Aquatic Momentum

 Well Summer is winding down, and I hope you and yours can swim and if not, please seek an instructor to get it done. Floating is key to survival and necessary for many other skills in the pool.  I have had to pull out my trick bag and even expand to building muscles through various exercises to get several to float properly in the pool this summer.  Some people are very dense and it makes it hard to naturally float. Fat is buoyant and therefore is quite easy for some; but for those who are thin and thick with muscle, it can be quite difficult. I hope also you all got to enjoy some boating and or large body of water sports of some, it is a great time and rejuvenating!  I have not gotten out at all, I'll have to work on my schedule next year to make it happen.   Many facilities have indoor pools and highly encourage you to visit your local one so that you can keep your endurance and skills sharp!  I will be continuing to teach at the Dayton Rec Centers and d...

Many people have a pool in their back yard and it is a fantastic luxury and can also be a major hazard.  Make sure you know how to be safe in your own pool. 1. Never swim alone!  No mater how skilled you are, you cannot predict things can cause an emergency.  Without any one knowing your in your pool, a minor infractions such as a cramp, blackout, to severe medical issues such as a heart attack or stroke time is of essence and when water is involved time is diminish substantially if you go under and cannot get oxygen.  2. Know what to look for before entering the pool.  If the water is green or algae is growing in corners, your chemicals are clearly off.  Check your pool chemicals on a regular basis and more often if you are using it a lot.   3. know your pools normal level of water.  If it gets too low (evaporation), or too high (precipitation), your chemicals can be off as well.  Also, knowing your normal water level, if your skimmer o...

 Summer is coming quickly!  Are you and your children comfortable with all the summer activities that are bound to excite you this year?  Including all the fun you can have around water? Safety of utmost importance when doing anything around water.  Be it swimming, hiking near water (lakes, river, streams), boating, fishing, canoeing.  Before you go on your day or weekend excursion, make sure you know before you go, what type of safety equipment will be required, and do's and don'ts around moving water.   First let's discuss pools, specifically back yard pools.  Many people have them and there isn't a lifeguard on duty.  So parents stay around the pool not actually paying attention to what is going on in the pool.  Most child drownings take place within 10 feet of an adult.  That is why you need to establish a schedule for being a water watcher during pool time.  Adults can establish a schedule for prioritizing a person to spec...

 I love having conversations about aquatics.  Over the weekend I was asked how to condition for a triathlon where they swim two miles in open water, and the guy can do about two laps in the pool. My suggestion is that you work up to two miles in a pool where you aren't fighting with waves first.  One mile is 64 lengths (32 laps) in a 25 meter pool.  You can always ask a guard on duty if you forget.   Swimming distance in open water can be a bit tricky, as there can be current that can help or really work against you.  So you do need to get out in the open water and train. Once you have the endurance in a pool, go to the open water and do as much as you can to see where your level is, then keep adding to your pool distance.   Good luck!

 I probably should have created this post at the beginning of the blog, but now is as good of time as any.  I grew up in a small town in Ohio and where my Dad worked, the company owned a park that had a pool, along with other recreation options.  I went there every Saturday for swim lessons and got tired of not getting my turn to swim, so when they said it was my turn, I swam underwater the entire length of the pool turned the corner into the diving area to get my breath.  The had difficulty finding me and from then on they called me fish.   I did compete and win a trophy for swimming across the pool when I was like 8, but I also somehow didn't actually have any competitors so it wasn't a big deal.  When I was in high school, I joined the summer swim team at the local YMCA and even though I enjoyed it and got my picture in the paper for my fantastic back stroke, I wasn't really a fan of the clickiness of the group that was suppose to be a team. ...

 I have been going to several classes and today I didn't go, because I know that they are using a paper with the moves they are going to use and I just cannot motivate myself to go to the same routine that I have done at least 10 times now.   As a certified water fitness instructor, it is as important for me to not get bored as those attending the class.  Even if a class has the same elements as another, it will not be in the same order and will usually vary by using different equipment or adding a game to the end of class.   I get bored easily and do not want to bore my students by teaching the same exercises in the same order day after day.  There are so many elements you can work into a class to vary it.  Granted you can have an entire class that focuses on the elements I am about to list, but it is great to work them through all classes. I apparently like lists as I seem to have several on the blog so far, and I just want to point out that lis...