Swimming work out

For this week swimming I decided to set an actual structured work out for myself. The effect was the time going by way faster and I ended up at the pool for longer than I wanted. I was having fun though, so that is all that matters. I also enjoyed the little boy next to me yelling at his dad saying "no daddy swim like her". He was referring to the fact I had my face in the water and his dad was swimming with his head up. It was pretty cute.

I started out with a 3x 100 yard swim for my warm up. I alternated freestyle and breaststroke, those are my two favorite strokes. It's my work out, I'll do what I want :) ... After my warm up I spent five to ten minutes stretching. On some work outs I will admit I get lazy and don't stretch, but since swimming moves my ligaments in ways they really aren't used to I never skip stretching during swimming. It is a cramp waiting to happen.

After I stretched I went into a 10 x 100 yard swim, alternating breast and free again. I started out on a 1:40 interval, but realized that was too fast for my breaststroke sets. I slowed down the rest to a two minute interval.... For those that don't know what intervals are, you know that big clock next to the pool that just has second markets on it? Watch it when you take off, then when you get back see how long it took you to do your lap. It was taking me a minute 35 to do a free lap and a minute 45 to do a breast lap, so I decided I wanted a least a 15 second rest, so I would leave on the 60 second mark each time. HTH.

The next set I did 10 x 50 yard kicks on a minute interval. This time I alternated free, breast, and back. I like kicking on my back, just not swimming backstroke. Don't ask my why, it's my weird little thing. I started to get really bad heart burn during this set for some reason so I switched to all breaststroke towards the end.

Finally, I did a 200 yard cool down to finish off. I had originally planned to do another 500 yards, but that heart burn was getting to me and I had been at the pool for over an hour at this point.

So to round up:

300 yard warm up, alternating favorite strokes
stretch
10 x 100 yard swim on two minute interval
10 x 50 yard kick on a minute interval
200 yard cool down

Swimming and Shopping

My purchases from Saturday. Can you guys which tank is the real Lululemon tank?

I used to be a swimmer in high school. I love to swim. When I was little my mom would worry about my sister and I because we would refuse to come up for air while playing in the kiddy pools. Every year in the summer I seem to get the itch to swim laps again. Being pregnant, it feels extra good because of the weight the water takes off me. Also, I feel like it is such a good all body work out I can lift less, which really isn't true, but call me in denial.

I set out Saturday after work to find a suit I could lap swim in. My racing suit no longer fits, and my beach bikinis will not stay in place (or on) for that kind of work out. My goal was to find an athletic bikini, so it could grow with me. Maternity suits are ugly and I would probably not wear it again. Swim suit shopping stinks and it is even worse being pregnant. After striking out at Big 5 and Sports Authority I ended up at Silvia's Swimwear. I grabbed a couple bikinis and tried them on. They were terrible! Like most women I am a different size on top than on the bottom. The suits sold as a pair with the same size top and bottom were not going to work. The tops were either too lose or the bottoms were too small. The sales girl recommended I look at the triathlon tops and try to find a fuller coverage bottom in the regular suit section. It was brilliant! I found a top that fits and she brought me a couple plan black bottoms (picture above). Everything was in place and it didn't look hideous. Plus I would have a triathlon top if I ever decided I wanted to do one.

I tried out my new suit in the pool later that afternoon. I did not have any issues. My bottoms didn't shift at all when I pushed off the wall and my top stayed covering my top. I also had freedom of movement. I liked the top so much I actually wore it the rest of the afternoon. I did not keep track of how many yards I swam. I switched between breaststroke and freestyle for about 40 minutes and did ten minutes of kick exercises. My first day back I did not want to push it too hard and my work out also included a two mile round trip walk to the gym and back. I was already feeling tired when I got to the gym.

My other goal of the day was to head to Costco. I had heard they were currently selling a style tank that is almost an exact replica of Lululemon's Cool Razorback Tank (my favorite) for less than half the price. My purchases are pictured above with the real Lulu tank. Can you tell the difference? I can, but it is very subtle. The stitching on it is almost identical and the fabric is exactly the same. Even the long skinny tag on the shirt is the same. The sizes do run a little larger. I am currently wearing one of my Costco purchases and I am really satisfied with it. It even feels exactly like the Lulu tank. Oh and if you were wondering, the Grey tank is the real Lululemon. I think my Costco fax Lulu's will take me to month eight (fingers crossed).