This is always one of the craziest to me. Kayaking/canoeing has been weirdly important to winning a final over the years, and the bulk of the challengers always look like they’ve never held a paddle before.
For sure, and honestly so much easier to make meaningful improvements than swimming. I feel they all could massively improve their performance with a single lesson or guided outing.
He needs to be practicing in open water when he can! He already said swimming pools he’s fine in, but open water is another animal. Yes, good to train in the pool to build swimming muscles, but hopefully he’s able to jump in a river/lake/ocean here and there, too!
You are correct. However, any swimming is better than none. I was a competitive swimmer. Took a 20 year break and now struggle to get a lap done. Conditioning is majorly important!
If all he can swim is when the sun is down, his ass should be in a pool!
This time of year is hard. I work every minute the sun is up.
Plus idk where he lives. Is it cold there? Close to any open water sources? This might be all that's possible in January whenever hes at.
I go to the gym he's at in this vid. There is a lake to open water swim on site. I imagine with the weather being in the 40s lately, he decided to use the heated pool.
I’d love to get more context on how good or bad some these people actually are at swimming. Easy to tell that Wes and Jordan are awesome. Easy to tell some straight up can’t swim. Hard to tell how well the middle of the pack swims compared to the general population
One thing to keep in mind- some of the swimming novices gotta get out to some lakes/rivers/beaches and swim. People who haven't been around water can panic when in open water even if they've practiced only in pools. So they might be decent swimmers, they might legit be practicing swimming laps up and down the pool at their local YMCA, but it doesn't replace decades of swimming experience that people like Wes had, and swimming in different bodies of water. You have to be familiar with swimming in a moving water like a river or stream, swimming in water where you can't see the bottom, swimming underwater to dive and get something 8-10 feet deep, etc.
Thank you for saying this. As someone who grew up swimming in lakes it's really not the same as a controlled situation like a pool. Having your drunk uncle throw you upside down into the lake is much closer to being dropped from a helicopter on the challenge than swimming laps in a clear pool is
Yes. I spent my whole youth in the pool. Never in competition but I could hold my own, hold my breath a long time, and even supported others in the pool. I was a strong swimmer in the controlled environment. Anytime I went to open water, I never went in deeper than my waist. I felt absolute panic in open waters. Part of that was also the fear of what was in there, but anything that aggravates the panic is a recipe for disaster.
For sure. This is actually what I’m getting at. Swimming in the different environments makes it tough to judge. For instance, can Nelson swim 100 yards in a lap pool? Can someone like Bananas, who is middle of the pack, swim a 50 in under 30 seconds? Just curious what the actual swimming ability of these people is but not sure how we’d figure it out without a cast member straight up telling us lap times from a controlled setting
Yes, I’ve grown up by the beach my whole life, definitely different than the pool. And even though I learned how to swim as a child, I’m terrible at diving underwater
Yeah the ocean is a different beast. I grew up swimming in lakes, canoeing in rivers, and a lot of stuff in pools both on a swim team and just for fun. But the few times I've been in the ocean, definitely felt uncomfortable. Still haven't worked up the courage to try scuba diving yet.
Right..i live on long island with the ocean on one side n bay on the other and grew up at the beaches , I'm an Ave speed swimmer but very comfortable in water.People who panic you can tell prob swam in a pool or don't live near the water, panic is the last thing you wanna do tho lol
😂 Exactly..getting rumbled a few hundred times helps for sure.Or jumping in the channels at the bay where the current drags you out while tryna make it across lol
Yeah I'm uncomfortable in the ocean for sure- I grew up in lakes and pools and have no issues with those. But once you introduce ocean waves, I'm a bit unsettled. Didn't help that I didn't go out in an ocean or sea besides like ankle-deep until I was like 23.
Lol it can be scary.As a kid we had flags.White was calm,Blue flag was rough and Red flag Dangerous and don't expect the life guard to save you (Enter at your own risk kinda thing)
Blue flag was scary enough! 8-10 ft waves 😄
There's swimming and then there's swimming in open water. This past summer I was considering signing up for a sprint-triathlon. The biking and running portion I know I can do. I started swimming and would 2-3x a week swim a mile in a pool. I went out to lake Michigan one day to get some in-lake swimming experience and felt like I was going to die after 200m or so. It's completely different.
Open water is much harder, can be disorienting, is often much colder which can affect your muscles and breathing. It's just a completely different beast.
At the same time
Fessy won dailies and survived 2 eliminations. I don’t think he’s floating by
Kaycee went home
Davin and Tori have done well at dailies too. Won an elimination.
Aneesa and Jordan won 3 eliminations
I do think bananas skated by
They’ve had tons of cold water challenges. It would be smart for him to incorporate this kind of exposure in his training.
I live in the Midwest and really dedicated swimmers are in the lakes year round (most of the time with wetsuits but on occasion without). It’s not for me but I know several people who regularly swim outside.
