I meet a lot of different people who work out. Because of my chosen specialty, I also can't help overhearing conversations others are having about fitness, working out, getting swole, swimming, mma, or CrossFit. My ears perk up and there's nothing I can do about it. But we'll keep this swim-centric. A lot of people say they are swimmers, or were swimmers, or that they swim a lot in the pool, or that they work out in the pool. Combine all that together and I end up picturing a shark in the water.

I was at the pool today and I witnessed in live action one such person. He goes to the pool a lot. He says he used to compete in high school. He talks about how he does a 30 minute workout every day. I'm thinking "sweet..."

The dude had good form, I'll give him that. But that's about it. His 30 minutes a day consisted of about 6 or 7 laps at the pace he was going. That is just dandy.

No, actually it's not. And now that I think about it, most "swimmers" I know that I've had the privilege to witness first-hand in action perform at similar intensity. That is not a "workout" people. You need to put this into perspective here. If you told me you ran 30 minutes a day, and that you competed in high school, I'd picture a cross-country runner or maybe a track athlete. But if you were to travel on two feet at a proportionate pace to how fast these people are swimming, you would be WALKING. Do you call that a workout? Is walking 30 minutes a day going to get you anywhere? Not if you're a healthy adult, I don't care what experts tout. That intensity is NOT a workout, and it is not sufficient for anything really. Except for practicing form.

We've already discovered that HIIT packs more punch than long and slow cardio, so why aren't we applying this in the pool? Mix it up! Change up the distance, duration, rest periods, and intensity of your pool workouts. Then you'll not only make improvements, but you'll be less likely to look like a tool.