Last weekend I went to visit my nephews who are now 6 and 8 years old. I don’t have any kids, so every time I visit them it’s a whole new adventure in seeing how boys grow up.  They were so cute and little and precious as infants and toddlers, and to see them now with their own ideas and thoughts is mindblowing to me.

 In the past when we’ve gone swimming, one or both of them were usually hanging on to me for dear life. I loved every minute of it, but I could never get even a single lap of "swimming" in when we were in the pool together. 

Fast foward a few years and now both boys can swim & tread water.  The older one is actually a good swimmer and can swim an entire length of the pool, breathing every 5 or six strokes.  (his breathing needs a little work though). When I asked him to swim breaststroke, he said to me, "On top of the water, or under the water? Under the water is easier."  It amazes me that even 8 year olds have an appreciation of how much drag surface waves can create and how much easier streamlining can be when you are totally submerged under the water. 

After seeing both of them swim & tread water, and of course with the watchful eye of their grandmother & mother on the pool deck, I saw an opportunity to get in some laps.  The older nephew enjoyed watching me swim and even commented on it…"Aunt Soupie, How come you don’t make any splashes when you swim?"  I had to tread carefully with education about swimming vs. just entertaining him.  Any hint of ‘teaching’ and he turned and swam away from me underwater as fast as he could go. 

We had so much fun in the pool together I was trying to think of ways to involve them in my workout.  I tried having one, then both boys on my back while I swam underwater.  Fun & hard, but not really swimming.

I had a video camera that both boys were fascinated with, and both wanted to take their own videos.  BINGO! Built in videographer!  I had Max film me swimming a few laps.  Sure, he could use some work on his video skills, but it’s a start.  I also filmed him swimming a 25 freestyle and showed him how good his swimming was. 

But the best part of the "workout" was designing a new kind of pull set.  Again, trying to think of how to incorporate swimming together into freestyle, I handed Sam (the younger one) the camera, pressed the "ON" button, then asked Max to grab my ankles as I swam by and kick with all his might.  The two of us created a human swimming train, me trying to catch and pull without slipping water while dragging along my nephew behind me.  He claims that he was kicking but mostly I was pulling him along.  Even though I wasn’t kicking, I could still freely move my legs and try to keep them streamlined behind me…far less restricting than using a pull-buoy, and a whole lot more workout to boot. 

This got me thinking more about pullsets and how crippling it is to strap on large surface area paddles to work on your stroke.  Increasing the surface area requires more force to move the paddle through the water, but it does nothing to enhance your feel for the water or to teach you how to carefully place and catch the water with your palm & forearm. 

Dragging your nephew through the pool, however builds strength while enhancing your feel for the water…struggle too much and the water slips away. Slow down the stroke and catch to just the right gear, and it’s tons of fun for both of us.   

 Don’t ask about how the flip turns went….