Swimming makes you smarter

With the knowledge that a child can drown in as little as one inch of water, it is important that parents recognize the risks their children face both at the pool and around the home. Bathtubs, toilets, sinks, buckets, inflatable pools and backyard swimming pools all present risks to your children, resulting in nearly 1,000 deaths per year due to accidental drowning . All it takes is moments for a child to drown, so even a very minor lapse in judgement can be catastrophic. This is why prevention is the best tool for addressing this issue. Drowning Hazards in and Outside of the Home When thinking of drowning prevention, most people think about swimming pools, lakes and other bodies of water. However, many of the drowning deaths reported each year occur inside the home when a child is left unattended or gains access to an object or device filled with water. These hazards include the following. Bathtubs— in the case of accidental drownings in bathtubs, most parents step out for only a few moments and their child is submerged during that brief period. For this reason, it is suggested that you never leave a child under the age of five unsupervised in a tub, even for a moment. You simply should not leave the room with your child still in the tub. Toilets— curious toddlers may find themselves wandering into a bathroom and climbing on the toilet bowl. If they fall in headfirst and get stuck, they can quickly drown in the toilet water. To avoid this, make sure that you keep bathroom doors closed so that young children cannot gain entry and be aware of where your child is at all times. Buckets— we rarely see a bucket used to mop the floors as a drowning hazard, but for a young child, it is accessible and filled with enough liquid to cause drowning if the child falls into the bucket by accident . If you are using a bucket, make sure it is out of your child’s reach and that you store the empty bucket somewhere your child cannot access. Inflatable pools— it is possible for small children to get stuck inside of an inflatable pool and if they are unable to climb out, they may drown. Pools and lakes— while pools and swimmable lakes provide recreation and exercise, it is important that you always supervise your children and teach them safe practices. You can begin with swimming lessons so that they possess the skills needed to survive in the water and then instruct them on other precautionary measures such as not running near the pool, not rough housing with other swimmers and only swimming with the supervision of an adult. Drowning Prevention for Pools Whether public or private, all pools should be encircled with a fence to keep children from wandering into the pool when unsupervised. It is also important that walking surfaces around the pool be composed of material that provides adequate traction to reduce the chance of slips or falls . Most importantly, it is important that you or whoever is supervising is aware of the signs of drowning and can perform CPR in the event of an emergency. These signs include the following. The child’s mouth is open and his or her head is either low in the water or tilted back. The child has stopped using his or her legs to tread water. You notice that the child is gasping or struggling for air. Efforts to swim are resulting in no successful progress. The child is attempting to swim in one direction, but is either stuck where he or she is or drifting the opposite way. Children under the age of five should not be allowed to swim without personal floatation devices. Even while swimming with these devices, it is possible for children to drown, so parental supervision remains paramount in the prevention of drowning for this age group. One of the most valuable prevention measures you can take is to learn CPR and to take a lifeguarding course. Since time is critical in preventing brain damage once a child has begun to drown, being able to perform CPR quickly may limit the severity of any injuries your child suffers due to accidental drowning. This article written by Jonathan Rosenfled is lifted from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers .

