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National Learn to Swim Day

05/18/17 | fitness, swimming

Did you know that this Saturday, May 20th, is National Learn to Swim Day?  Neither did I until a company contacted me to see if I was interested in writing a post about water safety for my children.  *Cough*  Children?  Haha, clearly an email where they did not know their audience and believe it or not I have received more irrelevant ones – like diaper rash cream or denture clearer.  But seriously, I am thankful for this email to let me know about this very important day as swimming is such a near and dear topic to my heart.  I have covered it more than a dozen times over the last four and a half years of Sparkles and Shoes and am actually surprised I have not written about it more. 

^ Me swimming, in case you could not tell!

Most people I know are able to swim, they tell me, but not very good at it.  And like most things, practice makes perfect but so does the right equipment.  A few years ago when I was on the Equinox swim team I noticed that about half the people in the pool were really held back by their lack of proper equipment and the things you need are not that hard to get or expensive.  Let me break it down for you.   For any female swimmer you NEED three things; a suit, a cap, and a pair of goggles, and then there is equipment that can help you get a better workout.  These are my favorites in each category:

Swim Suits |  I highly recommend polyester suits for swimming laps.  They do not stretch out even after years of use  and the color does not fade. Most swimmers are preferential to a thin strapped suit and all five of these are classified on SwimOutlet.com (where I buy all of my swim stuff)  as Women’s Swimwear > Competitive Swimwear > One Piece and are definitely the way to go!  (I am partial to Nike but TYR and Speedo are also great brands) These colorful suits are the best investment pieces and regardless if you are an Olympic swimmer or someone who just wants to swim a few laps at your local YMCA once a month!

 
Nike | Speedo | Nike | TYR | Nike 
 

Caps & Goggles | In my opinion, there is only one choice for goggles – Speedo Women’s Vanquishers.  After thousands of hours of swimming and dozens of different goggles these are the most comfortable and the least likely to leak and as an added bonus they are only $13,  on the more reasonable side as goggles go.  I have included a regular pair, the light blue, perfect for indoor swimming, and a mirrored pair for outside, think of them like sunglasses!  In opposition, caps are really up to you. I much prefer latex caps as they keep all of your hair inside and are non-slip but the brand really does not matter, $3 caps are sometimes the best!

Speedo Latex Swim Caps |  Blue Goggles |  Shaded Magenta Goggles
 
 

Training Equipment | If you all leave comments below and are interested in the other kinds of training equipment you can bringg to the pool with you to enhance your workout I can absolutely go into them but for now the right suit, cap, and goggles are key and then adding fins, a kick board, a pull buoy, and paddles can help you take it to the next level.  Note: I actually own each item shown below (And don’t even get me started on snorkels). 

Training Fins | Kick Board | Pull Buoy | Strokemaker Paddles 

 

I hope this unconventional post helps you to try my favorite sport! 
Let me know how it goes or if you have any questions!  
 
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Comments

  1. Maddy says

    May 22, 2017 at 9:06 pm

    I’m also a former competitive swimmer (and now just a workout swimmer) and the speedo vanquishers are FOR SURE the way to go!

    xo, Maddy
    http://cassidylou.com/

  2. Lucuy says

    May 21, 2017 at 11:12 am

    This reminds me, I really need to get back into swimming!

  3. Elle sees says

    May 19, 2017 at 6:19 am

    I had no idea this was a day! I should have known that bc the kids I nanny for are obsessed with the special days of the month. And the oldest is takin swimming lessons!! That’s awesome you have something you adore so much.

  4. Pam says

    May 18, 2017 at 9:15 am

    Is there a training product to you would recommend to listen to music while you’re swimming? I bet it would make swimming go a lot faster just like a spin class.

  5. Marjorie says

    May 18, 2017 at 7:38 am

    Totaly in love with these swimsuits!
    xx

    http://www.mybeautrip.com

Hi, I am Kelly and welcome to Sparkles and Shoes, a fashion, travel, and lifestyle blog.  I am a New York City girl at heart but I moved to London in the Spring of 2018!

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