From Tri Training to Low Back Pain, Cam Keeps Swimming

"My racing days may be done because of my lower back," says Cameron L., a seven-time IRONMAN World Championship triathlete. Fortunately, he can still swim! With an Endless Pools® Original model in his back yard, he strengthens his back every day. And with the Endless Pools Fit@Home® app, he still feeds his competitive instincts.

Love at First Swim

Cam first swam with the Endless Pools current during a trip to Kona to race at IRONMAN. "I thought it was super-cool. It was all self-contained. You could dial it into the speed you wanted.

"If you're a pool swimmer, the current helps augment your swimming. If you're an open water swimmer, it can substitute it completely, sure. I don’t touch open water anymore. I got the pool right there."

Does he still feel prepared for an open water race, having trained only in his Endless Pools model? "Absolutely," Cam says without hesitation.

Swimming for Back Pain

"Swimming is kind of my therapy. I've got some lower back issues, and I can't compete yet. My personal rehab is swimming in the pool. It's wonderful."

Cam finds that his daily swims "absolutely" help his lower back pain. Swimming, he says, "strengthens everything, using all your back muscles. Also, it's non-weight bearing. Every time I swim, it helps."

On the other hand, "Running is continuing the problem in my back." Instead of literally pounding the pavement, these days he'll just "pre-program easy workouts" with the Endless Pools Fit@Home app.

Swimming with Intervals

The Endless Pools Fit@Home app lets you control the pace of the Endless Pools swim current. It also lets you program a full workout with a variety of current speeds. And as "a more advanced swimmer," Cam enjoys the ability to program "a more advanced workout."

"Let's say you want to go 45 seconds strong and 15 seconds of recovery," he suggests. Several cycles of that would make a HIIT workout: High-Intensity Interval Training. HIIT workout routines have gained huge followings for their ability to burn calories and boost your metabolic rate in a relatively short amount of time. They can also help build stamina for triathlon training.

With Endless Pools Fit@Home, Cam programs repeated intervals for a more dynamic workout. "I like it a lot," Cam says. He uses the app to program a 30-minute swimming workout, and then he swims it twice for an intense hour-long swim.

The Family that Swims Together…

Two of Cam's daughters recently competed in a recent swim meet at Auburn University. "They both had PRs in four out of six of their events," he proudly reports. He can take partial credit for that – he supplements their swim-team training by coaching them at home in the family's Endless Pools installation.

The Endless Pools Original pool, he finds, "is perfect for stroke correction. I know what pace they can hold for it. I dial it in with the app on my phone. It's really cool, immediate feedback."

Cam has seen his daughters gain "immediate improvement in their stroke. You can do the correction right there in almost real time."

Keeping his Options Open

Cam is registered to race IRONMAN Florida in November, but he'll need to see how his back improves before deciding if he's up to it physically. Until then, he can do both his swimming training and his aquatic therapy at home, in his backyard Endless Pools set-up.

"I don't have to drive 15, 20 minutes to the pool. I walk 25 feet out my back door, and the pool's right there. I'm not limited by hours, by rules, nothing." And for swimmers like Cam, that's exactly the freedom they get into the water to experience.