This week I took the opportunity to try something new, and to my surprise, it was something I thoroughly enjoyed. I took a trip to the Athletic Centre and tested out the lane swimming that is offered free of charge.
Similarly to signing up for workout classes, you head over to the Sport & Rec website. Here you will see a box under quick links titled “Go Swimming”. Clicking this will take you to a page with all the lane swimming offerings. There are two different options to pick from, the 25 yard pool or the 50 yard pool. Each booking is 45 minutes long. There is a timer that will go off in the pool once your 45 minutes is up, so you don’t have to worry about brining your phone into the pool area with you. Both have plenty of time slot offerings for you to pick from. Once you’ve decided on a day and time you’d like to go swimming, just click the register button and you’re all set.
When you arrive you must follow the typical University of Toronto screening requirements before you are able to head to the change room. Make sure you’re not too early as they will only let you past this checkpoint 15 minutes prior to your booking. Once you get to the change room you will be able to put your belongings in a locker. I recommend bringing a lock as majority of these lockers are for day use only, meaning anyone can have access. After changing into my swimsuit I grabbed my towel and headed out to the pool. That is another thing I recommend, due to COVID I did not see any complimentary towel offerings within the locker room, so be sure to bring one with you.
I registered for the 25 yard lane swim and I was happy I did so! Since I am not an avid swimmer this was the perfect length for me. The pool temperature was nice and warm. I was skeptical getting in as I booked for early in the morning and I had a bit of a chill, but I was very happy once I dipped my toe in to find that the water was rather warm. The way the bookings are spaced out is quite smart. I did not think the pool was packed, which made the swim that much more enjoyable as I wasn’t worried about splashing anyone on accident.
Once I was in the water I picked a random lane and began swimming back and forth. I didn’t find it overly tiring, yet at the end I felt as though I had just endured a great workout without the hustle and bustle of working up a sweat. Not to mention the fact that my body felt great the next day. I was not sore whatsoever, as I was expecting to be. Going forward, lane swimming will be a great alternative to add into my workout repertoire, it might even become a new hobby of mine!