The Difference Between a Pool Swim & Open Water
The Difference Between Swimming in a Pool and Open Water!
By Yiannis Christodoulou Age Group Athlete
There are many obvious differences between swimming in the pool and open water, I am going to discuss some differences between the two to hopefully help you with your swimming. You may be a strong pool swimmer but that doesn’t necessarily mean you will be strong at open water swimming.
Pool swimming is safer than open water purely because you are in a confined area and normally people and lifeguards are near you. The fear of being unsafe is mainly taken away and in many pools you can now touch the bottom at both ends. There are many benefits from training in the pool.
If you want to improve it’s important not to just get in the pool and swim endless lengths at the same speed, improvement will not happen swimming like that. Repetitions using equipment like pull buoys and paddles can help you get stronger, faster and become more buoyant. Swimming equipment is harder to use in the sea. Drills are easier in the pool because there are no waves or current to battle against. In open water it will be more difficult.
When it comes down to the race day for a Triathlon/Aquathlon, racing in a pool is pretty easy in comparison to an open water event, it feels safer. With pool races, however, you are not really racing others as you usually go off one at a time and it is timed.
There is a lot to consider when open water swimming but there are so many benefits.
Safety in the Open Water - depending where you do the open water swimming you need to consider if it’s safe. For example, I swim in the sea, but if the tide is really rough there is no way I am going to swim. In the summer I will use my wetsuit swimming in the sea as I feel much safer and buoyant with it on. You can’t really do drills when you swim in open water because of the unpredictability of waves. Reps times will be different due to cross tides and weather etc. One week you might be flying along and the next struggling to move. People are put off open water swimming because they fear something might happen to them. Most seafronts have designated areas to swim in and lifeguards patrol these and the same with some lakes and rivers.
Open water swimming can really help you to improve your swimming. It can improve your breathing purely because of the random waves etc. You can get stronger as you may be swimming against a current . Sea swimming is known to be good for the skin and is proven to also help with recovery due to the salt in the water.
If you are swimming in the sea it’s always good to mix up the pace and have a plan, instead of just getting in and swimming at one pace. The temperature of the water, depending on the time of the year you swim, may not be higher than 19 degrees towards the end of summer.
September normally has the warmest water temperature when swimming outside. Pool temperatures are kept high to around 28 degrees all year round. Air temperature can play a factor when outside, it can be a cold day in September, but the temperature of the sea water can be warmer than air temperature which can affect your breathing.
The body generally works harder in open water due to it being colder than the pool. You usually cannot stand up in the middle of a lake or sea s you have to keep moving, whereas you can in the pool. Visibility in open water in the UK generally is not that good and can take a little time to adjust to.
In open water, you will need to concentrate on where you are by sighting regularly, it is very easy to become disorientated in open water. In a pool you won’t need to sight because you can see the bottom and once you get to the end of the pool you can just turn around.
On race day in an open water event you normally all go off at the same time. My advice would be, if it’s your first-time racing in open water, stay away from the middle of the pack and keep to the edge. Open water races scare people because of the washing machine effect but if you practice and follow my advice you should be fine.
I hope that you have found these tips helpful.
Yiannis Christodoulou