How MySwimPro Helped Me Lose 75lbs

I’ve been training with the MySwimPro app for 2 years and I am absolutely loving it. I just passed 152 miles of swimming logged in my account!

I wanted to take some time to give you my honest review of how this swimming app helped me lose 75 pounds and change my life forever.

I grew up as a California girl that loved everything about the water. My mom had me signed up for swim team when I was just 9 years old, and I vividly remember coming home exhausted every night, from spending the day at the pool.

I went on to swim competitively in college, which were the best 4 years of swimming in my life. Once college ended, so did my swimming. As time went on, I got married, had three children and put on a lot of weight. I tried getting back in the pool with Masters swimming two times and both times I was so severely out of shape, I never went back.

I decided I would not get back in the water until I weighed 175 pounds or less.

I began a fitness/wellness journey in January of 2016. By February, my trainer was aware that swimming was a great love of mine. I told him, I was too embarrassed to get in the water at my weight of 276 pounds. What he told me is what I want to make sure you all hear loud and clear:

“If you love swimming, you should be swimming!”

Plain and simple. I asked him if he would be willing to turn two of our training sessions into pool sessions just so that I could get the confidence to walk from the locker room to the pool in my swimsuit. So he did.

Those first times back in the pool were rough. I swam so slow, I was exhausted, and I could barely pull myself out of the pool afterward.

My trainer coached me those first couple of months, but we soon needed more in the way of technique and drills.  So, I began to search the App Store for a “virtual swim coach.”  That is when I found the fantastic MySwimPro app.

I downloaded the free app on my iPhone and started exploring the library of workouts and technique videos. The swim coaching app has lots of workouts, technique videos, training plans and a log that tracks all your swims. You can use it in any pool or even in open water.

The next day, I went down to the pool at my local gym, picked a really simple workout from the MySwimPro app, and began my first real swim workout in over 30 years.

I started by putting my phone in a ziplock bag and reading the workout from the side of the pool on my phone. I progressed to an Apple Watch where I just jump in, click “Start Workout” and go – it’s incredible.

If you have a smartwatch, the app will guide you through the workout, just as if there was a coach on your wrist. It’ll record all your stats like your time and distance swum, your heart rate, strokes per lap, and SWOLF score. If you don’t have a smartwatch, you can find or a create a workout on your phone, and log it manually after you swim.

Within a week, I started my free trial of the Yearly Premium Membership, and was hooked.

When I first got back in the pool, I could only swim 100 yards (4 laps) without stopping, and that was with NO flip turns. After a couple weeks of swimming 1-2 days a week and building up my strength, I started doing the Workout Of The Day every time I swam. I get them every morning in the app on my phone and Apple Watch! They’re totally customizable, include lots of variety, and range from 20-40 minutes long. They really helped me get stronger.

I eventually worked my way up to swimming 3 times a week, and would try a new workout from the MySwimPro library everyday. Fast forward to 2 years later, and I’m already on my 2nd 8-Week Personal Training Plan in the app, which has helped so much in keeping me accountable. You can read more about what the workouts are like in this blog post.

The Training Plans really help me stay on track so I know exactly what to do when I go to the pool. Every week gets easier, and everything I do in the water gets easier.

Even though I swam competitively for years, I did not remember ANY drills and yet here on the MySwimPro app were drill videos that helped my technique a ton. I found that my love for swimming had never gone away and I just could not wipe the smile off of my face while in the pool.

I was so intimidated in the past with trying to get back in the pool and swim Masters; so this was the greatest way possible for me to improve my swimming at my pace and build up to joining a Masters workout if that’s what I chose to do.

I can now flip every turn, my cardio strength is built up, my speed increases and, well, that smile? It’s always there when I swim.

I’ve also loved connecting with other swimmers in the MySwimPro community. We have a Facebook Group that holds us all accountable, and they’re always sharing helpful articles and videos that help improve your technique and motivate you. I was even featured on their blog, read my MySwimPro story here!

I’m proud to announce that I am now an official MySwimPro Ambassador. This means that I get to help other swimmers around the world with reaching their fitness goals! If you have any questions about how to incorporate swimming into your weight loss program, message me!

If you love swimming, no matter what level of swimmer you are, no matter what level of fitness you are, no matter how heavy you are, get in and swim. Do what you love! Had I waited until I was 175 pounds, I still would be waiting. Do not let your weight hold you back from doing something you love.

And please check out the MySwimPro app. In years past I looked in my Swim Book from 1980, wrote a workout on an index card, put the index card on the pool deck and swam. That card lasted maybe two workouts. Now I pull up the workout on my watch and 3-2-1… I go!

When you check out the app and you decide you want to purchase it, use the code SWIMWITHPATTY for 20% off. And please let me know how you love it.

(Just visit www.myswimpro.com/premium and select a yearly/monthly plan. Enter code: SWIMWITHPATTY. Coupons do not work on the App Store or Google Play Store.)