At The Swim School of Austin, you're like family to us and we want to say thank you to those of you who choose Swim School Austin as your home for swim lesson instructions. In these unprecedented times, we are working hard to keep our members, guests and team safe and healthy. We will be resuming Classes on May 9th, with a few changes to your lessons to better keep our staff and families safe during hours of operation. First and foremost classes will no longer be 30 minutes long, they will be 40 minutes long. However we will be starting your classes on the hour! If your class starts at example: 10am, your class will end at 10:40am. Leaving us the extra 20mins to prepare for the next class that would start at 11am, so that we may clear the building for students and families to safely leave before the next class comes in. We will also be using this time frame to clean our pool facility in between classes. Our commitment to your safety will not waiver, so we wanted to share information about the steps we will be to taking upon reopening, to help prevent the spread of all illness and disease. What Our Swim Families Need to Know Classes are now 40 minutes long (with the exception of Adult Classes)! With 20 minutes interval after each class for cleaning! We will have a temperature checker and sanitation station outside of the building! Masks will be optional! However our staff will be wearing a full snorkel mask to cover our faces to protect our staff and families in the water! The CDC has indicated that there is no evidence the virus can be transmitted in a properly maintained pool. We always use chlorine in all our pools as a disinfectant to provide the safest swimming environment for your family. Additional Cleaning and Sanitation While we pride ourselves on cleanliness and safety at our schools, we will continue to enforce additional safety precautions and measures. This includes: Your temperature will be checked before you are allowed into the facility! More frequent cleanings of each Swim School Austin location and the equipment we use Additional sanitation stations available throughout our facility Frequent after-hours deep cleaning sanitization to help provide a healthy environment for you and your family Classes will temporarily not be back to back so that we can sanitize our pool area after each class, and give families time to clear out of the building to maintain the number of people in our facilities. The Virus is Not Transmitted Through Pools The CDC has indicated that there is no evidence the virus can be transmitted in a properly maintained pool. We always use chlorine in all our pools as a disinfectant to provide the safest swimming environment for your family. You have to be quarantined! Make-up’s, absences etc. In the event that you may you need to take a leave of absence for any reason that is up to the minimum of 2 weeks you are subjected to your account being put on hold, and being dropped from the class, that way your account is not being currently effected for something that is out of your control! Simply give us a call our send us an email and we take care of everything for you on our end until it is safe for you to return! We're Always Monitoring! Because we care about the health and safety of you and your family, we're constantly monitoring recommendations and developments from the appropriate health agencies – which means we're ready to reevaluate our processes and actions accordingly to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, as well as any other health concerns. What You Can Do to Help! Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based sanitize Keep your children away from others who are sick Please keep your children home if they are ill Teach children to cough and sneeze into their arm or elbow, not their hands Clean and disinfect household objects and surfaces in your home regularly Avoid travel to destinations where the outbreak is prevalent or know We encourage everyone to stay up to date on health information by visiting the CDC.gov website If you or your child are not feeling well, it's recommended you contact your doctor. If you've traveled somewhere that has been affected by any disease or outbreak, you should follow CDC guidelines. You may have to stay home for a certain amount of time to help prevent the spread of a virus. During this time, please take care of yourself – and remember to let us know you won't be attending your swimming lesson. Our Commitment to You Swim School Austin is committed to taking extra precautions to assure the health and safety of our families, guests and team members. Swim School Austin will also continue to follow the guidelines put in place by their local health authorities. This may include limiting special events and Family Swims upon reopening. Please watch for email communications from your local Swim School Austin for updates on plans to reopen, and the precautionary measures they continue to take to keep you safe. If you have further immediate questions, please don't hesitate to contact your local Swim School Austin location, we will be sending out an email in regards to the new set scheduling, we will also be calling ALL of our families starting next week as to find out whom would like to start back early and whom would like to wait it out further. We are committed to the health and safety of you, your family and our team members, always. THE SWIM SCHOOL OF AUSTIN TEAM

