Went for a swim this morning and found a new rule posted at the door.
You are not allowed to swim the length of the pool without breathing, nor are you permitted to swim the length
of the pool (25 meters) under water.
I’m pretty sure I can go to other parts of the building and find situations more dangerous and greater liability
issues greater than me holding my breath for 20-30 seconds.
Something recently happen at your pool?
do they have an ‘enforcer’?
the first thing i would do when i dove in is go ‘almost’ the length of the pool under water, popping my head up just as my had is about to touch the wall. then i would look around like i just shoplifted something and get out of the water and run into the locker room.
Nope…just like the ban on swimming when there is lightning or thunder in the area.
Not sure it’ll be enforced or just a sign to placate the insurance company.
That’s annoying. I love ending workouts with under/overs.
Jodi
Look up “shallow water blackout.” It’s no joke.
There’s a US navy wide rule against this at recreational pools as well. I see a similar sign before I go into the navy pools I have been to.
I think that sign also says something about hyperventilating before swimming, they will stop you there even before you start to swim.
The hyperventilation is really where the added risk comes in. It doesn’t add more oxygen to your blood but it does apparently help you get the CO2 levels in your lungs lower than normal, making shallow water blackout a risk. In this case, the urge to breathe, caused by the CO2 levels doesn’t make you pop up before the lower O2 levels make you black out.
I know it’s no joke. And I’m aware of a former “olympic level” swimmer dying several years ago in the pool and they
think this happened to him.
But, I bet you can go into the cardio room and find several candidates with greater chances of 'issues" than me swimming
25 meters without taking a breath.
Just say’n.
They will probably enforce it as well as most pools do the “shower before swimming” policy.
It actually can be dangerous, and especially so if no one is watching you closely.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time around pools as a swimmer and lifeguard. I’ve seen 4 or 5 people blackout after swimming under water. In every case, it was a highly trained very fit swimmer trying to “win” an informal contest. We just pulled them up, laughed at them flopping around on deck while they came to then moved on to the next guy but if no one had been there to pull them up (and I mean right there next to them) they would have died.
I
Look up “shallow water blackout.” It’s no joke.
There’s a US navy wide rule against this at recreational pools as well. I see a similar sign before I go into the navy pools I have been to.
I think that sign also says something about hyperventilating before swimming, they will stop you there even before you start to swim.
The hyperventilation is really where the added risk comes in. It doesn’t add more oxygen to your blood but it does apparently help you get the CO2 levels in your lungs lower than normal, making shallow water blackout a risk. In this case, the urge to breathe, caused by the CO2 levels doesn’t make you pop up before the lower O2 levels make you black out.
Is there some SWBO prevention group that monitors the web? Every time breath holding is brought up on this forum (and others) some party pooping ninny nanny has to post something about SWBO. Do you think we are all stupid and need you to remind us to breathe?
Do you have a dog in this fight? Who cares? Can’t you just let people do what they want without getting your panties all bound up?
I’m going to Master Swim right now. When I get there I’m going to hyperventilate. After that I’m going to swim a length (not lap, ZackC) under water. Our pool is 50m. I hope I make it.
Have a nice day.
bingo.
had to leave the lane this am after a woman with a touch too much of Burberry or similar got in next to me. ok - waaaay too much.
whoa
I always try to imagine the individual happenings that lead to some of the signs at my YMCA like “no shaving in the sauna or whirpool” or “swim suits must be worn in sauna”.
Lol bro report back once you can bust out a duffy lap under water. 50yd in a 25yd pool is fairly easy, but 50m in a 50m pool is pretty damn tough
Yeah a buddy of mine was trying to do a lung buster 50 and he passed out. Thankfully coach never asked anyone to do longer than a 25 lung buster after that.
(lung buster means you exhale ALL of your air then sprint the specified distance. 25’s are easy, 50’s are impossible. The whole “needing oxygen” thing kicks in sometime after 25 yd/m
I see a number of clowns try this and tend to keep their eyes closed. They can’t stay in their lane and run into others. So there is convenience to others with the rule. And by clowns I mean the goof-offs who think it’s a public pool and aren’t really there for a workout.
Is that the friggin’ Brandywine Y? Between that and the new kiddie fitness “video game” room wasting space in the fitness center, they’re really on a roll…
Is there some SWBO prevention group that monitors the web?
We meet every fifth thursday of the month at the chinese buffet, you should come down, try the General Tso’s chicken.
Every time breath holding is brought up on this forum (and others) some party pooping ninny nanny has to post something about SWBO. Do you think we are all stupid and need you to remind us to breathe?
In fact I don’t think the average slowtwitcher knows about shallow water blackout so I spread the word when I see something like this come up. That’s the main topic that we talk about at the meetings. If you know about shallow water blackout and want to do it, good for you. But for those folks who don’t know about the risk, they should know about it before going out and doing their next round of hyperventilation with apnea training.
I was a rescue swimmer with the navy and as we called them underwater sprints. IF you do enough of them or aren’t really trained to do underwater sprints, you can actually cause yourself to have an underwater blackout. This is what happens when you push yourself a little to much.
Good Training, but dangerous at times.
SWBO is REAL!
I am a swim coach. It can happen when a person is going for a goal, like to beat someone else, or to go a 25 or a 50 (or more) underwater. I have seen it myself. This is not to be taken lightly.
I’m sure a lot of lifeguards have never seen it (some have).
What happens is you black-out, but your arms and legs keep moving. But not providing propulsion. So the person comes to a complete stop, arms and legs still moving.
If someone does not know this fact, they may think the person is still conscious.
If you see this, the person is “out” and needs to get above water ASAP!
They did take up a lot of room with the “Youth Fitness Center”…lots of open space left in there…and now the other area is pretty packed - but I don’t use it much, especially when you have a great park with trails 100 meters out the back door!
i’m all for trying to get kids involved in fitness - but to me it looks like something that might wear off in time.