Swimming is Not Exercise..........

...Well of course it's exercise, it's fabulous exercise.  I absolutely love swimming and I had forgotten just how much I loved it until this morning.

I made up my mind yesterday that I would go swimming this morning.  I've been thinking about it since last Friday when I was reading My Journey - Am I There Yet? Me, who is the author of that blog has a knee injury, which got me thinking about the pool.  Not only is swimming great for cardio, but it relieves so much pressure from the joints especially if you do have an injury.

This is where I went, sort of

I used the indoor pool which was full of people.  There was a teenage swimming squad, which took up 2 lanes, an Aqua Play area which took up another 2 lanes and then there were 4 lanes open for lap swimming - Fast, Fast, Medium and Slow.

The Aqua Play area was full of older ladies and gentlemen who were chatting while walking up and down the pool lanes.  I on the other hand, jumped straight into the slow lane.  It's been years since I've swum laps and my fitness has dropped again since the flu, which turned into a chest infection that is just about gone now, so the slow lane it was.  

My lane of choice was okay for a little while, but I eventually moved to another lane.  It turned out that I was way too fast for the slow lane, but it's really not that hard to swim faster than an eighty year old man doing dog paddle.  Once the squad swimming finished, 2 more lanes opened up for lap swimmers which I was really thankful for as the lane I was in was getting a little crowded.  I ended up in a fast lane, but that's because there was no one else in it.

I don't really know how far I swam or how many laps I did, but I think it was a little over 1 km.  I lost count after about 25 laps and then I just swam till it was time to go home.  Hubby had to get ready for work and I had to feed the kids, but I did end up swimming for just over an hour.  According to my Fat Secret account, I burned 571 calories in this mornings session.  I entered in 30 mins slow swimming and 30 mins moderate swimming.  Once I went into the fast lane, I had to step up the pace a little, but I didn't mind, I loved it. I didn't realise how much I missed my swimming.  I honestly loved every single second of it and it didn't even feel like I was working out.  I was just enjoying the peace and quiet of the water. 

I am positive I will be getting back in the pool later this week and am even considering a membership at the Leisure Center.  I was really self-conscience at first about wearing swimmers in public, but I reminded myself that I was there for me, to enjoy my workout and that I really didn't care what anyone else thought I looked like.  I decided that I should congratulate myself for getting out of bed and getting to the pool rather than deflating what self-esteem I have left by worrying about what I look like in my swimmers.   Once I gave myself praise rather than self-loathing, I felt my attitude shift and I wasn't scared or worried anymore, I felt really good and that's a feeling I wouldn't mind hanging onto.