HOW SWIMMERS CAN LEARN TO BE MORE PRESENT IN THE POOL BY OLIVIER POIRIER-LEROY 2 “Stay in the moment! Stay present! Focus!” Your coach has likely tomato-face yelled this across the pool deck more times than you can count. Maybe they’ve said it so many times that it just goes in one chlorinated ear and out the other. (Right along with “Pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er!”) But as you circle around the black line like a shark, the sound of rushing water blowing past you, it’s worth asking yourself… HOW PRESENT ARE YOU WHEN IN THE WATER? Where is your focus during the countless number of strokes and laps you perform each day? You know the feeling of being mentally dialed in—best described as being in “the zone.” Things feel smooth, controlled and powerful here. You have a calm and confident sense of mastery. It’s a great feeling. And it’s a great place. Where we are locked in to the way the water moves over our fingers, our body glides across the surface of the pool, and for a few fleeting moments we feel fully connected to our stroke. But most swimmers don’t spend enough time here. They don’t spend enough time being present with what they are doing in the water. Which is too bad. Because they are missing out on: Letting go of mistakes. Because you are spending time in the here and now you aren’t endlessly rehashing mistakes and bad swims. Beating yourself up over past screw-ups rarely power performances in the present. Mistakes should serve as a lesson and/or motivation and then moved on from. That’s it. Stressing less about the future. While our big goals act as a North Star for our swimming, they can distract us and demoralize us if we feel that we aren’t progressing quickly enough. Being present with your swimming today means you aren’t getting needlessly anxious about tomorrow’s practice or races. Training at a higher level. This is the biggie—with more focus comes higher quality training the water. Gone are the mindless meters, the garbage yardage, and the missed training opportunities. Being present means you are fully engaged mentally and physically in the water, maximizing technique and effort. That is a triple-decker of wins. HOW TO BE MORE PRESENT IN THE POOL Cool, so the benefits sound legit. But where do you start? First, with the expectation that you aren’t going to wholesale your focus habits overnight. It’s a skill that takes time to improve, like anything else you do in the water. Second, here are some quick questions to use to give yourself a blueprint for high-grade focus: WHEN DOES YOUR FOCUS SNEAK OFF? We don’t usually notice that our attention has wandered until it already has. Our focus doesn’t give us a head’s up that it’s bored and wants to look elsewhere—it just does it, leaving us playing catch-up. What tends to happen next is that we beat ourselves up—“Why can’t I stay focused?” The old I suck judgement rarely helps. Take a scientist’s approach and treat your focus habits like an experiment. The next time you hop into the water make a mental note each time your focus sneaks out the back door. Yes, this might get tedious and annoying if it is happening a lot, but the intel you will get from this activity is priceless. You will find that your focus takes off during a consistent number of scenarios. Knowing when it is most likely to happen helps you prepare for it. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO FOCUS ON? One of the hardest mental skills to master is locking your focus on the present. Ignoring what is happening around you so that you can maximize your effort and energy on the things that deliver peak performance for you in the pool. There are a million things happening around us, and a million other competing thoughts slamming against the walls of our brain like a Powerball draw. There are the judgements of what we just did, and the anticipatory judgements of what is to come. One of my favorite stories is of Caeleb Dressel and the essays he would leave in his training journal. He detailed how his body felt in the water, how he wanted to feel in the water, what he could do to improve, and so on. This indicates a seriously focused approach while he is in the water. While most swimmers will log the meters and yards, Dressel logged how he wanted his stroke to feel. What are the “feelings” you are going for in the water? How do you want your body to feel when swimming at max speed? How do you want your arm pull to feel as you are pulling through the water? Design some performance cues around how you want to feel in the water and use them during the course of your training. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET UNFOCUSED? Despite our best efforts our focus is always looking for something else to check out. Your focus, for lack of a better term, has strong FOMO tendencies. Competing thoughts are coming for your focus, and one of the odd idiosyncrasies of our brain is that the harder we try to block out those competing thoughts, whether it’s stress, anxiety, or a pink elephant, the more likely we are to think about it. Instead of spending your mental energy trying not to think about something think instead of the things you want to focus on. The supercomputer under your swim cap, for all its processing power, is a world-class single-tasker. When your attention wavers, step back and take a breath. Avoid labeling it or cursing yourself for losing focus. Don’t waste your time trying to suppress it.Gently redirect your focus to the thing you want to focus on. The more you do it, the easier this skill becomes. THE NEXT STEP Being focused and present can be hard, especially if it’s something you have never really given any thought or—wait for it—focus to. Like any other skill it takes time and patience. Start with noticing when you lose it, figure out a handful of things you want to direct your focus, and work on making that focus and being present more habitual.

