Brr! Swim outdoors in December?
You're kidding, right?
Whatever the weather
Weather is the great equalizer. All of America, nowadays, is in the embrace of winter. Sure, winter in North Dakota is markedly different from that in North Carolina. But relatively speaking, all regions hunker down with warmer clothing and indoor heat. (Perhaps Miami and Honolulu break this trend? Reader feedback on this point is welcomed.)
Mitzi lives in the south. And while her adopted state is warmer than New Hampshire, where she grew up, it’s still brisk there at this time of year. Most would readily judge it too brisk for lap swimming outdoors.
Mitzi
Not Mitzi. She is a terrific example of a robust Age-defying Athlete.
Now 78, Mitzi began lap swimming with a group under the supervision of an instructor at the ripe old age of 69.
And the instructor is an honest-to-goodness coach, who trains the dozen or so swimmers in a variety of strokes and monitors their progress.
They swim one mile every Tuesday and Thursday at 9A. The “Idea is for the coach to combine various strokes to exercise all muscles,” explains Mitzi. “It’s a matter of mind and stroke speed.”
They even dog paddle to strengthen their arms.
She continues that the “Coach is critical. Good to have coach do three to four different strokes. Coach also teaches swimming at [the city] Pool and at [a nearby] Y.”
A dozen swimmers – two men and 10 women - have been dedicated to this for years.
The coach emphasizes that people should just get into the water and swim.
So that’s why they swim year around. “We always swim except if there’s lightning,” comments Mitzi.
Yes, even in winter. And Mitzi’s equipment is just a standard suit and swim fins. “I have never worn a wet suit.” (Double Brrr!)
Mitzi was an Aquarius from a young age
“I grew up in [a town in] New Hampshire and swam. I took junior lifesaving, then senior lifesaving. In high school, I was in synchronized swim.”
Swimming wasn’t the only sport in her active childhood. “Everyone went everywhere on a bike. [There was] ice skating…and basketball.”
As an adult, she regularly walked and practiced yoga.
But she got back into swimming when she and her husband transitioned to an active adult setting. “We moved to [this community] where the 25 meter outdoor pool is heated 82 to 84 degrees. It’s convenient to our new house.”
Not a Brrr! experience
Swimming, she relates, has been “Wonderful. [Improvements to] physical capacity. Mental outlook. Self satisfying to say I am able to do this, despite [past] lung damage. Friendships are great – sense of closeness.”
Her goal is to “Get in there and maintain in doing what coach asks us to do.”
Mitzi has had some setbacks.
“Total shoulder, out six weeks. Total knee, out a month. But early return to water accelerated recovery,” she claims.
Mitzi had physical therapy for both. Walking was also beneficial.
“Also walking in pool,” she continues. “After walking a few laps, I couldn’t take it and just wanted to swim. Must adapt. Water great equalizer of body, water carries you.”
So satisfied is she with the pool in her rehab success, she states that “I wish people would look to pools post-surgery to enhance recovery. Thoroughbred [horses] are suspended in pool to enhance recovery.”
Swimming research
Science reinforces the health benefits of swimming for older adults. An article in The American Journal of Cardiology described the impact as: “In conclusion, swimming exercise elicits hypotensive [blood pressure lowering] effects and improvements in vascular function in previously sedentary older adults.”
Interestingly, swimming has been found to reduce incidence of falls. A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology looked at almost 1700 Australian men whose mean age was 76.8. It found that “…swimming was the only activity that was associated with a protective effect [in reducing falls]… Swimmers had significantly lower postural sway and shorter time to complete a narrow walk test than men who took part in only lifestyle physical activities.”
So, summer, fall, winter, spring, swimming packs lots of benefits for Age-defying Athletes.
WIIFY?
Perhaps are thinking: I never learned to swim as a kid – is there any hope for me?
Of course, there is. Unlike many sports pursued by members of the Age-defying Athletes Project (ADAP), however, swimming is not a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) undertaking. Lessons are a must!
The good news is that there are abundant opportunities to enroll in an instructional program. YMCAs in just about every town in America offer classes for older adults. Public swim facilities and fitness centers equipped with pools also provide lessons – for individuals or groups.
Mitzi described the fact that her instructor coached them on the four basic strokes – freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly. Good classes will instruct in all these.
What’s more, Mitzi and her group swim twice a week. Expect to jump in the pool that frequently when you take a class. And the more you practice, the quicker and better you will become.
A post-script
So far, what’s surprised Mitzi the most about this sport?
“Generational connection. With my granddaughter, I formed a special bond…that my granddaughter will remember her grandmother as a swimmer is too special.”
It’s a telling comment because it demonstrates the interpersonal connections that can be formed by playing sports – not just player to player, but also spouse to spouse, parent to child, and here, somewhat unusually, grandparent to grandchild.