stupid swimming questions

[NadiaMac]

Hello,
I am an injured cyclist (off the bike for ages due to crash) and I've been swimming for exercise. I'm kind of new to swimming. I have some stupid questions. Can someone help (or refer me to a swim group/site where I might find some basic swimmer info).

1) chlorine/skin-- I have pretty sensitive skin and am breaking out like a teenager on my face and neck. Actually, way worse than when I was a teen. Any advice on how I can make my skin happier? I shower after swimming, etc. but haven't been using lotion or anything like that

2) swimsuit care. My suits are stretching and fading like crazy. Am I mistreating them? After swimming, I rinse the suit in fresh, cold water then put it in the water-removal machine, then air dry. I occasionally machine wash the suits on gentle and air dry. How can I extend suit life/shape??

3) masters swimming. I want to start masters swimming, but am greatly intimidated since I've never done organized swim workouts. I occasionally observe the masters workout at my pool and find the instructions kind of incomprehensable, for example. Is there a place where I can learn about workouts/ettiquette/terminology? I think doing a little homework in advance will make me feel more confident going into a scary masters situation.

thx!

[witeowl]

Hmm... I'm far from an expert, but I'll offer this:

1) Maybe invest in some tri-swim body wash? I use the shampoo/conditioner, and I'm fairly impressed with it. But I swim in a low-chlorine pool.

2) Sounds like you're doing your best. Are you buying quality suits? I find that my Speedo suits last much longer than most other suits. Also, what detergent do you wash in? I hear woolite is actually not very good. Maybe invest in some Charlie's Soap or similar gentle fabric wash?

3) All I can offer here is a link. I love GoSwim (note that it's a dot-tv, not dot-com), and you might find some good info there.

[tribogota]

swimsuits age quickly, chlorine sucks, but here are some websites!
http://www.feelforthewater.com/
http://ruthkazez.com/VeryBasicSwimming.html
www.active.com/swimming

[fatbottomedgurl]

Any suit with lycra will die a quick and untimely death. Buy a suit that is 100% polyester. They are not as stretchy so they take a little more work to put on, but they last a long time. I don't ever wash mine- just rinse when I take it off in the shower and hang to dry. (Actually I really abuse it and more often than not throw it in the hot trunk of my car.) Mine is 1.5 years old and has not stretched out or developed creepy see-through spots.

[pinkychique]

Polyester suits are the way to go - check out the 'grab bags' at swimoutlet.com, they have all kinds of random patterns, but I got what amounts to a $70 swimsuit for $25, worth getting an odd patter, in my opinion.

They make swim shampoo/conditioner and bodywash - I don't use them, but you could give them a try. Also, I've heard that breakouts can be aggravated by dry skin, which chlorine does, so make sure you put a non-pore-clogging lotion on after you shower post-swim (I use gold bond, which doesn't say won't clog pores, but it really helps).

Alternative to the swim shampoo - see if you can find a saltwater pool in your area, they are soo much nicer to swim in.

And DEFINITELY go for a master's program, it's worth it, and the Master's program that I swim with, there's the full range of swimmers, from former All-Americans to novices.

Good luck!

[Mr. Bloom]

1) Maybe invest in some tri-swim body wash? I use the shampoo/conditioner, and I'm fairly impressed with it. But I swim in a low-chlorine pool.

I started swimming last weekend for the first time in my life - did 700 meters today! ...with lots of rest.

Where do you get this wash?

[Alex]

http://www.teamestrogen.com/search.e...form-submit=go

It works very well for me and DH, although we now swim almost exclusively in a saline pool and don't need the Tri-Swim products.

Alex

[NadiaMac]

Thanks for all of the helpful information!! my suits are speedo and tyr mostly-lycra suits, so it sounds like I should try polyester ones when I next buy suits

thanks for the encouragement regarding masters. I'm currently in the middle of some swim lessons to improve my stroke/form, but will definitely try out some masters once I'm done with the series.

[channlluv]

I think your questions are brilliant. I just joined the Y in order to start swimming on a regular basis and I had no idea that chlorine will most likely destroy my suits and my complexion. Notes taken. Thanks!

Roxy