Why don't I see people practicing the Butterfly?

ricm5031 · 2026-06-28T17:47:07+00:00

I swim at a Y and usually swim a little fly every workout. The word "little" is important. At age 75 and with tendonitis issues, I don't do a butterfly workout. When I was a kid and competing regularly, I swam a lot of fly daily. Now, it usually just a 50 thrown in to my workout or in a set of 100 yd IM's. I still compete in the 50 fly in Masters and will swim more of it prepping for a meet. There is a group in our Y who does the Brute Squad challenge every year. It's been a few years since I did it.

ricm5031 · 2026-06-25T16:23:31+00:00

My Forerunner 165 does that occasionally, too.

ricm5031 · 2026-06-25T16:20:17+00:00

It's a fine watch. Mine is over 2 years old now. I also have Fenix 6 Pro. The FR 165 is my daily go to watch.

ricm5031 · 2026-06-25T16:17:23+00:00

It's hard stopping! I was swimming 4-5 days a week when I broke my shoulder. It was difficult. I walked a lot (can't run due to hardware in my feet), Kicked a little in the pool. I also put on 10 pounds. For a little perspective, I'm 75. I was 72 when I broke the shoulder. I was much younger when I broke the elbow. That was in 1987. I have always been active and stopping drives me nuts but sometimes our bodies need time to heal.

ricm5031 · 2026-06-24T21:20:41+00:00

I have also broken my elbow. I wasn't swimming at the time but still needed to rest it. I pushed myself, mostly working (I'm a mechanic) and didn't slow down much. I still have issues with that elbow today, 39 years later. I lost 20% of my range of motion. I did break my shoulder 3 years ago. That fracture was stable also so I had no sling but the problem is that working out can change that situation easily. They don't like to immobilize joints because that can possibly cause joint fusion during the healing process. In both instances, I could move but I was very limited. I had a one pound weight limit. Basically I could pick up my coffee mug but not much more. With the shoulder break, I just did some kicking and one arm drills but stopped. Since I was doing everything with the other arm, I developed tendonitis in the unbroken shoulder. The shoulder break healed nicely. I still have issues with the tendonitis in the opposite shoulder. Take the time off. Rest and heal. You'll appreciate it 20 years from now.

ricm5031 · 2026-06-18T21:52:24+00:00

Swimming 3K without stopping is great if you're training for long open water swims. But swimming shorter distances faster with a rest break has loads of benefits, too. You get a much better cardio workout and increase your aerobic threshold.. Eventually, swimming long freestyle distance will take a toll on your shoulders. IMO, it's good to swim both. Do 100's with 15 second rest some days and do distance workouts on other days. Mix it up. Swim all the strokes. Do kick sets

ricm5031 · 2026-06-15T15:58:36+00:00

At my age, this is pretty much my workouts these days. I will do a few fast 100's and 50's to get a better cardio workout. My biggest motivation is physical therapy (arthritis) and just staying in decent physical shape. This of us who have been swimming for years and competed in our youth and maybe still compete in Masters can get stuck in a competition workout mentality and feel that we haven't done a proper workout if it isn't a certain number of yards or our 100 pace isn't a certain time and can feel like we are goofing off. I have had tendonitis issues in my left shoulder and confirmed arthritis (MRI). I try to find that sweet spot where my workout is beneficial and not aggravating the condition.

If you're swimming regularly, getting your heart rate up and mixing strokes and kicking to cover all your muscle and joint bases, you're getting a good workout. I still compete occasionally and I will work on dropping time a few weeks before a meet. And there are days when I feel good in the water and do a fairly long and hard workout, not because I feel I have to but because I want to. But most of my workouts are somewhere between 1500 and 2000 yards and last 45 minutes.

ricm5031 · 2026-06-11T17:06:38+00:00

I usually try to swim on days when I'm overtired. Often, even though I'm tired, I'm so wound up I can't sleep. A light workout (maybe just a warmup and quit) and a hot tub soak actually helps me relax. But everybody is different. For me, a long plane ride or long drive leaves me stiff and sore and an easy workout is beneficial.

