Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Swimming again

I just started swimming again during my breaks at school. I haven't been swimming since October of last year because school has been totally crazy. But this semester is pretty light at the moment, mostly because classes only started yesterday and I don't have anything to study yet. But I hope to continue with the swimming throughout this semester even as things pick up.

Some people think swimming for exercise is such a hassle, but it actually is my favorite form of exercise. Here's why:
  1. You never get sweaty. You're in water all the time, so you never overheat and get red or anything.
  2. You don't have to bring a whole change of clothes. All I bring is my swimsuit, a towel, and goggles. It's way less of a hassle than bringing tennis shoes, socks, shorts, a t-shirt, and whatever else. I don't even need a water bottle because I just drink the pool water when I'm thirsty. (I'm joking, I'm joking. Actually the thought of drinking pool water makes me gag a little, mostly because I saw a guy sneeze in the pool today. Blegh.)
  3. You can work out your entire body and get completely exhausted in like 20 minutes. It's a pretty fast and effective workout. Plus, it's like strength training and endurance training put together.
  4. You don't have to talk or acknowledge other people. I don't really like exercising with other people all that much because I kind of hate small talk and chit chat. With swimming, it's pretty much impossible to talk or listen to other people, so you can exercise with someone else without worrying about keeping up a conversation. It's an introvert's dream!
  5. It gives you time to think. I can't listen to music or podcasts while I swim, and that's OK, because it forces me to think about my day and my life at the moment. It's kind of like meditation, but more tiring.
  6. There's a huge clock on the wall so I don't have to worry about what time it is. I don't really like running or doing other exercises with a watch on because it always feels tight and sweaty, but then I'm always worried about being late. With swimming in the pool, I can just glance up. (I wear my contacts under my goggles so I can see the clock.)
This is why swimming is the best. Don't get me wrong: I'm pretty bad at it. I was actually the slowest person in the pool today. But it was my first time back in like 6 months, so hopefully I'll get faster. My goal is to beat the old overweight guy who swims laps everyday and then slaps his belly when he gets out of the pool.