VS swimmers, Covid and no pool...

[crumpton]

My beautiful wife Michelle is an incredible swimmer. A world class(in hiatus) 1/2 Iron Man age grouper who is first out of the water by minutes every time. She regularly does 4k workouts with 1:30 or less 100's. Her pool is closed. She needs to swim. Soon. Very soon!

She has never been in an endless pool but that doesn't matter, not dropping $30k on a performance model at this point any ways.

Question is, does tethered swimming really work? She said when she was a kid they use to do a tethered workout, roped up to variable weights on a slide. The more weight, the harder it pulled you back. I'm considering trying a "Splash-A-Round" with some shop fab/engineering and then found the SwimGymm. https://www.splasharoundpools.com/swim-gymm/ Any opinions? The heaterless version can be had for $1200 to the door.

Texas is hot yes but we've got a 15'x75' covered porch on the back of the shop facing east. We can shade the sunrise and keep it somewhat cool as compared to something sitting in the sun all day.

Cheers!

[rwsaunders]

I’ve seen used Endless Pools come up for sale...perhaps post an ad in CL. I’m not sure what’s involved to install an outdoor version, but there was a tri-shop near me, that had an indoor unit that was booked 7 days a week. He had purchased it used as well.

[j44ke]

Dumpster (roll-off, skip) pool? You could rent the dumpster, seal it up, install a liner, get a pool filler to bring in the water.

Only worry is keeping the water clean so no bacterial infections. I am going to guess that there are filtration/saltwater pool machines for above ground pools that would work.

Forget the Trash Bag, Bring a Towel to the Dumpster Pools - The New York Times

dumpster pools – brooklyn spaces

How to Craft a Gorgeous Swimming Pool Out of a Dumpster - Your Daily Dish

Roll Off Dumpster Liners & Container Liners at Kipling

[Arbolado]

I used train with bands back in college in the early 90’s. It was mostly for sprint work. The problem with them as I remember was that it is hard to get a roll in your stroke through your torso and hips. My boys are competitive swimmers that had their pool shut down three weeks ago. They continued with pier swims and buoy swims until the city shut down the beach last week. They may go to another beach this week to get their water time.

[chrisn]

We rigged something up with a paddling pool, based on some ideas from our local Tri club forum. We already had a 3 x 2 metre pool for the kids, and with a bungee cord attached to a tow float belt on the swimmer, and to a wall at the other end, we can 'swim'. The pool has a simple chlorine doser and filter pump to keep it clean. My two kids and my wife are all super keen swimmers, and she says this feels harder than normal swimming, and your legs sink a little more than normal. I guess you are pushing a lot of static water. Anyway it was enough for them to sate their swim needs. Wetsuits required as its so cold at the moment.

We've seen lots of improvisation done with dog leads, inner tubes tied together etc as bungee cords are hard to find at the moment!

I'll try and post up a video...

[chrisn]

Here's a link to a quick video, and a still pic in case the video doesn't work:

Video link here: Flickr

[bcm119]

Swimming is one of those sports where a few weeks off can be devastating, so i feel your wife's pain, tho I don't swim anymore. I think in the absence of a pool, the goal is just to slow the rate of fitness loss, not maintain it. Also to maintain muscle memory of technique.

One exercise you can do outside the pool is laying on a narrow bench and replicating your underwater/pull stroke with paddles attached to surgical tubing anchored to a wall ahead of you. Good for working on stroke mechanics and muscle memory. Like someone said, lack of body rotation is a drawback.

If you try some sort of small pool resistance workout like swimming in place, be aware that the increased resistance of pulling still water can f*ck up shoulders really fast, so take it slow in the beginning.

A good rule of thumb is to not listen to Tri people for swimming advice :). Find the pure swimmers and ask them.

[sk_tle]

I would look for a river. But then I live in a part of the world where I don't risk encountering any dangerous wildlife.

[crumpton]

Sorry for the late update but Michelle went with the Spash-A-Round SwimGymm and is very happy with it. After a few workouts she seems to have dialed it in and is getting what she needs. She spends 90min a crack stroking in that damn thing... Pretty awesome.

[72gmc]

Here's a link to a quick video, and a still pic in case the video doesn't work:

That's a great small-space solution.

There appears to be a "no cannonballs" warning on the side. Not sure that warning is possible to obey ...