ONE
We can do impressive amounts of sit-ups in gym class. Girls, use this to your advantage. Always bet the non-swimmer boys you can beat them. You probably can.
TWO
Waking up for school? No big deal. It’s a cup of tea compared to our summer training schedule.
THREE
You know what they say about a swimmer’s body, “Hottie lamottie with a swimmer’s body.” Enough said.
Nathan Adrian, & Anthony Ervin, (Photo Credit: Tim Binning)
FOUR
Our addition and subtraction skills must be fantastic at this point, what with all the splits you calculate during practice! (Okay, maybe not mine…but they’re improving.)
PaceWatch (courtesy of Brilliant Swim)
FIVE
We burn 3,000+ calories a day. We’re basically machines, and we get to eat all of those calories afterwards.
SIX
Taper. Non-swimmers don’t have the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of taper, and who would want to miss out on that?
SEVEN
People are fascinated by our sport. “So, you swim, are you like Michael Phelps?”
Michael Phelps (courtesy of Paul Younan)
EIGHT
Knowing other swimmers. I have yet to meet a swimmer I don’t like. In my (totally unbiased) opinion, we’re all really awesome people.
NINE
Lifeguarding. Is it just me, or is there some unwritten rule that swimmers=lifeguards?
TEN
Sweatpants. Practice is the perfect excuse to wear sweatpants. Any time, any place. Just came from practice? Totally understandable.
ELEVEN
Peeing in the pool. Regular people use bathrooms. So basic.
TWELVE
Breath-holding contests. This is your time to shine. Those non-swimmers ain’t got nothin on you.
Roy Burch at Queen’s University. (photo: Mike Lewis, Ola Vista Photography)
THIRTEEN
Pride. Be proud-you’re one of the few. Not many people could handle a sport as rigorous as swimming.
wpDiscuz
#11. Could we get away from the notion that peeing in the pool is normal and acceptable? There have been enough articles on swimswam that have pointed out the hazards of doing this.
http://swimswam.com/air-quality-woes-swimmers-help-hurt/
http://swimswam.com/pool-indoor-air-quality-matters-health-performance-part-1/
http://swimswam.com/pool-indoor-air-quality-matters-heahlth-performance-part-3/
And yes, there have been some smirking articles about this as well:
http://swimswam.com/us-national-team-swimmers-asked-if-theyve-ever-peed-in-the-pool/
Besides being disgusting, peeing in the pool negatively affects performance. Please stop.
Clearly, my comment is not appreciated by my swimming peers. Or is that pee-ers?
Yeah, Phelps is a great guy out of the pool.
Why are only the girls using sit-ups to their advantage? Why can the girls possibly beat the “non-swimmer boys”? Let’s move away from gender stereotypes and empower young people to take pride in their fitness capacities challenging everyone including themselves. #thatswhypbsmatter