tomorrow, you swim with the fishes
August 7, 2015 11:39 AM   Subscribe

places to swim in the bay area? with some caveats.

i live in an apartment complex. we have a pool, but it doesn't open until 8am. they are pretty hardline about the 8am. due to my current commute and my job, i need to be in the shower by 8am to get to work on time, so this doesn't work for me.

i am looking for a place to swim that is not horribly far from redwood city, which is where i live, and is open early-ish (i would be getting there around 7am, hopefully.). the caveats? i am kind of a crappy swimmer. i can keep myself afloat, and do some semblance of a freestyle-like stroke, but it cannot be called actual lane swimming. i am also not a small person (hence the swimming - i like it and i have shitty knees, so it would be a kind of exercise that i don't hate), so sharing a lane with someone is kind of fraught for me - i'd do it, but it's not my favorite, especially with the above about not being a great swimmer. i would also not be opposed to a place that offers adult swimming lessons.

they have recently opened up a 24hour fitness near me that has a pool. does anyone who might be a member know if they do a swimming pool and locker room only pass? i literally have no desire to use any other part of the gym, and it might be too busy in the morning, and i would go in and ask myself, but i really hate the hard sell stuff that most gyms do when you try to ask a question.

any info would be great. thanks!
posted by koroshiya to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)
 
Best answer: I have a friend who recently took adult swim lessons at the YMCA in Redwood City. She loved it. The pool appears to open at 5:30 am too.
posted by purpleclover at 11:45 AM on August 7, 2015


Best answer: I can't help with the location, koroshiya, but I just took adult swim lessons and I'm so glad I did. I am like you -- can keep myself afloat, but not a great swimmer, way too self-conscious to share a lane since I am slow, awkward, prone to drifting -- and the lessons really helped a lot. I did city lessons here in Sacramento but I bet YMCA lessons would be similar.
posted by xeney at 2:40 PM on August 7, 2015


Response by poster: i looked at the ymca (which is not far from me), and the lessons look pretty good and reasonably priced, so i'm gonna go check it out tonight. thanks, purpleclover!

xeney, i took lessons as a kid, and i used to be a good swimmer, but i didn't swim for a long time, so i think i definitely need a brushup. i hope it goes as well as yours did!
posted by koroshiya at 2:47 PM on August 7, 2015


Best answer: Make a move for adult lap swimming 6-8 am.
posted by Oyéah at 4:56 PM on August 7, 2015


Best answer: I'm a Bay Area YMCA member (though not Redwood City) and can vouch for the Y's general accessibility and friendliness to people of all fitness levels. Every location I've been to meets you where you are at in terms of fitness and members are the full range of body types (in contrast to some other fancier gyms I've been to where people tend to be fit, toned, and seemingly camera-ready at all times). All of this is to say that if you're apprehensive about sharing the gym/pool/lane with other people, then I can't think of a better place than the Y.
posted by mouse noises at 8:03 PM on August 7, 2015


Response by poster: i'm gonna try the y in redwood city. looks like the adult lessons are right up my alley too. thanks, everyone!
posted by koroshiya at 12:00 PM on August 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


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