Just Keep Swimming

Spring and summer are the perfect seasons to go swimming; it’s a great way to exercise when the weather gets warmer and the prospect of open water swimming (eg in the sea or a lake) becomes a bit more attractive.

As a kid I was always doing some sport or other; what kept me going back was the enjoyment of it more so than the fitness aspect. The same still applies now. I recently found a sword combat training group which I go to as often as time and physical recovery allow. As adults with jobs and responsibilities it can sometimes be hard to find time to do things for yourself. While I admit I haven’t been an adult very long, comparatively speaking, the importance of continuing to take care of your personal wellbeing throughout adulthood has become more apparent to me after starting a new job. At the start of 2023 I became Loughborough Town Swimming Club’s new (and to my knowledge, first) Masters’ Swimming Coach.

In swimming, the term Master refers to anyone over the age of eighteen, which means the range of ages and abilities of my swimmers is more varied than those in the younger squads. We have swimmers ranging from university students in the peak of their fitness to long-time swimmers with grown-up kids of their own. In fact, I am also my own parents’ swimming coach, which is weird for everyone involved, but I’m sure they’ll eventually start listening to me.

One of the other unusual factors that comes with the role is that with such a wide range of swimmers comes a wide range of motivations. In order to try and provide the best possible experience for each individual, I’ve been asking them why they continue to swim on a regular basis. Maintaining fitness is obviously a reason they all share but aside from that are reasons such as: “I enjoy the social aspect” and “as a mother of three children, I swim to do something for me”. Many of them swam as teenagers, so continued as adults because they enjoyed it and are good at it. Some highlighted the range of health benefits and the fact that it can be done at any stage of life. Others prefer the routine; when it comes to running or going to the gym you need to be self-motivated and it’s easy to put it off, but with swimming the sessions run at set times and if you don’t go, you miss it. My personal favourite response was from a swimmer who, only half-jokingly, said, “The more I swim, the more cake I’m allowed to eat”. A lot of them still compete several times a year, very successfully too, which gives them another reason to train. We recently picked up a good haul of medals at the Welsh Nationals in Swansea, across a variety of age groups and we have our sights set on a number of other competitions throughout the year.

If you are already able to swim, then booking some time at the Leisure Centre is the perfect way to have fun and cool off on a hot day. For those who can’t and want to, then there are a number of local swim schools who would be delighted to take you but I suggest you book soon because they often fill up fast.

Elliot Wilkes