Water Workout:

When it comes to hobbies and favourite sports, swimmers have hit the jackpot. You allow your body a full workout, and you don’t have to be reduced to a sweaty mess in the process. It’s also a sport that naturally scults the male and female body unlike any other exercise. If you’re in water more than land, chances are you have a pretty good swimming supply of essentials. But you never know what you never know. We chatted to some avid swimmers, and here’s what we determined are the essentials worth having.

A dedicated swimming bag

It’s hard to know what’s worse really. Showing up to the pools with a leather bag that will almost definitely be ruined, or donning a supermarket plastic bag. Too much or not enough? Fortunately you can arrive with neither solution, and instead find quality swimming bags that are actually dedicated to swimmers who need to keep all their (sometimes wet) things together. They are durable in design and can stand up in the sun in case you choose to do some laps in the deep blue sea.

The right tracking technology

Any swimmer will tell you their PB off by heart, no questions asked. Why? We live and breathe those times, always striving for the next accomplishment. The good news is that you no longer need to record this by hand, memory or notes. You can actually enter your time, distance and water conditions into various swimming apps who will track your progress.

See what sort of times you were pulling in last month or last year, and get an understanding of how you are improving and what techniques need further optimisation. You can also share your results on your social pages, or with a group of swimming mates. Earmark your success and capture those priceless moments in time.

Entertainment

The future has well and truly arrived! Swimmers can now silence those thoughts running through their heads (‘please tell me this is the last lap!’) and play music instead with waterproof headphones for swimmers. You did not read this wrong. You can actually create the ultimate swimming playlist that will have you powering through the water and obliterating your PB. There are even some swimmers that are early adopters and have created some seriously wet playlists for your to dive into.

A rotation of swimsuits

As an avid swimmer, you’re probably back in the pool before your swimsuit can dry. It’s a pretty icky feeling rolling up the fabric that just wants to curl into a wet ball. Which is manageable, but it may mean you need a healthy rotation of swimsuits that can be there ready for your next set of laps.

Now it’s pretty tempting to just grab something off the shelf that you already have or know works well. But why not introduce a different style or spread yourself across another brand? If you’re strictly Nike, introduce some Puma to your wet wardrobe. For performance based swimmers, quantity is as important as quality - so start shopping.

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Well, there you have it. All your swimming must-haves that you previously got by without. Sure, you probably could keep using that plastic bag or just pull up the wet swimsuit and get going. But if this is your passion, and a hobby you are looking to explore in the future, you should validate it by giving yourself the tools to succeed. We don’t bat an eye for spending out on dinner or drinks, so consider investing in your swimming.