Life Time Fitness : Blog List - Swimming

Chasing the Masters World Championships: The story of Life Time Fitness member Ann Senn (Part II)

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:20:36 GMT

Images courtesy of Ann Senn. Photography by Erika McCauley of Erika McCauley Photographers

Read Chasing the Masters World Championships: The story of Life Time Fitness member Ann Senn (Part I)

For most amateur athletes, competing in national and international events for a couple years would hold enough memories to last a lifetime.

But that just isn’t the case for 51-year-old masters swimmer Ann Senn.

After competing in the 2008 FINA Masters World Championships in Australia, Senn ended last year by becoming the national champion in the 50-meter freestyle event at the U.S. Masters Swimming Long Course Meters Nationals in Oregon.

Until this summer, Senn had qualified for the national and international competitions by training by herself in the Life Time Fitness pool in Chanhassen and at other clubs.

In mid-June, Senn met Life Time Fitness instructor Barb Folsom while she was working with a Masters Swim group at the Chanhassen club.

“When you’re a swimmer, you know a coach when you see one,” Senn said. “You know somebody who is standing on dock who knows what they’re doing.”

In short time, Folsom was helping Senn prepare for the 2009 USMS Long Course Nationals in Indianapolis. But she did find a flaw in Senn’s training.

“I noticed she lost her oomph, for lack of a better word, before the warm-up was even done and I was very confused by that,” Barb Folsom said. “So my next investigation was into nutrition.”

Both Senn and Folsom said that Senn had to pace a 50-meter race (a sprinting distance) because she didn’t have the staying power to go max speed the whole distance.

“Typically what you tell someone in the 50-meter is ‘Get out there. Don’t think, just go,’” Folsom said. “If (Senn) went fast too early, then she couldn’t finish and she’d lose her legs.”

To combat this concern, Folsom sent Senn to Melanie Mertes, a nutrition coach for Life Time Fitness in Chanhassen, and found out Senn wasn’t eating enough to give her energy for swimming. “She was working in her lean muscle mass.”

Senn said Mertes’ tests concluded she wasn’t getting nearly enough protein in her diet, hence the quick fatigue while swimming.

Once Senn’s nutrition was sorted out, Folsom said she thought they would see some quicker times at nationals in Indianapolis but Senn didn’t compete as well as she hoped. Despite her own opinon, Senn still managed to qualify for the FINA World Championships that wil be in Sweden in August 2010.

However, the trip to nationals wasn’t in vain because Senn had the chance to have a stroke assessment and lactate test (scientific procedure that determine how quickly a person’s muscles fatigue) done by the head of science and technology for the Olympic training camp.

Suprisingly, the test concluded that Senn wasn’t as fit as she thought, despite her performance level.

“He said ‘Either you’re really tired or really out of shape,’” Senn said.

This was puzzling to Senn because she exercised nearly every day of the week, even in spite of traveling a lot as the chief strategy officer for Deloitte Consulting LLP in Minneapolis. Senn’s family also keeps her on the move as her two sons, Delaney and Zachery, compete in USA Swimming group events and her husband, Mark Ambrosen, competes in triathlons.

When Senn returned home, Folsom was a little confused by the test results.

“It made sense to me,” Folsom said. “But I was still trying to figure out how someone who did that much, could have no aerobic base.”

So Folsom then sent Senn to Jeff Rosga, the department head of personal training for Life Time Fitness in Chanhassen, to complete a MAP test that would determine her body’s use of oxygen. The test showed similar results as the lactate test, indicating that while Senn was in shape, she wasn't aerobically fit.

After the test, Senn said she remembers Folsom approaching her, giving her one look and glumly saying “Hey, sorry about your MAP test.”

Since the test results, Rosga has Senn following a 12-week dry land program to build her aerobic base, and she is also swimming middle length distance three times a week. Senn and Folsom will dive into the technique of her strokes before retesting her fitness level and beginning training for the World Championships in August.

But why all the testing and training for an international competition she fared so well in on her own? Although Senn has qualified for the Worlds, she has another big goal in mind.

She won’t talk about it, but she hopes to break the world record for her age group in the 50-meter freestyle at the international competition in 2010.

“I believe with every fiber of my being that (Senn) will get this world record in Sweden if we do this right,” said Folsom, who has worked for Woodlands Swimming, a reputable program in Houston that sends 15 to 20 swimmers to Olympic trials every four years.

