Workout for unfit 10 yo

Liz,

i think the suggestion to use fins is a good one. the problem lies 100% in her motivation. i would
ask whether she really wants to do this thing, and pass the test? if she does, that should be enough
to get her to do *some work* at least. fins will help her feel like shes doing something, as opposed
to just getting nowhere. maybe trying without her sister would help?

training once a week will not do much, but is better than nothing. extra cardio work in a
terrestrial setting may not prove helpful at all, stick a world class marathon runner in the water
and chances are they would struggle too, never mind a motivation-less child 🙂

anything that will make her feel as though shes getting somewhere, (such as the fins), but without
the motivation, training swimming isn't going to help that much. drills, intervals etc would
probably just irritate her, bottom line i'd suggest unless she really wants it, its going to be an
uphill struggle.

steve

"diablo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Liz,

i think the suggestion to use fins is a good one. the problem lies 100% in her motivation. i would
ask whether she really wants to do this thing, and pass the test? if she does, that should be
enough to get her to do *some work* at least. fins will help her feel like shes doing something,
as opposed to just getting nowhere. maybe trying without her sister would help?

training once a week will not do much, but is better than nothing. extra cardio work in a
terrestrial setting may not prove helpful at all, stick a world class marathon runner in the water
and chances are they would struggle too, never mind a motivation-less child 🙂

anything that will make her feel as though shes getting somewhere, (such as the fins), but without
the motivation, training swimming isn't going to help that much. drills, intervals etc would
probably just irritate her, bottom line i'd suggest unless she really wants it, its going to be an
uphill struggle.

steve

Hi Steve

Thanks for the suggestions.

She's reasonably receptive to the idea at the moment, I think she got a nasty shock when she found
out how much her swimming fitness had dropped!

At the moment I will have to take both of them to the pool for logistical reasons, I will try with
the fins - she could probably keep up with her sister with fins on, and is also getting more aerobic
work in her legs that way. Her sister is also quite keen on breaststroke, so she could swim without
fins and the other one do breaststroke.

Now all I need is to find time to fit yet another after school activity into the week. Sigh.

Thanks

Liz D

maybe ask her what her school / other friends do

maybe she could stay interested in the exercise this way ?

"Liz D" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"diablo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Liz,

i think the suggestion to use fins is a good one. the problem lies 100%

in

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

her motivation. i would ask whether she really wants to do this thing,

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

pass the test? if she does, that should be enough to get her to do *some work* at least. fins
will help her feel like shes doing something, as opposed to just getting nowhere. maybe trying
without her sister would

help?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

training once a week will not do much, but is better than nothing. extra cardio work in a
terrestrial setting may not prove helpful at all, stick

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

world class marathon runner in the water and chances are they would

struggle

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

too, never mind a motivation-less child 🙂

anything that will make her feel as though shes getting somewhere, (such

as

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the fins), but without the motivation, training swimming isn't going to

help

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

that much. drills, intervals etc would probably just irritate her,

bottom

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

line i'd suggest unless she really wants it, its going to be an uphill struggle.

steve

Hi Steve

Thanks for the suggestions.

She's reasonably receptive to the idea at the moment, I think she got a nasty shock when she found
out how much her swimming fitness had dropped!

At the moment I will have to take both of them to the pool for logistical reasons, I will try with
the fins - she could probably keep up with her sister with fins on, and is also getting more
aerobic work in her legs that way. Her sister is also quite keen on breaststroke, so she could
swim without fins and the other one do breaststroke.

Now all I need is to find time to fit yet another after school activity into the week. Sigh.

Thanks

Liz D

[email hidden] (Liz D) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My 2 daughters have just turned 10, once swims twice a week with a local swim club, the other
dropped out of the group at the end of March, for a number of reasons - repeated ear infections,
loss of interest/motivation and the expense of fees for the 3 of us (I swim with the same club)
being the main ones.

After swimming from 9 until 11, I suddenly didn't want to do it any more. At the time, I wasn't
great at swimming. Many of my friends were much, much better.

I took a year off and did other things that summer (none of them aerobic...things like horseback
riding, just fooling around at the pool, etc.).