Too young to walk, but old enough to swim – seems counter-intuitive, right? Well, studies have shown that dipping your babies’ toes in early can have long-lasting benefits throughout their development. From improved cognitive functioning to reducing the impact of those phases of fear that every toddler will experience, a new family tradition of splashing around may be exactly what your baby will benefit from. But do be aware, that many doctors encourage babies under 6 months to avoid chlorine-based pools as their immune system is not fully ready. But once they hit that magic number, it’s all systems go for a family fun-day in the water. Let’s dive in below and find out why! Cultivating their Cognitive Performance It’s widely advised, that activities that call upon both sides of the brain are proven to help in the development of your baby’s brain. Curious, right? This means that an early start to your baby’s time in the water will assist in their reading skills, spatial awareness, and even communicative capabilities. “Not only is all that kicking and screaming (for joy) helping their brains to develop, but their bodies’ naturally become accustomed to the sensation of water against their skin – an essential cognitive process that most parents will agree can make bath time less of a stand-off!” says Michael Pitts, a health writer at Simple Grad and Academized. Replace The Fear Factor with The Fun Factor It’s a natural process to encourage your child to enjoy the water as early as possible. By doing so, you may find that it naturally reduces their susceptibility to that dreaded fear phase all of our toddlers go through. Instead, you’ll have welcomed and familiarized them with a new and exciting environment that they’ll be excited to dive back into anytime. The ‘D’ Word It’s never fun to discuss – but oh, so important to remember, getting your baby in the water will most likely reduce the risk of drowning. There are no studies to guarantee, and of course, we always implore vigilance and care in the water, but starting your baby swimming early will certainly increase their cognitive awareness in their less familiar, watery environment. Let’s not forget, drowning is one of the unfortunate leading causes of young deaths – a tragic fact. Even if you believe your child is a fish in the water, they should still be 100% supervised at all times, particularly during these early development years. Bonding, Baby Bonding A license to swim is a license for fun – as even one swimming lesson involving the parent and baby-making a splash together in the water, improves that one-on-one quality bonding time your baby craves. Skin-to-skin contact and interactions with other caregivers and instructors will have your baby beaming with confidence in no time. It’s not only initial benefits they’ll enjoy, but studies have shown babies who were introduced to their water environment early on had greater self-confidence, self-control, and a desire to succeed when starting school years later – not bad for a little splish, splash! Muscle Development Swimming with your baby, in a controlled environment, will assist in their functional development. A stronger cardiovascular system will make their strong little heart and lungs even stronger. “The coordination of their legs and arms will also engage their core muscles sooner giving your baby the balanced and playful experience their quickly developing muscles are calling out for – and maybe a little excuse for us parents to hop off the couch once in a while (we’ve all been there, Dad especially!)”, explains James Gonzalez, a lifestyle blogger at Big Assignments and Uktopwriters. A Good Night’s Rest It’s no secret now that all of this activity is good for your baby’s development. But one pleasant side effect is that their sleeping pattern is bound to improve along with it – imagine what a good night’s sleep for your baby means. Their little bodies are using up a lot more energy, engaging their muscles, working on coordination skills, and even using excess energy to stay warm. While a good sleep pattern is a welcome bonus, it’s important to make sure that you accommodate additional nap times or even adjust your babies sleeping schedule to facilitate their new family fun activity. Conclusion So, what are you waiting for? Isn’t it time you and your newborn dipped those toes in together and bond in a new and fun way through those early development years. Here at the Swim School Austin we have many Baby and ME classes waiting for you and your family! Take a look at what we have here and sign-up today!

