establish a baseline and keep track from there to see if you are progressing in # of laps swam and time of rest.

So that’s basically it.  This entry is getting pretty long winded so I’ll wait for next time to recount my first time swimming at the pool.  It was quite an adventure.  Haha.