How To Prepare Yourself Before You Swim: A Guide

Swimming is the perfect full-body workout and the best life-saving skill you can learn. Below is a checklist to help you through the swim criteria you need to meet.

1. Swim Gear

A swimsuit, goggles, ear plugs, nose clips, and swim caps ensure a comfortable swim. Goggles provide eye protection and prevent any sensitivity due to chlorine. Ear plugs, suited for water use, can effectively seal your ears and avoid any pain due to water intake. A nose clip will provide you with similar protection in a pool.

Chlorine in the pool water can damage your hair and make it dry and weak. To reduce the risk of chlorine damage, you can immerse your hair in diluted conditioner to ‘pre-load’ your hair follicles.

Make sure to wash your hair after a swim to clean any chlorine deposits. Likewise, a swim cap will protect your hair by reducing overexposure to the chlorinated pool water. Additionally, apply a sunblock with SPF 30, at least twenty minutes before your swim. Use it thoroughly to prevent any skin damage due to UV exposure.

2. Food and water intake

Count your calories before you hit the pool. Swimming cramps are real and can worsen as your body tries to assimilate food and invest itself in the physical workout. To avoid this discomfort, eat light foods in small quantities. If hamburgers, cheese, etc., are your favorites, you might want to keep them at bay since such greasy foods take a longer time to digest.

A banana might be a good option with its high potassium content and energy reserve. You should also ensure you’re sufficiently hydrated before and throughout the swim exercise. Try to drink up to 16 oz or more water the hour before the swim. Keep drinking water accessible while in the pool to avoid exhaustion and irritability.

3. Safety precautions

Adult supervision or the presence of a lifeguard is a must when children are at or near the pool. At no point should kids be left on their own. If you have a backyard pool, you need to have emergency contact numbers at your fingertips for prompt rescue.

Apart from this, it is recommended to have a swimming expert around and know the CPR procedure. Protective features like surrounding fences, depth markers, etc., can reduce the risks of swimming pool accidents. Before you plunge right into someone’s pool, take a minute to ask them about the pool depth if you cannot find any indicator on the pool itself.

An experienced pool builder will help you set up your outdoor pool to minimize accident risks. To consider pool installation, you must hire the best pool contractor. If you’re based in Sterling, you can check out the services provided by our expert outdoor pool designer team. Our professional pool builders will ensure that your backyard pool is the foolproof, dreamy oasis you wish.