Hi guys! Giving gifts is the fun part of the Christmas season. Sure the parties, food, and music are nice, but the true joy comes from giving to others, so what better gift for the season than the gift of learning how to swim! As we work our ways from celebrating what we are thankful for, we are now entering the celebration of love for another, so whats the best way to show our love and appreciation for family? Swim Lessons! Swim lessons are not only here to help us push through the fears of the water but to also keep our loved ones safe in and near water. Since drowning is the second highest cause of death involving children ages 1 through 14, kids need to learn how to be safe in or near the water. With formal lessons, children learn how to swim in a safe environment, and are taught swimming strokes and basic water safety techniques like floating and treading water. For kids aged 1 to 4, a U.S. study found that risk of drowning decreased by over 80% if children had taken swimming lessons. If your child will be in or near water, make sure their lessons prepare them to do these basic life-saving skills. Are you someone looking to help yourself get into shape and possibly build up some muscles, than Swim Lessons are also for you! Learning a swim stroke can help with gross motor skills and basic coordination. Swimming can help a person build all-around muscle strength in arms and legs. Once they learn to swim, a person has a skill that can be used to improve fitness throughout his or her life. Since swimming is a low-impact activity, it puts less stress on joints while providing a wonderful aerobic activity. Swimming can improve both strength and cardiovascular health in one activity. These lessons help build lifelong skills, they can even improve social development and build up your confidence, swim lessons are important and can really save a life! Here at the Swim School of Austin, we would love to help encourage you to give the gift that keeps on giving through our Holiday Special, this special is available until 01/16/2020! SO COME CHECK OUT THE DEALS AND SEE THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING!

In today blogs fitness blogger Katie Brown from Cake v's Scales talks about her recent break from swimming... There are times in life, when something will trip you up, it might be a hypothetical trip and something you can recover quickly from. Or one of those frustrating “Life Happens” situations, when for a period of time your routine has to change. For many of us it’s in our nature to enjoy routine and consistency, I’m not alone when I say I find change tough. Last year, after a 10 year hiatus from swimming, I made the choice to try OWS (open water swimming) and it gave me so many experiences and memories I’ll hold dearly for years. ` Gradually I started to notice that swimming wasn’t just proving beneficial for my physical health, but my mental health was improving as a result too. With this in mind, I made the switch to a gym with a swimming pool to ensure that I could continue to swim during the winter months. I threw out my regular gym routine and threw in an early morning swim. This change-up left me feeling invigorated, refreshed and ready to handle whatever the day threw at me. But what happens, when you can’t swim and training simply isn’t possible? I think it’s fair to say that everyone at some stage in their life will have a stage when having the time or ability to head to the pool isn’t an option. It might be as simple as an big project at work, or even the arrival of a new baby, but most commonly, an injury. Whilst swimming has become an important part of my life, I had to resign myself to 3 months without swimming following a surgical procedure in November. How are we best to handle the mental side of not being able to swim? One of the common side effects of injury or sudden lifestyle changes is that is can be hugely detrimental to our mental well being. Rather than sliding into your local pool it becomes easy to slide into a whirlpool of negative emotions, frustration and sometimes even denial. Whilst I’m not a medical professional, I think that self-awareness and acceptance of the situation are key points to focus on. Chances are, it won’t be forever and for better or worse, time really can pass surprisingly fast when we make the time to re-focus. My personal mission was to find a way to fill the void… One of the implications of my surgery was the fact I was unable to take part in any high impact sport or anything that would have direct impact on my upper body. Therefore, options such running, or using weight training to build a strong upper body were immediately written off. Whilst my choices might have been limited, I spent my mornings powerwalking and cycling on the recumbent bike. I made time to read more, focus on friendships and I have planned future swimming events, to keep a positive spin for the rest of the year. But, what about the loss of fitness? Firstly and foremost, focus on what you CAN do rather than what you can’t do. My initial thoughts whilst recovering from surgery was that I was going to become bored, frustrated and extremely unfit. Whilst it might be tempting to play the “Mind over Matter” card and start training straight away, it’s worth some serious consideration, is the risk worth it if it could be detrimental to your recovery time? I fully understand and accept that it might take me several months to return to my previous levels of fitness, but rather than perceiving this as a stumbling block, I’m treating it as a future goal. I’ve decided to try and focus on the brighter side of life. There’s a whole new year ahead for me to pack in adventures which include visiting a new open water swimming venue, increasing my distances and enjoying time in the pool.