I joined the team again when I was 13 and I went from being one of the worst swimmers in my age
group (swimming on the C/D relay) to swimming on the A relay.

Puberty happened. For some reason, when my body was changing I just didn't want to do anything. I
can't describe it any better than that.

I was seriously uncordinated during my year off...but soon the akwardness dropped off.

When it did, it was like I had a whole new understanding of my body and how it was supposed
to function.

You would be surprised at how little time it takes to gain back conditioning. And if when the mind
and body communicate more efficiently (like mine did)you swim much, much quicker.

Let your daughter have the time off. If she's up for it, have her take 1 or 2 private lessons (1
hrs. sessions) with a cool swim teacher at the pool (don't sign up for these through the pool...but
arrange them on the side with the swim teacher if possible...it will be cheaper and you won't have
to sign up for a full series).

Conditioning comes back, especially when you are young.

As she becomes more skilled at karate, the class may become more aerobically challenging for
her as well.

Don't worry about pubescent weight gain too much. The more you worry, the more you will conveigh
this worry to her. If you are a great role model, and enjoy being active, she will want to tap into
these skills...eventually.

Case In Point:

I had a good friend in college who was artist not athlete. Her mom was a bad ass triathlete. At 20,
my friend finally decided to start being active again. She stays active by walking on a treadmill
for an hour a day while reading her favorite book (her treat to herself is the Harry Potter series).
It keeps her healthy and in the end that is all that really matters.

If you don't worry about her weight or her activity level, but know that eventually she will want to
do something about one or both, you both will be better off.

Best of luck...

~b

Quoted message said:

I'm keen both to keep up her swimming competence and improve her fitness a little - they are both
tall girls and likely to hit puberty early, the non-swimmer has put on quite a lot of weight since
she stopped swimming. She has been doing a karate class, but it doesn't have the same level of
aerobic conditioning.

TIA for any suggestions

Liz D

"tbone" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

maybe ask her what her school / other friends do

maybe she could stay interested in the exercise this way ?

A good idea in theory, however the logistics of finding a friend at a similar swimming level to her,
then co-ordinating their out of school activity schedule with ours, would be almost impossible.

I might be able to manage it a few times during the school holidays over the summer, but it wouldn't
work on a regular weekly basis which is what I want to.

Thanks anyway.

Liz D
PS She passed her swim test in a comfortable 4:30 for 200m, only about 30s slower than her swimming
sister - not bad considering she has barely been in a pool since the end of March.

yeah that is a pretty good time!

"Liz D" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"tbone" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

maybe ask her what her school / other friends do

maybe she could stay interested in the exercise this way ?

A good idea in theory, however the logistics of finding a friend at a similar swimming level to
her, then co-ordinating their out of school activity schedule with ours, would be almost
impossible.

I might be able to manage it a few times during the school holidays over the summer, but it
wouldn't work on a regular weekly basis which is what I want to.

Thanks anyway.

Liz D
PS She passed her swim test in a comfortable 4:30 for 200m, only about 30s slower than her
swimming sister - not bad considering she has barely been in a pool since the end of March.

[email hidden] (Becca) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[snip] If you don't worry about her weight or her activity level, but know that eventually she will
want to do something about one or both, you both will be better off.

Best of luck...

~b

Hi Becca

Thanks for your thoughts & insights.

I maybe do worry about her lack of activity a little too much. I was always very active and loved
sports of all kinds, and she does not - her sister is a little better but still not overly active.
So I find it a little hard to understand where they are coming from. My husband is also very sporty
& we are both quite competitive, sometimes I wonder where we got these children from!

A lot of girls seem to drop out of sport once they hit puberty and I think lack of exercise through
the teenage & early 20s years has a big effect on life-long fitness and weight problems. So I feel
that if they don't develop those habits and interests now, it will be so much harder for them when
they are older.

But as you say, maybe just best to relax a little about it and model an active lifestyle myself. We
have just started going for a run/bike ride while her sister is at swimming, I run and she bikes -
she seems to enjoy it.

Thanks again.

Liz D