Swimming Past 50 (Ageless Athlete) [Paperback]

Realistic goals for the over 50 swimmer

I have taken up swimming again after many years. I had always been a social swimmer that is one who not do too many lengths. I wanted to get fit so I started on yoga but found I could not always hold my body weight because I am too fat and out of condition.

I did not fancy pounding the treadmill or the streets so I turned to swimming. I thought of myself as an adequate to good swimming. I was soon disabused of this idea as woefully overweight and unfit looking people started to lap me. all I could do was the breaststroke without goggles Therefore I was not going under water or being streamlined in the water.

I took up adult swimming classes to learn the crawl that I had never been able to do. I stated to wear goggles which helped me become more streamlined. I also started piling up the lengths so that I can now easily do half a mile in about 25 minutes. When is started it took my about 35 minutes.

I can now overtake old age pensioners and those who are using a bad technique. I now do three different strokes backstroke and crawl. My crawl still needs a lot more work but I am concentrating on technique.

There are not that many swimming books about so I look in the library every time and I came across this swimming Past 50 it is an American book also they are a lot better organized than ourselves with masters competitions but all the information equally as applicable to our circumstances

it is an inspirational book after you learn that even over 50 you can get better because you concentrate on your technique rather than pure strenght.
Also I was being smug at doing half a mile but they are suggesting up to five miles a week in a five day cycle. as a result I have increased my daily trainiig to a mile a day with plenty of variation of stroke. I now do all three strokes in turn to keep up the changes and try to improve my technique on each.

I do plenty of stretching and gliding to lengthen the stroke and to reduce the number of stokes that I take. It is more efficient and relaxing. In the past I would have just tried to increase the number of stokes and the technique would have gone.

I now regard each training session as a relaxing pleasure and I feel a lot better for it.

On page 18 there is a picture of two swimmers differing in age by 40 years but their body composition is similar. It is an inspirational picture that two people with such widely differing ages can look so good. The older bloke looks like an old head stuck on a young body. I aspire to such a body.

Swimming Past 50 is essential reading for all adult swimmers who wish to sustain and improve their swimming. The training abilities of adult swimmers, which are somewhat different to those of younger swimmers is well explained and considered.The text is informative and factual with good illustrations and photographs. It should provide food for thought, particularly for coaches who want to understand how to create Masters training schedules that bring out the best in their swimmers . The inclusion of individual Masters swimmers profiles aslo provides inspiration and a practical example of what can be achieved.