1 All-year swimmers don’t wear wetsuits. That defeats the purpose. 2 You will never have enough warm clothes . You need many more things than you think you might need, to recover after a cold swim. Thermals, fleeces, your thickest jackets, woolly hats, gloves, socks and scarves. And you won’t want to take them off all day. It’s a pretty strong look. 3 Pool shoes are essential. They will make tiptoeing into and out of cold water more bearable: even a small amount of insulation against the cold ground helps. When you get out of the water, you won’t be able to feel your feet enough to manage flip-flops, so slip-on shoes are preferable. 4 Never jump or dive into freezing cold water. Step in slowly, splash your face and chest with cold water, and submerge your hands. Then breathe slowly and calmly submerge yourself. 5 The first two minutes in the water are the worst. Your body is adjusting to the shock of the cold. Rookie swimmers panic and get out during this bit and never experience the magical moments after you have calmed down. 6 Cold-water swimming isn’t about getting fit. It’s about feeling alive. It’s a watery adrenaline rush that will make you feel invincible. It’s addictive. 7 Plan how you’re going to get dressed. When you get out of cold water, you need to get dry, get dressed and get warm very quickly and efficiently. That means leaving your clothes laid out in the order you’ll need to put them on again – because you’ll be too cold to think. Bundle up and then move around to heat up naturally. You should never be tempted to recover by having a hot shower; it can cause a dramatic drop in blood pressure and exacerbate the effects of hypothermia. 8 Flasks of hot drink are essential for post-swim recovery. As is cake. 9 Only cold-water swimmers know what cold is. The normal people you see bundled up in coats, scarves and hats commuting to work in winter, who think it’s cold, are wrong. Cold is stripping off and submerging yourself into 2C water, so your skin is burning and turns bright pink. Cold is shocking pain, and your breath being taken away in gasps. Cold is mad and exhilarating and amazing. 10 The friends you meet in cold water are the best. They think nothing of stripping off in the snow for a fix. They are adventurous, full of life and quick to laugh. They sparkle like the icy water they inhabit. Sally Goble has swum outdoors through the winter for around 12 years. The coldest water she’s swum in was -0.7C, in the Arctic Circle in Finland.

Swimming is great for your fitness and your mind. Just because you’re expecting a baby doesn’t mean you should avoid it. In today's blog discover the benefits of swimming that you might not know about, and our tips to encourage you to get started. Can you go swimming while pregnant? Taking a few laps in a pool is a wonderful way for pregnant women to exercise and stay in shape. Swimming during pregnancy doesn’t just help maintain your fitness levels, it will help you cope with the physical demands of labour and motherhood in general. On average, women gain nearly 2 stone in weight throughout their pregnancy. Adding swimming to your weekly routine now can help to control fluctuating weight as well as prepare your body for giving birth and recovery. How much swimming do you need to see and feel the benefits? It’s recommended you go roughly 3 times a week for half an hour. You can safely swim any stroke (unless otherwise advised), so you can vary your exercise or do what you enjoy most. The weight of carrying your baby can often induce back pain. To improve your back strength, breaststroke is the perfect technique. It’s known for being particularly helpful by working to strengthen your back, chest and shoulders to enhance your posture. What can you do to be safe? If you were a frequent swimmer before you became pregnant, then it's perfectly fine to continue your normal routine. If you didn’t exercise much before knowing you were carrying a baby, you should take it easy at first and ease into the exercise slowly. During every session, you should always warm up, cool down and stretch out. Once you’re ready to get into the water, start with a few warm-up laps to get your muscles moving before giving it your all. This ritual is even more important when pregnant, as you have more to support than normal. One thing to keep in mind is that you should slide into the water slowly as opposed to jumping in, as you need to allow your body to adjust to the water temperature and avoid cramping. What are the benefits of swimming? There’s no doubt that