The world record for the 50-meter freestyle for Senn’s age group is 28.44 seconds. In April, Senn set a lifetime best time of 28.85 seconds in the event in April, which marked the best time in the nation for 2009. “We’re not talking a lot,” Folsom said about the time difference.

Folsom said Senn has quite the training team now too since Mertes is helping with nutrition and Rosga with workout routines. Folsom said Senn has always been coachable and “is looking for information” to get better.

However, for the most part, Folsom said Senn’s quest at the international level will be mostly about her “god-given talent” and drive to reach her goals.

“She has a phenomenal talent and she’s willing to work for it,” Folsom said.

“She has this goal that she doesn’t want to let go of even though she has the stresses of everyday work and a family and all of that. She’s still able to carve out this niche to get it done.”

Chasing the Masters World Championships: The story of Life Time Fitness member Ann Senn (Part I)

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:25:08 GMT

Images courtesy of Ann Senn. Photography by Erika McCauley of Erika McCauley Photographers

According to Ann Senn, life deals us all a few blows where there are certain things we just have to give up.

A Life Time Fitness member in Chanhassen, MN, Senn was dealt one of those blows, rolled with it and turned it into something remarkable.

Over four years ago, Senn decided to jump back into a swimming pool and work on her strokes after a near 30-year absence.

A former high-school swimmer, Senn made her way back after arthritis made it too difficult for her to participate and compete in activities such as softball, racquetball, and even running.

“After a while it became, what can I really do?” Senn said.

Fast-forward to present day, Senn now looks back on the last few years as a time period of many firsts — such as the first time competing at the national and international levels —and looks forward to what she can still accomplish in the pool.

“The goal to begin with was to swim and improve my fitness,” Senn said.

Starting off by simply swimming laps in Life Time Fitness pools over four years ago, Senn said she found out that just swimming laps wouldn’t be enough to keep her coming back — she needed goals. She needed to compete.

Soon, Senn began competing in state meets in Minnesota and later joined a Masters swimming team in Minnetonka, MN. With the team, she qualified for the U.S. Masters Swimming National Championships in Florida and performed well in her first appearance in national competition.

“I compete because it gives me goals,” Senn said. “Setting goals sort of keeps my interest and keeps me going back to the pool.”

A year after her first national competition, Senn qualified for the 2007 USMS Long Course Meters Nationals and competed in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle, 50-meter butterfly and 50-meter and 100-meter backstroke competitions.

“I’m actually a drop-dead sprinter,” Senn said. “That means you drop dead if you do anything other than short distances.”

During the national competition, Senn placed in the Top-10 in each of her events for her age group and actually qualified for the 2008 FINA World Masters Championships in Perth, Australia.

Coming upon her 50th birthday, her family decided the international competition could double as a family vacation and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Senn.

“We ended up voting. It was three for and one against for going to Worlds,” Senn said about the family vote. “I was the against.”

In short time, Senn said she found a coach who would help prepare her for the world championships and one of the most exciting experiences.

“I had no idea what I was doing … But I got to swim against people I only read about,” Senn said.

In fact, Senn said she raced against famed Australian swimmer Shane Gould, the three-time Olympic gold medalist from the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, in three events.

“She is an absolute queen … Who would have ever figured I’d see her live, much less swimming against her in races,” Senn said.

However, Senn showed few signs of being awestruck during her competitions.

In her first international meet, Senn placed fifth in the world in the 50-meter freestyle, fourth in the 100-meter freestyle, third in the 50-meter backstroke, second in the 100-meter backstroke and third in the 50-meter butterfly.

Beyond the competitions, Senn said she also realized that swimming made her arthritis easier to manage.

Prior to swimming competitively, Senn said she was taking arthritis-specific pain medicine. After 12 to 18 months, she said, she was completely off the prescriptions and just taking ibuprofen for pain and soreness.

A year later, Senn no longer needs to take ibuprofen, at least not for muscle or join pain. Senn said she isn’t pain-free, citing some occasional discomfort in her shoulders, but she’s much better off then when she had to quit running and hop into the pool.

“Swimming put the strength back into me and sort of the energy and athleticism back into me that was hard to recapture,” Senn said.

"Now what do you think of that?”

Check out Part II of Chasing the Masters World Championships: The story of Life Time Fitness member Ann Senn on Thursday.

Phelps wins 2 out of 3 races during ‘Shaq Vs.’

