#swimmer

It truly depends on what you’re comfortable with, and which one would suit you best. What I mean by that is, depending on your lifestyle, pads specifically, can be quite inconvenient.

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An example would be, if you’re an athlete, a swimmer, a gymnast, etc… Tampons would be the most logical choice for you.

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It is important to note though, that pads are significantly easier to start out with than tampons, as you have to learn how to use tampons properly, first.

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Personally, I have tried both, and I almost always prefer pads. But I’m also not super physically active, and they are just more comfortable for me.

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I wear the Always Maxi pads! There are a few different types, like ultra thin, super absorbency, with/without wings, etc… And I can’t really recommend a certain type just because that is something you have to test out and see what works best for you!

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I really hope that helps a little, and that you are successful in finding the right thing for you! 😄

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But to answer your question I would say being able to tread water/not drown for at least 15 minutes in any depth of water. Hold your breathe underwater for at least 30 seconds. If are afraid of the deep end at the pool then I wouldn't get on a board.
Swimming is the best preparation for surfing you can do that doesn't involve a board. You don't have to be a competitive swimmer (though at least one Olympic swimmer was also the top surfer in the world) but you have to be able to swim comfortably in surf as big as any you hope to paddle into, under conditions of fatigue and stress (eg just wiped out and held down by a set wave).
You need to be prepared for the surf you're in. If you're not a good swimmer, the worst thing you can do is go out in rough waters. If you can swim decently without exerting too much energy, then use your best judgment on what you think you can handle. If you have to question yourself, it may be too rough.
I am 36M and reasonably lean, and work a busy desk job. I grew up in India and so never had the ability to learn to swim. Pools are rare and my parents were already paying for private education that was very expensive for them. I have lived in Australia for over 17 years, a nation with a great swimming culture and teachers. So I finally took the plunge in Sep 2019 and joined a Masters Club. The first few sessions felt like I could not keep my body above water. But as I learned to relax, I gained more confidence. Also watching tonnes of free content on YouTube was helpful. The pool that I train in is 50m and mostly quite shallow, so I could do drills safely and practice myself several times a week without paying for extra lessons. You can also ask lifeguards to watch your technique and give you tips. And I train with the Masters club 1-2 times per week. Great bunch of people! Now after about 20 months (including the Covid closure for several months through 2020), I can do up to 2.4K per session and keep up with the others. My fastest is 50m in 40sec freestyle. So I believe with consistent practice and some coaching you will be able to achieve Masters level ability in say 12-18 months. Hope this helps! Good luck :-)
I started swimming at 41, I am 55 now. It took about 2 years of swimming almost daily to become OK. It took 3 years to become average masters swimmer, but it took about 7 years to be in the top 30% of competition in my favorite events. I am still improving my stroke and efficiency and have not slowed down from when I was in my late 40's.
Still working on being able to do a crawl without feeling like I'm dying halfway across though... Pool getting closed for 4 months due to Covid restrictions just as I was getting good put a big brake on my progress.

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Thank you for your concern and positive vibe!
You can call me Alex. My wife recently suffered a heart attack but is recovering since several stents were inserted into the LAD artery the feeds her heart. What has helped us is the fact that Anne has many supportive friends, a deep and uncompromised faith in God, and she has been a devoted athlete (swimmer) her entire life. In fact, one month prior to her heart attack Anne won four gold medals in the Masters games and qualified for the nationals. I suppose that was why we were shocked. But as you well know, life happens with it's ups, downs, twists & turns. That is where strong faith and a positive attitude are critical to handling adversity and living a healthy and productive life.

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I am glad that you contacted me. What is your name and what country are you from? I live in the United States. If you have any questions or just want to talk let me know. /Alex

