Swimming

I started Swimming at 40 and felt completely out of my depth in the first class. Most people were twenty-something and athletic. I was neither. But the coach adapted sessions to my level and nobody made me feel unwelcome. Recovery takes longer at my age, and pool access and early morning scheduling…

After 17 months of training Swimming I entered my first competition. I lost. It was the best thing that's happened to my development in the sport. Competition exposes gaps in your game that rolling or drilling never will. My high elbow catch fell apart under pressure. My understanding of pull buoy …

I had zero athletic background when I started Swimming. First class I was completely lost — everyone seemed to know the language of tapering and I didn't. My bilateral breathing was nonexistent. I nearly didn't go back. I did go back. And the first grading 9 months later was one of the proudest mom…

A friend dragged me to a Swimming trial class. I went to be polite. I was terrible. I went back because I couldn't stand being terrible at something. That was 6 months ago. The underwater dolphin kicks I stumbled through in that first class is now something I teach to newer beginners. pace per 100m…

I got into Swimming after watching Katie Ledecky compete and thinking I wanted a piece of that. Reality check: what they make look effortless takes years of work. The high elbow catch I admired on screen took me 8 months just to do passably. But somewhere in that process I stopped caring about look…

I'd been training Swimming for two years when I picked up an injury that kept me out for four months. Coming back was harder mentally than physically. My high elbow catch had regressed and drafting in open water I'd taken for granted needed rebuilding. the full-body fatigue after a hard set was wha…

I started Swimming six months ago with zero background in the sport. The first few weeks were humbling — I couldn't do underwater dolphin kicks properly and had no idea what pace per 100m even meant. My coach kept pulling me back to fundamentals, which was frustrating at the time but clearly the rig…

After 14 months of Swimming I want to share what I wished I'd known at the start. First: lane etiquette with unwritten rules — it hits earlier and harder than the internet suggests. Budget for it practically and mentally. Second: the swim cap you buy first will probably be wrong — ask your coach be…

Swimming has been one of the best decisions I've made for my fitness and mental health. The high elbow catch and the deeper drafting in open water keep training mentally engaging in a way the gym never did. But I want to be honest: technique errors entrenching without coaching. Nobody told me about…

People describe Swimming as a workout but that undersells it. After 17 months your body moves differently. The butterfly timing drills reshape how you use your hips, shoulders, and weight distribution in ways that carry into everything else you do. It's not just fitness — it's body literacy. Unders…