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:12:34 GMT

Even with an injured foot and handicaps to his opponent, Michael Phelps managed to win two out of three swimming races against Shaquille O’Neal during Tuesday’s episode of “Shaq Vs.” on ABC.

Phelps raced O’Neal at the short course pool of Loyola College in Maryland last month for the show just a few weeks after injuring his ankle during an Aug. 13 car accident.

Phelps tried to play down the injury to reporters when he and O’Neal held a press conference for the challenge, but Phelps was seen wearing a walking boot on his ankle during the appearance.

During the challenge, O’Neal was granted with a handicap during each race to even the field with the 14-time Olympic gold medalist.

O’Neal actually beat Phelps during the first race of the challenge aired on Tuesday. In the first bout, Phelps had to swim a 50-yard freestyle to O’Neal’s 25-yard sprint. Phelps was given a 5-second lead over O’Neal to even the race, but O’Neal still managed to win the first event by little less than a second.

In the second race, Phelps swam a 200-yard medley against O’Neal, Olympic gold medal swimmers Rebecca Soni and Dana Vollmer and world-record holder Ariana Kukors. O’Neal swam as anchor, sprinting the last 50-yard freestyle portion of the race, before Phelps narrowly beat him in the final lap.

For the final race, the two swam in matching suits as Phelps had to swim a 75-yard freestyle race to O’Neal’s 50 yards. Phelps still managed to catch up to the 7-foot NBA star and beat him for the final race and the overall challenge, two races to one.

With the loss, O’Neal lost his bet with Phelps that involved the loser wearing a bright pink swim cap.

Phelps’ win ended the season finale of “Shaq Vs.” where O’Neal failed to beat any of the various professional athletes he challenged for the show.

Summer may be over, but that's no reason to get out of the pool

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:23:33 GMT

Labor Day weekend may be the official close to the summer each year, but that doesn’t mean you should pack away your swimsuit for 2009 just yet.

Sure, outdoor pools in most of the Life Time Fitness clubs are closing and the sun can barely give you a tan now. But your club still has an indoor pool for lap swimming, U Swim classes and whatever other recreational needs you may have during the fall and winter months.

Besides, swimming is good for more than just cooling yourself off or working on your summer tan. Swimming is chocked full with health benefits that can help you maintain the active lifestyle you want:

It’s a full-body workout
Swimming works a majority of the body’s major muscles groups. It also regulates the posture of your spine and enhances your flexibility at the same time. There aren’t too many activities that do that.

Boosts the cardiovascular system
Time in the pool helps improve your cardiovascular fitness. Without overworking the heart, swimming can improve your body’s use of oxygen and increase your lung capacity.

You will also develop a slower resting heart rate and respiratory rate as your heart and lungs become more efficient. So, goodbye high blood pressure!

Lower risk of injury
Getting your exercise in the water puts less stress on the body because the body weighs 10 percent less when in the pool.

For many runners or other fitness enthusiasts, exercising everyday might be out of the question because their bodies can’t take the pounding from hard pavement or other unforgiving surfaces. Swimmers, on the other hand, can enjoy their activity daily because swimming has a lower impact on the body.

However, most swimmers still need to be aware of overuse injuries such as swimmer’s shoulder when swimming consistently.

Reduces stress
Swimming forces us to regulate our breathing and therefore can be very relaxing. While swimming, our bodies also allow more oxygen to our muscles, thus making the activity a great stress reliever.

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Sources:

"What's Good About Swimming." About.com. http://swimming.about.com/od/swimworkouts/a/swim_benefit.htm

"The Health Benefits of Swimming." Lifescript.com http://www.lifescript.com/Body/Shape/Workout/The_Endless_Health_Benefits_of_Swimming.aspx

Big 16: Relaxing with a float and a flick

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:54:05 GMT

Under a moonlit sky, at least 30 Life Time Fitness members enjoyed a fun viewing experience in Savage, MN, at the last Big 16 swimming event of the summer: The Dive-In Movie.

A handful of families took in the experience at the Savage club as the staff showed Finding Nemo to the viewers floating in the outdoor pool and sitting in the lounging chairs near the LifeCafé Bistro.

During Savage’s event, I witnessed one of the coolest, yet most unexplainable things about children.

For the most part, children are full of life, full of energy. And when you throw in an outdoor swimming pool, you’ve just given those kids a free pass to be as loud and crazy as they want (trust me, I know, I used to be one of those kids).

