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Hi,
How do you warm up prior to a swim (training or event)? I have not done any events or open water swims yet but am training for a sprint tri in May. When I get into the pool it takes about 250 meters just to feel like I have all the muscles working and my rhythm down. I see other people come into the pool, jump in and just start swimming. Is there anything I can do prior to hitting the water or once in the water to shorten the time it takes my body to get going?
Cindy
I don't know about warming up pre-race, but will be interested in reading the other responses. I've found in a pool workout, my best warmup is doing 100 pull, 100 kick and then 100 slow swim. It targets all the key areas and I find I swim much more smoothly after that.
K.
At the one tri I've done there was a swim warm-up area to the side of the start. Just about everyone puttered around in the warm-up area while waiting for their start wave to be called. Some people were really swimming, but everyone at least got wet.
What works best for me on race day is to do a warm up that gets my hard rate up. Like striders if you are running. It does not need to be long, but I need to get breathing hard.
I have a race on May 20, and I plan to run a bit and swim a bit before the race starts.
Cindyloo, if you can, I strongly suggest doing a practice open water swim before the tri. It can be a very different sensation to swim in open water, especially if the water is dark.
Thanks for the tips so far ladies! :)
OTG, definitely will do that! There is a good tri club here where I live and they have started mini-tri's each Wednesday after work. Soon they will start the open swim portion in the lake. I know the first time is going to be a doozie :eek: .
There is just a period about 100 meters in where I feel really rough with my muscles and breathing but it calms down at about 250. It's good to know that some tri's have warm-up periods!
Cindy loo, just be sure to really tell yourself "it's ok I CAN do this, calm down...." when you get in that OW for the first time.
I used to SURF when I was young and I never thought I would have an issue with OW. But for some reason- maybe it's the pre race jitters- I get really anxious when I first get in the water.
So now I have to do a little mental thing where I talk to myself and tell myself to settle down. It's ok. I will be ok... and that seems to work.
have fun out there! I wish I had a wednesday evening tri I could do! it sounds fun!!