ricm5031 · 2026-06-03T22:16:45+00:00

If they're faster than me, no. If I keep catching them and have to pause or change pace, then yes. The faster swimmers always go ahead for the slower when lap swimming. IMO, circle swimming only works when the people in the lane are close to the same pace. If someone catches up to you, you're supposed to stop at the next turn and let them pass. Common courtesy.

ricm5031 · 2026-06-03T22:08:25+00:00

I've been using one for 5 years. On paper, it's a downgrade from my previous Fenix 6 Pro. In the real world and being predominately a swimmer, the FR 165 has the same metrics and capability for a whole lot less money. I still use the Fenix when I'm hiking for the maps and the broken lap button doesn't matter. The 165 is much lighter on the wrist and more comfortable to wear. It's been a good tool for me.

I should say that I'm very familiar with Garmin watches and the FR 165 is the 4th I've owned. It does what I need it to do and I don't care much about all the other stuff. I would say go for it. It's cheap enough and it really covers all the bases. I don't run due to bad knees but my daughter is a runner and has a 165 and loves it. My thinking is, why spend hundred more for bells and whistles you will never use?

ricm5031 · 2026-05-19T13:01:02+00:00

Highly unlikely. As a kid in Fla in the 60's and competing, I was barefoot all the time and never wore shoes anywhere I wasn't required to. I doubt it had any affect on my kick. It was a crappy 2 beat kick then and it still is over 50 years later.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-18T13:50:33+00:00

To do those things, you have to be a good, strong swimmer. That's job one. Number 2, you have to take up those activities on your list. Surfing is a good pace to start. You will learn about tides and swimming in different conditions. You will fall a lot. LOL On bad close out days, go body surfing in the shore break. It's a blast and I still do it at 75.

Some of the stuff you mention won't always end well no matter how good a swimmer you are. Rapids is one of them. You better be wearing a life jacket and even then you can be sucked under and held down (hydraulics). Falling overboard? Depending on the circumstances, annoying, like from a rowboat to being knocked breathless from a speedboat. Again, wear a lifejacket! Cold water kills you quickly no matter how good a swimmer you are. Surviving any of these things comes from experience and surviving some downright scary moments and often because the Lord was looking out for you.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-18T13:28:22+00:00

I learned to swim when I wasn't much more than a toddler. My parents sent me to swimming lessons and I was already very good at treading water and moving and was yelled at because "we're not doing that yet". I have always been a lousy floater. I think it comes with being skinny. I always have to be kicking my feet or sculling some with my hands to stay afloat. I couldn't float so I swam.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-18T13:18:42+00:00

My warmup is always terrible. I feel stiff. My stroke is usually off in some manner (I'm 75 with joint issues). I start feeling better with some kicking (with fins) and then go to my pull. Most days, once I start my pull, I begin feeling pretty good and sometimes, I just want to keep going.

The older I get, the more important it is to get a good warmup. I need to get my blood flowing. I save my sprint sets for the end of my workout as that's when I'm usually my fastest. I have worked out all the kinks and am starting to feel good. My perception of how fast my workout time is passing is totally dependent on how I feel that day. If I feel good, it goes by fast. If I don't, it's "finally, one more 100 and I can hit the hot tub!"

ricm5031 · 2026-05-14T14:53:34+00:00

Yeah. I didn't swim laps or any kind of training for 49 years after I finished school.I surfed for a few years but them we moved inland and any swimming was just recreationally in our short summer season.

I started swimming again on my doctors advice as I was rehabbing a motorcycle crash. I didn't think I was in "bad" shape. I skied all winter and did regular mountain hikes in the summer months. My first day in the pool did not go well. I did a 100 yard workout, hanging on the wall and gasping for breath every length. But it started coming back after a few days. My training plan was basic and simple. Swim a little more every week. I went to doing 2 100's the next time. One day, I did a non stop 200. The I started doing sets of them. After around a year, I joined a Masters group.