But once the Savage staff turned on Finding Nemo, the splashing ceased to exist and the children gravitated to their families who saved lounging chairs in front of the video projector screen for them.

Outside the volume of the movie, the pool became so quiet I could hear crickets chirp — and this change of environment all in a matter of maybe 5 minutes. It was like enduring a heavy rain storm that lasted for just a couple minutes to be followed by the nicest, sunny day you’ve ever experienced.

Nevertheless, the families at the Savage club soaked in the family flick before the Labor Day holiday, capping off the last Big 16 event the outdoor pools of Life Time Fitness would host in 2009.

Grab a floatie and some malt balls: It’s time for the Big 16 Dive-In Movie

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:55:25 GMT

Get your tickets for the last main feature showing at the outdoor pools of Life Time Fitness.

Clubs across the country will open up the outdoor pools Friday evening for the last Big 16 event of the year, the Dive-In Movie.

Member shouldn’t miss the chance to lounge in the pool on some floaties and eat some movie snacks while watching a family flick on a big screen under the moonlight.

LifeCafé will also knock 25 percent off their shakes and smoothies for all moviegoers on Friday.

Remember, Labor Day weekend is all about relaxing one last time before the fall. Why not relax on a floatie while eating malt balls at a Life Time Fitness club?

For more information about the event at your club or to RSVP, check out the Dive-In Movie details here.

Big 16: Soaking up magicians, clowns and games at the Pool Carnival

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:42:00 GMT

It may not have been optimal outdoor swimming weather in some parts of the country, but the temperatures didn’t keep a few crowds from enjoying Saturday’s Big 16 Pool Carnival Event.

In Minnesota, the weather was a little brisk to hop into the pool but it didn’t stop a handful of children from hopping into the inflatable jumper located near the Lakeville club’s outdoor pool. Meanwhile, the children also played a few carnival games and ate at the outside bistro.

With similar weather in Illinois, the Old Orchard club attracted up to 80 people to the Pool Carnival with a dunk tank, a magician, inflatable jumper and a face painter by the pool, said Linsey Sowa, the club’s aquatics department head.

“Considering the weather wasn’t very stellar in Chicago, that was pretty good,” Sowa said. “It was actually about 66, 67 degrees. So we were happy to have the turnout we had.”

Sowa said the magic show by the pool was a big draw, especially since the magician attracted his own audience.

“From 11 to 11:30, he had like this stuffed duck, and he was out in the club quacking the duck and recruiting people for the 11:30 show,” Sowa said, remembering people from the daycare center and LifeCafé that attended the event to watch the show.

“I think he was really able to bring the people out.”

Meanwhile, the LifeCafé Bistro put together a food buffet by the pool for attending members, Sowa said, and families were able to register their kids for fall activities.

“It really came together for us,” Sowa said.

Life Time Fitness clubs will be hosting another Big 16 event — the Dive-In Movie — on Friday.

Keep checking Life Time Fitness Swimming for more details about the upcoming Big 16 event or RSVP for your club’s event here.

Don't mess with swimmers: 71-year-old Olympian clobbers a robber

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:47:28 GMT

Apparently swimmers have a little fight in them when they are in and out of the pool.

The Associated Press reported Monday that 71-year-old Olympic swimmer Dawn Fraser of Australia fought and captured a man trying to rob her home.

Fraser won eight Olympic medals, including four golds, at three Olympics and held the 100-meter freestyle world record from 1956 to 1972.

According to the report, the robber grabbed Fraser at her home before she grabbed him by the ear and kicked him in the groin.

“So he had to let me go,” she was quoted. “He threatened my life and I got really annoyed about that and just grabbed him by the ear and the hair.”

Police arrived at the scene to see a male friend of Fraser’s holding the robber on the ground.

Moral of the story: Don’t mess with former swimmers, especially Olympians, even if they are 71 years old — They still have a pretty good leg kick on them.

Big 16: Get to the Pool Carnival for the last party of the summer

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:11:34 GMT

Nothing says summer like a good carnival, and what better place to have one than at an outdoor swimming pool?

Life Time Fitness will hold the Big 16 Pool Carnival event Saturday afternoon on the outdoor pool decks of participating clubs.

With a carnival-themed party, Life Time Fitness plans to say “goodbye” to summer with a big smash.

