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Nothing like swimming in the ocean at the beach.......doing body curls and battling the waves.....i like it better than swimming in a pool.

depends if I want to feel the pure speed that you can only get out of swimming a 25 or 50 free, then def pool, but in general definitely the ocean. you feel so free and I like to take long swims in the ocean or just wallow through the water. Oh and I love salt water lol reminds me of when my family used to take the boat out on the Persian Gulf

The Aegean Clear Sea for Me!

swimming in the ocean makes for a great workout!

But it can be dangerous with rip currents.

We had to rescue alot of swimmers in Newport when I was a Jr. Lifeguard

TurkishDelight saidThe Aegean Clear Sea for Me!

ah! I'm so jealous... I lived in Saudi Arabia all my life until I was 16, but came to the states for boarding school and college, and when do my parents plan a trip to Turkey? while I'm in the US haha

I love swimming laps in pools but I also love running at water's edge on sunny days at a beach! Nothing like it!

Totally different beast. Even open water swimming in a lake or river is different than the ocean. I swim in a pool every morning. I also try to make it to a natural, spring fed pool we have here in Austin called Barton Springs. It is cold at 65f all year and is about 200m in length. You get the endurance of open water swimming in a less turbulent environment. Plus there are tons of fish and plants to swim by. Very calming.

Growing up, I spent my summers on the Jersey Shore, and I love swimming in the ocean and body surfing. But, I've lived in Iowa for almost 26 years, and I really don't miss the East Coast at all, not even the ocean. We live out in the country, and we have a 25' deep, ~1 acre pond that is wonderfully refreshing in the hot Iowa summers.

I don't live anywhere near the ocean and even though I'm a strong swimmer I don't like swimming by myself (you never know what might happen) so that rules out the lake most of the time, which leaves me with the pool. It's kind of shallow, a little too warm (for all of the older ladies going aquacize) but I still go for 45 minutes 6 times a week.

The Mediterranean Sea!!! Better than the pool filled with chlorine.

SF isn't really "swimmer" friendly, but I'd have to say the ocean. Especially in Hawaii! Mai Thai please!

depends on what you want...

open water swimming is more for distance swimmers. you basically just keep swimming until you are finished, no breaks. i also think it's more about power than technique because the waves and currents can throw you off and you have to know how to deal with them and swim through them. there is also no way of judging how you have improved, only by feel which can be deceiving.

in a pool you can vary your workouts because you have a clock on the side of the pool, and walls. you can create all different kinds of sets that you wouldn't be able to do in open water. and you can see your improvement over time because there is a clock there.

i prefer pool, because i am very technique oriented. i wouldn't say that i am a powerful swimmer, but i swim properly. most of the guys on my team in college could out lift me, but i could out swim them which in result was because of technique. with waves hitting you in the ocean, you loose that... very frustrating for me because i like swimming a certain way. although it's nice to mix it up and do something different with friends.

I was in Newport beach the other week and I swam out past the rip tide (bad idea?) to do my training. I was totally rewarded by finding myself surrounded by dolphins. At that point I stopped my freestyle and did deep diving with the amazing creatures.

I was lucky 'cause when I saw something gray swimming ahead of me, I really thought it was the other finned friend and I panicked.

I'm partial to a pool.. I love the smell of chlorine haha

And there's no need to worry about other things swimming with you

oceanboy11 saidI was in Newport beach the other week and I swam out past the rip tide (bad idea?) to do my training. I was totally rewarded by finding myself surrounded by dolphins. At that point I stopped my freestyle and did deep diving with the amazing creatures.

I was lucky 'cause when I saw something gray swimming ahead of me, I really thought it was the other finned friend and I panicked.

A few years ago, i was at abeach on the Pacific coast of Mexico. I was swimming way out and a bunch of BIG long grey fish swam past me in a flash. I freaked cause I didn't want them to bite me.....but then I started to giggle and felt so damn happy.

Ahem, ahem...

My love for the ocean earned me the nickname "Little Mermaid" by my dad.

However, once you see a shark, it is a little hard to go back in without hearing the Jaws theme in your mind.

I'm a pool swimmer by nature. Swimming in the ocean would definitely be a good workout though.

POOL

depends on my mood: pools aren't full of fish piss, sharks, and deadly undertows.... but they're kind of boring; unless you're a kid playing a game, there's not much to do but float around lol. the ocean on the other hand, aside from being great for one's skin, is pretty exciting- i can spend hours diving through waves before they crash- its more exhausting that i always gauge too, so its great exercise. if given the choice- it boils down to whether i feel like lounging or frolicking lol :p

I agree, if its an everyday workout than I would pick the pool. But swimming in the ocean is a blast. I just swam in the Aegean for the first time. I have to say it was pretty mind blowing to be in clear water with fish around. I did get more tired though.

Ocean, the chlorine bothers my eyes, and I hate wearing goggles.

The Caribbean is nice, but I usually only get to swim in the Bay of Fundy where our cottage is. 50 fahrenheit is warm so swimming for long periods of time is out of the question.

I find swimming in a pool relaxing but dull. It use to be my primary work out but now I do other sports. I love open-water swims in seas, oceans, and lakes. It's best with no swimsuit. I often swim by myself.

I love to hike to a remote lake or beach, strip down and go for a long swim. In the mountains near where I live I like to swim laps in the plunge pools under a roaring waterfall. Chlorinated pools seem far too civilized after experiences like that.

Swimming is not my first passion but would have to say the pool. Loved the ocean until my friend scared me with the whole shark thing. Damn friends, now I will only go in knee deep.

The Atlantic Ocean hands down. Here in the Canary Islands it's really transparent and never drops below 17ºC (most of the time it's around 20ºC)... Plus, you get to see fishes while doing your workout

I'm not by any means a professional swimmer, or frequent for that matter. but i LOVE to swim and always have.

living in Vancouver, i am apt to say that nothing is better than ocean swimming. i love going to a beach and seeing how far out i can swim before i need to turn back.

oh, and there are certain things that no pool can imitate: such as, going up a long little inlet running between mountain ranges of roving green trees in the summer... going tubing in the still waters where the mountain water pours down a waterfall into the ocean. and then going for a swim after, and having seals pop up out of the water some 10 feet away to see who you are and get a closer look.

something uniquely vancouver about that.

so... im an ocean guy, for sure.