Swimming takes a lot of concentration, especially when you’re not good at it like me. Swimming requires some strength and endurance, but it is mostly a skill activity. The better your technique, the less energy you have to exert, or you can go faster without exerting as much energy. I’m constantly telling myself to keep my hands and arms streamlined, keep my face down, rotate from the hips when breathing, be mindful of my recovery, etc.
With all of this going on, I would lose track of what length I was swimming. Getting through to length 8 or 16 was easy. As I became physically and mentally tired I couldn’t remember if I was on length 30, and needed to do another 50 meters, or length 32, and needed to take a break. Enter the SportCount swim lap counter.
It’s a very simple device. It wraps around your index finger via a velcro strap. The large button on the left is used to count laps — or lengths, as I do. The right button is used to lock in the last lap (in case you count another lap by accident), and also to reset the counter. The unit powers off after around a minute or two of inactivity. The right button is a little lower than the left, which is a nice usability touch. I’ve never hit the right button by accident.
The pressure required to activate the buttons are just about right. I haven’t mistakenly counted two laps, nor have I thought I counted a lap and didn’t press hard enough. There is an upgraded model that keeps track of your time and can give you stats on your best lap, and acts as a stopwatch. I try to swim without my contacts in, so the larger display of my Casio G-Shock watch is a must — the barebones 90040 was perfect for me.
The SportCount 90040 can be found for $20 - $30 online. I bought mine for $19.99 + $4 shipping from eBay.
I’m giving the SportCount 90040 five out of five STFU mugs — simply put, the 90040 does what it says.
Be careful about becoming efficient. You are swimming in order to work out, so the less efficient you are, the more of your muscles you are probably using. I think you should thrash around like a drunk Guppie! Total dog paddle!
Ed,
I don’t think exertion will be an issue. Remember, hair = drag. Also with a low bf%, he’s exerting more energy just to keep from sinking straight to the bottom.
Hmm, he may be onto something here. The “Gibberish” workout could sweep the nation: strap on your lead weight belt and pull on a nice fuzzy sweater and hit the pool!
I didn’t think a yeti could swim.
Yeti’s can’t swim — but I’m a sasquatch.
I like the idea of tying the lead weight to your finger and letting it drag you to the bottom of the pool. Although it might be more interesting to have a timer, rather than a stop watch, set for 30 seconds, which is about how long you have until you drown.