Attending Life Time Fitness members will enjoy a barbecue at the bistro on the outdoor pool deck and fun carnival games for $1 per ticket. Members will not need to pre-register for the Big 16 event.

In the meantime, families can also register their kids for any fall activities at Life Time Fitness.

For more information about the event at your club, check out the Pool Carnival details here.

Are you a triathlete? Shave seconds off your water time with Masters Swim

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:03:20 GMT

If you’re thinking about competing in your first triathlon, you might want to take a good look at the three activities involved in such a race.

Chances are you probably feel confident about the running and you’re not too concerned about the cycling. But the open-water swimming might make you cringe a little.

If this sounds like you, maybe you should think about joining the Masters Swim program at Life Time Fitness. Besides, many other triathletes have.

Barb Folsom, a Masters Swim instructor for Life Time Fitness in Chanhassen, MN, said plenty of triathletes have joined the Masters Swim program to develop the swimming portion of their event.

Of her 50 students, Forlsom said at least 45 are triathletes trying to improve their times in the water. Interesting enough, most of them are runners, she said.

“The running was easy. The biking was easy. They thought ‘Oh, no problem with the swim,” Folsom said, describing the mindset of some aspiring triathletes. “They got in with the swim and went ‘I’ve got a problem.’”

Folsom said they joined the masters program and “now they are getting a little bit better.”
While swimming makes up only one-third of a triathlon, Folsom said, most triathletes struggle the most with that portion because swimming requires the body to function differently.

“Swimming is hypoxic,” Folsom said. “That’s what singles-out swimming as being more difficult, in some cases, than the running and the biking in that they’re having to work without air.”

Because swimming requires so much work without oxygen, Folsom said the Masters Swim program has its students undergo a lot of training without air, such as performing drills where they swim underwater for 25 meters at a time.

She said they also have students complete some lake swims so they adapt to the uncontrolled swimming environment.

“It’s just the overall training of swimming that gets them ready for the triathlon,” Folsom said.

For many, Folsom said, a student’s development can be as easy as changing their breathing patterns while swimming so they take a breath every three strokes during the front crawl instead of a breath during each stroke.

“We work a lot on their strokes to make them more efficient,” Folsom said. “A lot on their kicking to make them more efficient.
“It’s just kind of a whole aquatics package they’re getting to just make them a good swimmer.”

However, Masters Swim isn’t just about teaching proper breathing techniques or a more efficient stroke. For triathletes, it also means better results in the water.

“The smallest gap we saw was 4 minutes and the largest was like 18 so its significant,” Folsom said, describing the “before and after” statistics of her students.

In some cases, Folsom said, the training also helped triathletes perform better in the running and cycling portions of the grueling race.

“One of the ladies was really excited because her mile times were changing,” Folsom said. “I want to say she dropped 45 seconds per mile.”

Folsom credited the improvement to the student’s greater capacity and ability to apply some of the Masters Swim teaching to running and swimming. Folsom said she teaches a lot about the physics of swimming and this student applied some lessons, such as using your hips more or using your legs more, to the other parts of the race.

Ultimately, Folsom said, joining Masters Swim is one of the best things a triathlete can do because it provides the right guidance for the swimming portion of their sport.

“We have more expertise about swimming other than just getting in and swimming laps,” Folsom said.

“Most of the people who do it on their own just get in and swim laps. They don’t swim intervals. They don’t get stroke correction … They don’t get what they need to get better.”

Once a triathlete gets the courage to join the program, Folsom said, it’s fun to see just how quickly they can progress.

“The funniest is having them come in and having us switch their technique and just this light goes off in their head and they’re so excited,” Folsom said. “Because it’s no longer the worst part of the triathlon. It’s OK now.”

But many triathletes don’t join Masters Swim, Folsom said, sometimes simply because of the name of the program.

“Masters means 19 and over. It doesn’t mean you have to be a master,” Folsom said. “I find that intimidates a lot of people.”

Masters Swim is open to all abilities and the instructors work with the swimmers at their individual skill levels. If they can swim 50 meters on their first day, Folsom said, “they’ll be able to swim a 2,000 five or six weeks later.”

Folsom even remembers plenty of cases where aspiring triathletes were afraid of the event’s swim or even afraid of the water, but Masters Swim helped them conquer the fear and compete in their triathlon.

“That’s the part that just blows my mind,” Folsom said, remembering some students who were 50 years old, but couldn’t swim. “That’s really cool.”