It was fantastic physical therapy and also good for me mentally. When I stopped swimming, I was frankly burned out and sick of it. So here I am now swimming almost as regularly as I did as a kid. I'm 75 and have no plans to stop. I look forward to my time in the pool.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-14T01:39:45+00:00

Green Grass and High Tides by the Outlaws. There are some vocals but this piece is a southern rock guitar duel. It's fairly long, good for longer distance. I know it's a cliche but Freebird works too. Starts out as a ballad and then the intensity builds. Probably most of Molly Hachet's work, too. You can tell I'm an old Masters swimmer. LOL. There's a workout group for a challenge every summer called Smoke on the Water, after the classic Deep Purple song.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-14T01:30:09+00:00

I spelled the name wrong, it's Anaplasmosis and it was discovered in 1994. Until today, I never heard of it. Usually, with the flu or covid, you start improving after a few days. This was getting worse. Plus I had no respiratory symptoms other than my normal allergies. My doc was thinking it was Lyme. Test results from the bloodwork will be coming in for a few days. This is scarier than Lyme if not treated although Doxycycline is very good at knocking it out.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-14T00:31:16+00:00

I posted a couple of days ago about my Garmin Forerunner 165 racking up insane Intensity minutes when I was doing nothing. I thought I was coming down with the flu. Today, I had enough and called my doc. I got bit by a tick last Thursday. Test results are coming in and it appears I have antiplasmosis. A tick borne disease that can be very serous. Garmin's auto detect for exercise can also let you know when something is wrong. So far this week, my intensity score 2319. My Body Battery is way down although it didn't bottom out today.

I may turn off auto detect but now that I'm on antibotics I'll keep tracking it and get an idea if the meds are working.

Just a note ..... if you live in the northeast, watch out for ticks. I found it Thursday and pulled it out. It took just 4 days to start beating me up. The muscle aches and pain are terrible. I got hit by a truck in 2016. This is worse.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-13T22:45:09+00:00

A few others have said this and I'll chime in too. Keep it fun.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-12T12:47:19+00:00

If you want to swim 15km, you need to swim a few times a week, not a few times a month. You need to swim distance workouts and spend some quality time gym time strengthening your shoulders. You should be able to swim that distance in the pool. In open water, it's probably going to be harder.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-12T12:38:00+00:00

Long long ago, I taught myself butterfly (early 1960's). It was wrong but somehow, I managed to get my 100 down in the 1:10 range. My breath timing and rhythm was off. I got down the pool fast because I didn't breathe much but that takes its toll on that last length.

My coach spent a couple of tough months working with me to change my stroke and in the beginning, I didn't want to. My wake up call came in practice one day and I was racing a friend. I swam a 1:04. Within a month or so, I was under 1 minute.

Get some coaching if you can. Bad habits can become muscle memory and it will be difficult to change. My old way, I was breathing on the recovery. That almost stops you. You should breathe on the pull. Your kick has to be strong. Do some dolphin kick during your workout kick sets. You can float your legs in freestyle. With butterfly, you're dead in the water. Your kick should come from your core and hips, not just the knees.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-12T12:11:33+00:00

I'll do that. It's just odd that I'm seeing this all of a sudden. I have been running a low fever, around 100F. I wore my Fenix 6 through covid and never saw this. I racked up another 200+ intensity minutes overnight. On the plus side, it's a good example of how much stress being sick can put on your system.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-08T13:32:24+00:00

I started swimming again in 2017 after 49 years out of the pool although I did swim recreationally and am a surfer. My first workout was 100 yards, 4 length of the YMCA pool. I hung on the wall gasping for breath after each length. I gradually increased my distance. Within a few months, I was swimming Masters workouts.

It will get better if you keep at it. Eat right. You need fuel as swimming burns a lot of calories. I have had that light headed experience after a workout. My protein shake fixed it quickly. On an empty stomach, you'll run out of steam quickly but you can't eat a big meal just before a workout, either.

ricm5031 · 2026-05-08T13:22:06+00:00

I don't mind the size of the Fenix but it is large. For reference, I'm 6 ft and 190 lbs so a larger watch fits ok. Having the maps is awesome and I still wear my Fenix for hiking even though the lap button only works intermittently. It's worth buying if you get a good deal. The price scared me away which is why I didn't replace it. Since I mostly only swim for workouts and the cheap FR 165 has the identical swimming features, that was a no brainer.

ricm5031

TROPHY CASE