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When I'm standing on something tall and I look upward, I have this rather disconcerting sense that everything is going to fall out of my pockets. I can look down just fine – which I'm led to believe is the thing that usually bothers folks – but when I crane my neck skyward, I get haunted by images of my smartphone just, like, leaping out of my pants and plummeting to its death.
I have a terribly debilitating fear of stickers. I don't know why, but I just hate the idea that something could be stuck on me without my knowledge. And yes this fear extends to glitter too. My family thinks it's hilarious and puts the little stickers that go on apples on all of my favorite foods. So now I can't have any peanut butter because it's covered in apple stickers....
I won't dive when I'm swimming. My dad used to dive in high school/college, and he told me about a friend of his who broke his neck and was paralyzed after entering the water the wrong way. I don't mind jumping feet first into the water from great heights, and I'm a good swimmer, but I absolutely refuse to dive from even a dock.
My school has these really heavy metal doors with a huge gap between them and the hinge and frame when they’re open. So, naturally, I fear accidentally putting my fingers in and snapping them off when the door closes. Also, xenomorphs. Especially having one in my chest. Actually, having anything alive inside me at any point whatsoever, but SPECIFICALLY I fear facehuggers, chestbursters, and xenomorphs. I’ve never even SEEN Alien, so I’m not quite sure where this fear came from since I’ve had it since I was seven but didn’t learn anything about the movie or plot until I was 13.
When I was in training in the military my tech school instructor somehow found out about my irrational fear and got a pregnant coworker down the hall to hassle me about it. I fucking passed out in the middle of class because this lady wouldn’t get her baby bump away from me and wouldn’t stop talking about pregnancy and child birth. 5 years later I’m stationed in Germany and I get a new boss. Never really talked to the lady for a couple of months but she seemed alright. Someone from work knew about my pregnancy story from tech school and brought it up during a TDY (like a mini deployment to a base for a couple weeks.) and the new boss was that lady! She came back from TDY and asks me into her office. Her kid was there and she said “did you know this kid almost made you pass out before she was even born?” And it finally hit me who she was.
Driving. Millions of people do it, but here I am at nearly 21 years-old with no driver's licence because it scares the shit out of me. I'm usually fine when someone else is driving, but when I get behind the wheel, I'm immediately struck with the thought that I'm gonna end up killing either myself or other people, and I can't handle it. I think it's an amount of control that I don't want to be responsible for.

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It really depends on how crazy I can go 😂 I have some ideas that are pretty bonkers Haha But if I had an endless budget there'd be three things I would definitely get:

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🔵 A dedicated room for movie-watching, gaming and VR. Definitely the most realistic thing on this wishlist Haha It'd be so cool to have like a huge projector and really comfy seats. In one corner there'd be a sick gaming PC but also enough room so I could play VR in there. I'd want some sick blue LED lighting in there too 🎮

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🔵 A big saltwater aquarium! I think aquariums are super cool and I find it quite soothing to look at fish. I'd want some quite unique and colorful fish in there, maybe even some small sharks if I wanted to go nuts lol 🐠🦈

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🔵 And finally: A huge indoor pool fit to swim laps in. This would be the DREAM for a swimmer like me. I'd never even need an at home gym with something like this Haha No need to share a lane with someone far slower than you cus guess what? You OWN it 😂 I'd probably want an outdoor pool too but it could be circular and more fit for pool parties. As long as I get to have one pool that's rectangular and I can use all year long 🏊‍♂️

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I'm 6' and I weigh about 175 lbs, although I don't know for sure, I rarely look at a scale and instead judge by how my clothes fit and how I feel. People are always shocked that I weigh this much as well as the fact that I'm a size 10/12 (long length obviously, I'm all legs) because I look thin. But when you are tall you end up weighing more because that's a lot more body that exists. I'm happy with my weight. I have a flat stomach and I'm pretty active (walk a lot, also do Zumba and kickboxing several times a week). I'm kind of pear shaped and most of my weight is in my hips and thighs with a comparatively smaller waist and upper body. Even in high school when I was a competitive swimmer spending 2 hours a day in the pool doing intense training I was like 160.
I struggled with anorexia as a preteen/teenager and I had a hugely distorted view of what everyone around me looked like. I'd see a really pretty girl and be like "Damn I wish I was as skinny as she is" and then find out she weighed like 30lbs more than me. It was disconcerting! I was 5'4" and my weight fluctuated between 90lbs and 100lbs at that time. Now I usually stay around 125-ish. Gained some weight a while ago and went up to 140, now I'm back down to 130 and plan to either stay here or get back down to 125. But the really awesome thing about that whole experience was that I could still feel hot at 140lbs. I felt better about myself at that weight than I did fifty pounds ago. Which is fucking insane to think about to me. I feel hotter at 125-130 because that's just where I feel my body looks it's best, but it was a huge revelation to me to realize that even though I weighed 50lbs more than I did when I was starving myself because my body was so disgustingly fat to me I could still feel perfectly confident and not spiral into a deep, suicidal depression over it. Weight is a very tricky thing. Much more than just body fat and height play a role in how much you should weigh. For example, I have friends that naturally are big boned or have alot of muscle mass, so that should always be taken into account. Think of it like this- if youre 5'8, theres five feet, eight inches of a body you need to support- and theres no way to do that by obsessing over a number on a scale. it is still important, but giving your body what it needs to properly function for a very long time is just as important.
I am six feet tall. I currently weigh 188. I need to lose about 20 more pounds to be a "healthy" BMI. Even though BMI isn't the most accurate way to predict over-all health, it was helpful for me when picking a goal weight of 170 lbs on my weight loss journey. At my highest, I was 240lbs. Being tall was great in that even at 70lbs overweight, I didn't look "that" fat. It was also to my detriment, though, because I had very little motivation to actually lose weight since my appearance wasn't as drastic as shorter women.

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