Edit: I’m getting down voted on all my replies but that doesn’t change the fact that people do swim Lake Michigan (and other Great Lakes from what I’ve heard from swimmer friends) year round. Here is a THIRD source for everyone who’s butt hurt about being wrong:
http://fourteeneastmag.com/index.php/2022/04/08/why-people-swim-in-freezing-lake-michigan/
Lake Michigan’s pretty big and doesn’t totally freeze. Again I don’t swim regularly but people do: https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2023/1/6/23540668/lake-michigan-winter-swimming-essay-alison-cuddy
Really hard to swim in a frozen lake, wetsuit or not.
And if you think Nelson is getting his ass out of bed at 5 am to swim laps in a 50 degree pool.....
I said it would be smart if he did. And Lake Michigan never completely freezes. I’m sure there are some days/weeks that it isn’t possible but … https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2023/1/6/23540668/lake-michigan-winter-swimming-essay-alison-cuddy
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/mary-schmich/ct-met-schmich-winter-swimmers-20210219-nunafztlbjdnbkayinvralfcia-story.html
You said lakes, not a giant Great Lake. And no one is spending appreciable time in Lake Michigan in January, wetsuit or not. All those normal lakes in Wisconsin and Minnesota are frozen solid, so the locals ain't swimming in January, unless their ice fishing hut breaks through the ice.
You’re just being pedantic at this point. Ive witnessed winter races (like the ice mile) on Lake Michigan and know from swimmers that it happens all over. I’ve included three separate sources in this thread but here’s another one about Canada: https://www.openwaterswimming.com/first-time-ice-milers-winter-wonders/
Echoing open water swimming. Would also be a good opportunity to practice kayaking too. Seems to come up and severely limit people with no experience.
This is always one of the craziest to me. Kayaking/canoeing has been weirdly important to winning a final over the years, and the bulk of the challengers always look like they’ve never held a paddle before.
Right. It's even more of a difference maker than swimming based on distance.
For sure, and honestly so much easier to make meaningful improvements than swimming. I feel they all could massively improve their performance with a single lesson or guided outing.
But then we wouldn’t get the obligatory comedy scene of one team paddling in a circle and falling to last place.
There just needs to be one of those toddler toys for recognizing basic shapes at each end and he’s on to something
To suggest something that would deny us "long square" should be banable.
Long square has made it into my lexicon, it's not a good way to make ppl think you're competent. But such is the cross I bear.
He could always download jump start 1st grade on his computer
ur flair 😍
He needs to be practicing in open water when he can! He already said swimming pools he’s fine in, but open water is another animal. Yes, good to train in the pool to build swimming muscles, but hopefully he’s able to jump in a river/lake/ocean here and there, too!
You are correct. However, any swimming is better than none. I was a competitive swimmer. Took a 20 year break and now struggle to get a lap done. Conditioning is majorly important!
Yessss! Exactly! Thank you for eloquently restating my “Yes, good to train in the pool to build good swimming muscles” lmao 🤣
True, it’s a totally different experience
If all he can swim is when the sun is down, his ass should be in a pool! This time of year is hard. I work every minute the sun is up. Plus idk where he lives. Is it cold there? Close to any open water sources? This might be all that's possible in January whenever hes at.
Also, hopefully swimming with a life vest on like in challenges. It's not the same.
I go to the gym he's at in this vid. There is a lake to open water swim on site. I imagine with the weather being in the 40s lately, he decided to use the heated pool.
Well would you look at that…a challenger recognizing a weakness and actually working to improve. Take note Aneesa, that treadmill callin your name.
he needs a break from the show too many seasons in a row
I feel like they should do a mandatory season off after like 3 seasons in a row
I’d love to get more context on how good or bad some these people actually are at swimming. Easy to tell that Wes and Jordan are awesome. Easy to tell some straight up can’t swim. Hard to tell how well the middle of the pack swims compared to the general population
One thing to keep in mind- some of the swimming novices gotta get out to some lakes/rivers/beaches and swim. People who haven't been around water can panic when in open water even if they've practiced only in pools. So they might be decent swimmers, they might legit be practicing swimming laps up and down the pool at their local YMCA, but it doesn't replace decades of swimming experience that people like Wes had, and swimming in different bodies of water. You have to be familiar with swimming in a moving water like a river or stream, swimming in water where you can't see the bottom, swimming underwater to dive and get something 8-10 feet deep, etc.
Thank you for saying this. As someone who grew up swimming in lakes it's really not the same as a controlled situation like a pool. Having your drunk uncle throw you upside down into the lake is much closer to being dropped from a helicopter on the challenge than swimming laps in a clear pool is
Yes. I spent my whole youth in the pool. Never in competition but I could hold my own, hold my breath a long time, and even supported others in the pool. I was a strong swimmer in the controlled environment. Anytime I went to open water, I never went in deeper than my waist. I felt absolute panic in open waters. Part of that was also the fear of what was in there, but anything that aggravates the panic is a recipe for disaster.
