With the onset of summer, we head back to the pool, excited to get wet and cool off but struggling to remember what gear to bring and which skills to practice first. In this blog post, we’ll discuss necessary gear, practice tips, and exercises for beginning swimmers.
Swim gear is relatively simple and easy to carry. Here are a few essentials to have on-hand:
- A comfortable, practical swimsuit that will stay on when jumping, diving, or swimming.
- A towel – and sunscreen for outside!
- A good pair of goggles, tinted for outside use (like sunglasses) or clear for swimming indoors. Test the fit of several, you can carefully remove them from packaging either in-store (if allowed) or at home, planning to return them if they don’t fit well. The outside of the eyepiece, which is usually cushioned, should suction on to the area, making a little ‘pop’ when you pull it off. It should not leak. Not every pair of goggles fits every face, so prepare for a little trial-and-error.
Also note
- Goggles come in different sizes for men, women, youth, children.
- Goggles come in different styles for triathlons, racing, leisure with a wide range of cost – for beginners, simple is better.
- Goggles are essential because being able to see in the water eliminates a great deal of fear in beginning swimmers.
It’s important to swim where a lifeguard is present or to always have another person either in the water or on the deck close by. With young children, parents can help them acclimate to the water by splashing, kicking, and playing games like “Ring Around the Rosie” and “Motorboat.” (We have Parent Tot classes for this age, too!) When slightly older, children can practice going underwater with their mouths closed, and “monkey walking” on the side of the pool with a hand-over-hand pattern.
ABOUT SWIMLABS
FRANCHISE OVERVIEW: A swim school using multiple small constant current pools, underwater cameras and a proprietary database of comparison instructional videos, SwimLabs uses technology to touch every market of the swimming community.
MISSION: It is our mission to combine state-of-the-art technology, world-class instructors, exceptional facilities, and a never-ending passion for swimming to offer the fastest and surest way for swimmers of all levels to learn, improve and achieve their highest goals. We help our swimmers be safer, compete smarter, feel confident and enjoy a life-long love of the sport.
SwimLabs is a part of the Streamline Brands Family
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Swim Training courtesy of Streamline Brands, a SwimSwam Partner.