Mind, Body & Swimming Comments.

[SpeedoSwimmer]

Lap swimming creates a peaceful mind and body.  I lap swim 4 to 5 miles per week which is about 15 to 20 miles per month which totals over 200 miles per year.

[SpeedoSwimmer]

I started this because all of the groups were removed from Fitbit.  Post all of your positive comments about life, values, mental and physical challenges, etc.

[SpeedoSwimmer]

Tell me about your lap or distance swimming as to your best results with different type strokes.  What about snorkel lap swimming outcome. Also what about colder temperature water and how that affects your results.

[t.parker]

Sure but how can I see a breakdown of strokes and laps to know best pace or total distance/laps with specific stroke?

[SpeedoSwimmer]

Your swim workout may depend on energy level. Do you swim in the morning or evening, this can also make a difference. 

[t.parker]

@SpeedoSwimmer I follow training schedule and swim 4x/wk approx. 10000m (sessions planned for 3000m/2000m) + (sometimes) 1 session of leisure swimming (don't count it into stats). I avoid swimming "empty miles" because I don't have time to be unproductive (busy daily schedule, other sports involved, too). My regular workouts are structured. I find lap swimming without a purpose rather boring (like running on treadmill) so structure is important. It's a big difference between doing structured 2000m vs just swimming 2000m with no goal in mind (empty miles). The latter, I find boring and unproductive. How does Fitbit work for you as a swimming watch? For me it is no help so I stopped wearing it to the pool (often wrong lap count, drills are not being logged, no auto-rest/manual rest, no moving pace but useless average, no swolf, no stroke rate, no style detection, no proper laps breakdown, no CS, no intervals etc.). On top of that, stopping/starting swimming with wet hands is a nightmare.

[SpeedoSwimmer]

I have the Fitbit charge 6 and tracks laps and swim velocity consistency just fine with the trend.
Attitude and discipline are at the core of your workout.  Any swim stroke can be adjusted to alter pace, resistance , style to accomplish different results which can increase the reward for your accomplishments, therefore eliminating any boredom.  Have fun with your workouts.😀

[t.parker]

To accomplish any results it's good to have useful data from training (live and post-training). You are right the swim pace is correct but only in one case - when the workout is just swimming constantly back and forth and you include rest into the swimming pace (so you don't know your moving pace) and you don't do drills which may not get included into lengths (like kickboard drills). How do you deal then with proper structure? For example, my yesterday workout was WU (drills) + (4x100m/fs, 3x200m/fs, 2x300m/fs, 1x400m/fs) + CD (drills). How do you measure that? How do you know the pace for each interval? How do you know how long to swim interval (counting laps in the head? Why can't the watch do it and vibrate for example every N length from the start of the interval?)? A single average swimming pace that is based on the elapsed time is useless. Swimming back and forth is (for me) what I call "empty miles". Structure makes training more interesting and less boring. Not sure how Fitbit helps with that (mine doesn't) 🙂 When I train, I train with a goal and purpose in mind. It's nothing wrong with just swimming but I don't find it useful (unless for leisure but for that I prefer open water rather than a swimming pool).

Btw. Charge 6 doesn't exist (yet) 😉

[SpeedoSwimmer]

My mistake, it is a Charge 5.  Do you run out of gas so to speak on any of your drills.  How long do you have to rest between drills.  Have you tried lap swimming with a snorkel.  This will increase your overall free style workout 4X just by allowing you to breathe as much as needed and keeps your body flat in the water.  This also gives you almost the feeling of swimming with fins because of your stream line in the water.  Also, make sure to extend your feet out straight, keep your legs straight and tighten your core muscles. Also the amount of leg movement during each stroke, to make you stream line.  But, you could also intentionally increase leg stroke length for leg strengthoning. Your best pace is when you can swim the fastest without losing your breath to complete each drill.  Is your heart rate somewhere around 120 BPM after a good pace drill.

[t.parker]

@SpeedoSwimmer let me follow a training plan, no need for advice. Rest is a part of training between intervals (same as it is for running and cycling).

Fitbit doesn't measure heart rate during swimming and doesn't measure pace per intervals (it only gives pace for entire workout for elapsed time). Do you measure it using Fitbit? I know my HR and have proper breakdown of intervals, I know my CSS but no thanks to Fitbit.

[DeniseAnita]

SpeedoSwimmer - I am new to lap swimming, which was a lifesaver this past winter. I couldn't agree more on the peaceful mind and body. Being in the pool is truly my happy place. I'm hoping you can help me, I am looking for a new fitness tracker. Presently wear a FitBit Inspire HR. Looking for something that will accurately track time, distance, calorie burn, etc. Apple has a nice smart watch/tracker but I don't believe I need something that complicated. I've always had good luck with FitBit. Any suggestions? Thank you for your time.

[t.parker]

@DeniseAnita if you want to stick with Fitbit then the best option is an original Sense. It's last watch that shows little more than timer during swimming. Calories are just guess and no Fitbit support HR monitoring during swimming. I stopped taking my Fitbit into the pool as there is no benefit of it and there is a risk of water damage.