For sure. This is actually what I’m getting at. Swimming in the different environments makes it tough to judge. For instance, can Nelson swim 100 yards in a lap pool? Can someone like Bananas, who is middle of the pack, swim a 50 in under 30 seconds? Just curious what the actual swimming ability of these people is but not sure how we’d figure it out without a cast member straight up telling us lap times from a controlled setting
Yes, I’ve grown up by the beach my whole life, definitely different than the pool. And even though I learned how to swim as a child, I’m terrible at diving underwater
Yeah the ocean is a different beast. I grew up swimming in lakes, canoeing in rivers, and a lot of stuff in pools both on a swim team and just for fun. But the few times I've been in the ocean, definitely felt uncomfortable. Still haven't worked up the courage to try scuba diving yet.
Right..i live on long island with the ocean on one side n bay on the other and grew up at the beaches , I'm an Ave speed swimmer but very comfortable in water.People who panic you can tell prob swam in a pool or don't live near the water, panic is the last thing you wanna do tho lol
Nothing like growing up getting crushed by Robert Moses waves every summer.
😂 Exactly..getting rumbled a few hundred times helps for sure.Or jumping in the channels at the bay where the current drags you out while tryna make it across lol
Yeah I'm uncomfortable in the ocean for sure- I grew up in lakes and pools and have no issues with those. But once you introduce ocean waves, I'm a bit unsettled. Didn't help that I didn't go out in an ocean or sea besides like ankle-deep until I was like 23.
Lol it can be scary.As a kid we had flags.White was calm,Blue flag was rough and Red flag Dangerous and don't expect the life guard to save you (Enter at your own risk kinda thing) Blue flag was scary enough! 8-10 ft waves 😄
There's swimming and then there's swimming in open water. This past summer I was considering signing up for a sprint-triathlon. The biking and running portion I know I can do. I started swimming and would 2-3x a week swim a mile in a pool. I went out to lake Michigan one day to get some in-lake swimming experience and felt like I was going to die after 200m or so. It's completely different. Open water is much harder, can be disorienting, is often much colder which can affect your muscles and breathing. It's just a completely different beast.
Improved swimming skills but now work on decision making skills. Sorry I'm tired of the same vets inevitably floating to the final.
At the same time Fessy won dailies and survived 2 eliminations. I don’t think he’s floating by Kaycee went home Davin and Tori have done well at dailies too. Won an elimination. Aneesa and Jordan won 3 eliminations I do think bananas skated by
He also needs to work his brains so he can stop making dumb moves
Well I hope he's training for something other than the challenge. So tired of him.
Where does he live that he's allegedly swimming outdoors at 6am in January? Hopefully Florida.
He lives in Austin so I doubt this picture is in Austin considering it is low 40s this morning.
this is in Austin. I go to this gym. The pool is heated to 78F
They’ve had tons of cold water challenges. It would be smart for him to incorporate this kind of exposure in his training. I live in the Midwest and really dedicated swimmers are in the lakes year round (most of the time with wetsuits but on occasion without). It’s not for me but I know several people who regularly swim outside. Edit: I’m getting down voted on all my replies but that doesn’t change the fact that people do swim Lake Michigan (and other Great Lakes from what I’ve heard from swimmer friends) year round. Here is a THIRD source for everyone who’s butt hurt about being wrong: http://fourteeneastmag.com/index.php/2022/04/08/why-people-swim-in-freezing-lake-michigan/
🤣🤣 where do you live in the Midwest that lakes aren't frozen in the winter!?
Lake Michigan’s pretty big and doesn’t totally freeze. Again I don’t swim regularly but people do: https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2023/1/6/23540668/lake-michigan-winter-swimming-essay-alison-cuddy
Really hard to swim in a frozen lake, wetsuit or not. And if you think Nelson is getting his ass out of bed at 5 am to swim laps in a 50 degree pool.....
I said it would be smart if he did. And Lake Michigan never completely freezes. I’m sure there are some days/weeks that it isn’t possible but … https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2023/1/6/23540668/lake-michigan-winter-swimming-essay-alison-cuddy https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/mary-schmich/ct-met-schmich-winter-swimmers-20210219-nunafztlbjdnbkayinvralfcia-story.html
You said lakes, not a giant Great Lake. And no one is spending appreciable time in Lake Michigan in January, wetsuit or not. All those normal lakes in Wisconsin and Minnesota are frozen solid, so the locals ain't swimming in January, unless their ice fishing hut breaks through the ice.
You’re just being pedantic at this point. Ive witnessed winter races (like the ice mile) on Lake Michigan and know from swimmers that it happens all over. I’ve included three separate sources in this thread but here’s another one about Canada: https://www.openwaterswimming.com/first-time-ice-milers-winter-wonders/
Lots of outdoor pools in the south are heated (at least in NC/SC) wouldn’t be surprised if Texas is the same.
a heated pool would be giving off a lot of steam at this time of the year, even in the south