Swimming versus The Gym

I can go to my gym at my college, and pay £3 for as long a session as I want. My workout normally takes an hour to an hour and a half. I don't particularly enjoy it but I know I must do more exercise. It costs me £3.50 to get there by bus (day saver) as I have lost my bus pass and it would take an hour an a half to two and a half hours for me to walk there

Today I went to my local swimming baths. It takes 10 mins to walk there and cost £3 to get in. However each session only last 45 mins and obviously you need to get there on time, to get the full value but it's OK to not show up when it starts. And I enjoyed it so much more than the gym. It is an adults only session so obviously there's no kids annoying you and you can have a peaceful swim. Being an adults swim session, you just swim back and forth in lanes which are slow swimming, medium swimming and fast swimming generally. I use the fast swim lane.

D'you good people think I'm getting good value for my money? Are there any benefits of swimming over the gym and vice versa? I should point out that when I came out of the swiming baths I was dog tired, much more than I felt after a gym session. I felt like I had done so much more work there, than I do at the gym, and I actually arrived a bit late and actually got out 5 mins before time up, so I probably only spent about half an hour in there.

Does anyone else prefer swimming to the gym or the gym to swimming?

Reply 1

lou p lou

2

if you feel that you enjoy swimming more and it's easier/ cheaper for you to get to then just stick to that... you're much more likely to go so that makes it better. if you want to do something else as well, why don't you just cycle there or something?

i go to my gym and i would say about half the time i only swim because i find it more relaxing and i can motivate myself more to do it

lou xxx

Reply 2

bedbug

14

I'd go for swimming simply because it's convenient and you enjoy it so you're likely to go more often. So, even though your sessions are shorter, they are more frequent and may be more intensive as you'll be putting more effort into something you enjoy than something you feel you have to do.

Reply 3

worldwide

1

also swimming puts very little pressure on your joints, so swimming injuries are extremely rare, so that's a bonus (it's less practical though)

Reply 4

rawkingpunkster

plus you get a nice, sexy tan :smile:

Reply 5

vicky600

2

rawkingpunkster

plus you get a nice, sexy tan :smile:

how?

Reply 6

fuglyduckling

2

From water? haha crazy comment

Reply 7

Kate.

15

rawkingpunkster

plus you get a nice, sexy tan :smile:

Lol as if. This is England. Most of the time you gotta be mad to swim in an outside pool or the sea.

Reply 8

Bigbrotherjx

Swimming is especially good cardio for people recovering from injury since it can be less stressful on the lower back than something like running.

However, it depends what your goals are. The gym will have the weights and machines for strength training which swimming will do nothing for.

Reply 9

matt@internet

OP

12

Kate.

Lol as if. This is England. Most of the time you gotta be mad to swim in an outside pool or the sea.

I'm mad, ftang, ftang. Oohh-oohh-oohh :p:

Reply 10

NViasko

Swimming.

Reply 11

matt@internet

OP

12

NViasko

Swimming.

Eh?

Reply 12

34253

2

You could probably join a gym that has a pool for around 30 a month, that would be the best of both worlds if you could find one nearby.

Reply 13

NViasko

matt@internet

Eh?

???

Reply 14

matt@internet

OP

12

It's all right NViasko. I just didn't get what you meant by swimming. You were saying you prefer swimming to the gym right? Course you were. :biggrin:

Reply 15

dancingqueen

11

I prefer swimming to the gym, I find it more relaxing. And I agree with previous posters, the more you enjoy something, the more likely you are to stick at it.

Reply 16

NViasko

matt@internet

It's all right NViasko. I just didn't get what you meant by swimming. You were saying you prefer swimming to the gym right? Course you were. :biggrin:

Possibly.

Reply 17

Gosties

I agree about prefering swimming versus going to the gym. About three years ago I was getting rather podgy, so decided to do something about it. I dropped two stones in around 8 months of constantly swimming.
Five sessions a week of 1.5 - 2.0 hours duration worked great.

I have never felt comfortable going to the gym. I would have prefered to play football but the thought of running about a pitch whilst suffering a hangover put me off.

Am I alone in believing that anyone who enjoys doing the butterfly stroke is a sadist.

Reply 18

erk

14

Gosties

I agree about prefering swimming versus going to the gym. About three years ago I was getting rather podgy, so decided to do something about it. I dropped two stones in around 8 months of constantly swimming.
Five sessions a week of 1.5 - 2.0 hours duration worked great.

I have never felt comfortable going to the gym. I would have prefered to play football but the thought of running about a pitch whilst suffering a hangover put me off.

Am I alone in believing that anyone who enjoys doing the butterfly stroke is a sadist.

if you want be good at any stroke, it's butterfly, shows coordination and strength.

and as for cardio; "the best cardio is the one you most enjoy".

Reply 19

Helenia

20

erk

if you want be good at any stroke, it's butterfly, shows coordination and strength.

and as for cardio; "the best cardio is the one you most enjoy".

Bah, butterfly is the least efficient, least graceful stroke ever. It's all about the crawl. If you do breaststroke, unless you're doing it well and going fast, you look like a granny.

Swimming versus The Gym

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