What is the best time for swimming during the day in India

The best time to swim depends on a lot of factors. It includes personal preference, schedule, and swimming goals that the swimmer has.

Most of the swimming pools in India are outdoor swimming pools but you can swim almost all year around especially in Bangalore.

The time of the day to swim depends on some of the reasons below.

Skill level of swimmers

The swim level of swimmers determines how many times they train during a day or a week.

Young swimmer skill levels are broadly categorized into the following

• Beginners, the swimmers who cannot float or swim independently (requires a coach in water).
• Intermediate swimmers can swim a lap independently with breathing without the assistance of a coach.
• Advanced swimmers can swim multiple laps of freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. They are also comfortable in deep water.

Then there are the pre-competitive and competitive batches where the swimmers are trained to participate in various levels of competitions. 

The training for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels happen usually 2 times a week. Most kids prefer weekend batches. There are weekday batches for kids too. These are usually conducted after 4 PM.

Swimmers who are training for pre-competitive and competitive batches have many more sessions during the week and the coaches determine the number of sessions the child needs. But usually, these batches are held two times a day for 6 days a week.

Other than this, you should also check the swimming pool and choose the right swimming classes

Weather in India

Other than the skill level, the weather also is a deciding factor.

Warm weather is ideal for swimming but Indian weather might be way too warm in summers. 

Swimming in the early mornings and in the evenings suits most of the serious swimmers in India who want to participate in competitive swimming. The swimmers can conserve energy that otherwise is spent to tackle the hot sun. You might be dehydrated to swim long hours during the other times of the day. 

So most of the competitive swim training happens from 5 AM till 7 AM before the children go to school. The after-school session started again at 5 am and the sessions in the evenings are usually longer. 

This routine is followed almost all year around.

It’s important to note that, if you’re training for a competition, you should follow your coach’s advice and swim when they schedule the training. Additionally, it’s best to avoid swimming immediately after a heavy meal as it can cause cramping.

For beginners and intermediate level, the training in most centers happens in the weekend. Morning 8-10 am is good to swim both during winter and summer. On weekdays the timings are usually after school.

In case the swimming pool is temperature controlled or is an indoor pool, the schedule might change slightly when you swim during winter.

Availability of the coaches and the pool

Your coaches or swim trainers should be available when you want to swim. The coaches are not available all day long in the pool and your timings are determined on the availability of the coaches in the pool. You would still have some flexibility of time with personal trainers.

Most of the swimming pools in Bangalore are full and tend to be crowded. If you wish to swim, you should book early, usually at the beginning of the month and then it might suit your preferences.

Traffic condition

This seems to be a weird factor to affect the timings of swimming but in India, especially in big cities, it is a big driving factor. In case your house is away from the pool you can end up spending more time waiting in the traffic than actually training in the swimming pool.

Sitting long hours stuck in traffic is not only tiring but stressful and you, as parents do not want to trouble yourself or your kid if you are traveling to your pool. For this reason, many swimmers choose early mornings or weekends for training.

Children’s school timings

School hrs vary from 8 to 4 in the evening. Children prefer swimming after their school hours. Many swimming pools have batches for kids from 4 PM.

Nowadays most of the schools have their own swimming pool. Schools also have a scheduled session of swimming during school hours with proper trainers.

Adult swimmers

Adult swimmers also need to adjust the timings based on their office timings. Many pools have 1 hr slots where swimmers can occupy one lane and practice.

If you want to get trained with other swimmers under a coach, you have to check the schedule for the timings of the training sessions.

There are also weekend batches for adults who only can devote time on the weekends.

Many swimmers prefer early mornings as the water is usually calm and clean and fewer people are using the pool.

Toddler and parent or only ladies batches are held during the day. They have more flexible schedules. 

Please contact your nearest pool to understand the timings of the pool and the coaches’ availability. You can also contact the swimming clubs or the academy to understand the best batch that suits you and the time to swim. Here are some of the best swimming clubs in Bangalore.