Having been away from the swimming pool for more than 20 years, I started to learn to swim last month.
My girlfriend was a competitive swimmer. She participated in many swimming competitions during her school years. After convincing me to go to the gym, my girlfriend then persuaded me to swim with her. Every summer, she took me to the sportswear shop, urging me to buy a swimming suit and swim with her. Whenever she urged me to do so, I refused and went away. Part of the reason was that I wasn’t interested in swimming. Part of the reason was that I wanted to observe her reaction to my refusal.
As time passes, I became more dedicated to sports. I now train regularly in the gym and archery field. However, I hit a training plateau. After reviewing my training plan and my physical status, I realised that I hadn’t put much, if any, effort into cardiovascular and endurance training. My heart and lungs weren’t being challenged enough. Another problem was that I lack mobility. Swimming could help me kill two birds with one stone.
Another reason was, of course, to please my girlfriend, who has longed to be my personal swimming coach for many years ago. Therefore, last month, I took my girlfriend to the department store and bought her a swimming suit.
A gift to my girlfriend
Since I haven’t been in the swimming pool for more than 20 years, I have lost all my muscle memory about swimming. When I was a kid, I could keep calm and breathe freely underwater. Now, I have to relearn everything. Currently, I’m learning front crawl. Thanks to my beloved swimming coach, a.k.a. my girlfriend, I can barely breathe when swimming the front crawl, something I couldn’t do when I was a kid.
My regular training schedule now consists of a 6-day plan, including 3 days of strength training and 1 day of archery training. On Sundays, I have swimming and archery lessons. Saturday is my freestyle day, as my training item depends on my other activities of the day.
This is a drastic transformation compared to myself before 2018, when I did zero exercise at all. My girlfriend is a big influencer, at least to me. Without her, I wouldn’t have a better lifestyle and health.