swimming has plenty of physical benefits, yet it’s also a great relaxing mental exercise too. It’s the perfect opportunity to wind down and relax and enjoy some time to yourself. It doesn’t have to be a long swim to notice the benefits; floating about or walking about in the pool gives you time to relax. The water will support your body and take the pressure off of your joints and the soles of your feet to create a soothing weightless feeling. What swimwear options are there? If you are concerned about what you are going to look like in a bathing suit, you should know that there are plenty of choices out there for pregnant women. If you prefer to cover your 'baby bump' there are some stylish one-piece swimsuits for pregnant women, which provide extra room for your growing belly. Yet, one-piece swimsuits aren’t the only options. Pregnant women are opting for bikinis now more than ever. If you would like to show off your pregnancy and feel comfortable in a bikini, whatever your style, there are plenty of choices you can discover and flaunt your baby bump! For more coverage than a two-piece and more versatility in personalised style, tankinis are both a flattering and supportive option. Their unique design of a longer top is perfect to cover your belly, and with added inside bra support as well as wider straps, you’re guaranteed a comfortable fit. Tips to remember Drink plenty of fluids Remember that exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to be beneficial Avoid using saunas or steam rooms Don’t exercise to lose weight whilst pregnant Swimming is generally considered a very safe activity, yet before taking the plunge, do check with your doctor so that you are given the green light.

Todays post is from fitness blogger and triathlon enthusiast Lucy Edwards from www.paddlepedalpace.co.uk. Let’s face it, swimming can be monotonous. The repetition of going from one end of the pool to the other with nothing to look at but the tiles and black line can get seriously mind-numbing. If the boredom becomes overwhelming, it can have an impact on your motivation levels and desire to continue swimming. There are however, some ways to make pool swimming less tedious and make the most of those lengths. Join a club Swimming solo can be very lonely, so it’s worth considering joining a club for the added motivation of swimming alongside others. A club will widen your social circle and you’ll meet like-minded people. Swimming clubs usually have a structured program planned for each session which is written by qualified coaches. The coaches are also able to critique your swim stroke and give pointers on how to improve. Listen to music Listening to music as you swim can help you get into a rhythm, feel more energized and focused. There are a wide range of waterproof MP3 players on the market which are designed for swimming, like the Finis Duo Underwater MP3 Player. Make a playlist which is the same length as your swimming set and you’ll find that the laps fly by! Meditate The pool is actually the perfect place to practice mindfulness and meditation. Being immersed in water is an escape from every day stresses and responsibilities- there’s no phones or emails to answer while you are swimming. Focus on the present moment, let your mind relax, enjoy the feeling of weightlessness in the water and the rhythm of your breathing. Mix up your stroke If you usually swim freestyle, try adding in some backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly laps to vary your workout. Or try mixing the different strokes- freestyle with dolphin kick or backstroke with breaststroke kick. You’ll get a greater all-over body workout, plus it’s hard to be bored when you are learning a new skill. Use equipment Another way to break up monotony is to add some equipment into your swim routine. Training aids help you to target specific body areas and improve your speed, form, technique and performance. Try fins to develop a powerful and streamlined kick, or hand paddles to build upper body strength and refine your stroke. Try different pools or get outdoors A change of scenery can really make a difference to your motivation for swimming. Try different locations, maybe a Olympic length pool if you are used to swimming in a 25m pool. For the ultimate way to escape boredom, get out of the pool and into open-water. The possibilities are endless when it comes to open-water swimming: lakes, rivers, seas- each adding a sense of adventure to your swim. We think this is great advice for any pool swimmer. What do you think?