Aquasphere Defy Ultra - Experience Infinite Vision

Conquer open waters and be the champion of your next goal. The DEFY.Ultra swim mask features an all-new DuoCurve180 lens, offering panoramic vision both laterally and vertically, ultra-thin silicone Precision  Fit Technology skirt for a comfortable, leak-free seal and a groundbreaking ultra-light frameless design for reduced drag in the water. Prepare to lock in your new personal best time with a low-profile hydrodynamic design and the Quick Fit Buckle 2.0 on the strap.

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Pullbuoys: A Comprehensive Guide for Swimmers

The Different Types Of Pull Buoys

Pullbuoys are buoyant pieces of foam that swimmers hold between their thighs whilst swimming to help keep their legs and hips at the surface of the water. This allows swimmers to stop kicking and concentrate exclusively on pulling and body rotation, and can also help increase arm strength.


There are different kinds of pull buoys that can be used and may help swimmers for different reasons. The right shape and buoyancy can make quite a bit of difference in the value pull buoys provide, and this guide outlines the various benefits of different pull buoy styles.

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Why You Should Use Swim Care Products - Before and After A Swim

Why You Should Use Swim Care Products - Before and After A Swim

Whether you swim recreationally or competitively, jumping into the pool is an exciting event that you don't want to wait around to get in! While chlorine’s harsh effects on the scalp get all the attention, it turns out that pool chemicals may be equally unkind to your skin if you’re not careful. Here's why you should use swim care products before and after a swim.

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Teaching Your Baby to Swim - Stage 1: First Steps in the Pool

Learn to Swim First Steps

Introducing your baby to swimming at an early age can be a wonderful experience that not only promotes their physical development but also builds water confidence. However, it's crucial to approach the process with caution and ensure their safety throughout. In this article, we'll discuss the first stage of teaching your baby to swim: the initial steps in the pool.

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The benefits of swimming with fins

The benefits of swimming with fins

Training aids are beneficial to improve your technique and power in the water. Swimming training aids are an essential part of any swim practice session, no matter what your standard or ability. Swim fins are no exception! Let’s explore the benefits of fins.

Kicking in the water can be one of the hardest parts of your technique to improve. Finding that you aren’t moving very far during kick sets? It’s not about leg strength, it’s about your kick technique. The best kick is short and fast, rather than big and powerful. Adding fins to your kicking sets can help build strength. Fins add resistance against the water and to the range of your motion, helping to improve technique and providing you with the correct muscle reinforcement. This will help you be more efficient and faster in the water. 

Swimming fins in kick training will also increase your ankle strength to a more efficient flutter and dolphin kick. The resistance of the fins will reinforce your kicking and help increase the flexibility of your ankle joints. Fins not only make you swim faster, but they also help you to kick for longer periods of time. This helps you to build endurance in your legs whilst also providing a more efficient workout.

Swimming may be a very low-impact sport compared to land based physical sports, but your shoulders will still experience stress. With the repetitive motions that come with swimming, your shoulders are bound to experience tension if you push too hard. Adding fins to your workout can lessen the impact on your shoulders and allow you to work on your kicking technique, taking away some of the pressure from the upper half of your body.

Your body position in the water can determine how fast you move through the water. The higher the elevation you have, the quicker you will accelerate through the water. Most swimmers struggle to hold this body position and fins can provide velocity to your stroke. It also can help teach your body how to keep the correct position and how to swim faster. 

On top of this, fins can help improve your stroke technique. The added stability of fins allows you to focus on the parts you are struggling with the most in your swim techniques. Fins help you to approach more advanced drills that you may not be able to do without fins and a lot of practice! For example, single arm techniques and backstroke can be very difficult techniques. 

Overall, Fins are versatile and can help you improve your technique, flexibility and body position in the water. They are a beneficial piece of equipment for training in the water, no matter your level of swimming.

Looking for some new fins? At ProSwimwear, we have a wide range of swimming fins to help assist you in your next training session: https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/swimming-accessories/swimming-training-aids/training-fins.html 

How swimming helps bad back pain

How swimming helps bad back pain

Having a sore back can be painful and annoying, even debilitating on some days. The everyday pressure onto your spine makes everyday tasks that little bit harder, or maybe even a lot harder to complete. Swimming can help to relieve some of that back pain naturally. Here’s why!

The water offers a release of stress and tension on the muscles. The buoyancy of the water supports your body weight, reducing the stress on your joints and spine. It can also help to calm the nervous system in your neck, back, and head. The water has a much lower impact on your spine than on other forms of exercise, removing the force of impact and making it less damaging to the spine. In water, your body moves slower and softer, allowing you to twist and turn in ways that aren’t possible on dry land.

 

  • Some activities to try in the water to help your back could be to float face down like a jellyfish and gently letting the air out 
  • Gliding through the water on the front of your body with a free neck, eyes on the pool floor and sweeping your hands through the water to create an effortless movement, and then regaining your feet, helps to stretch your back in a calm/fluid manner
  • Rotating your back gently in the water, allows your back muscles to stretch and improve spine strength
  • Swimming on your back can help to soothe the muscles, but if there is too much tension in the back of the neck and your pelvis, you may need to avoid this one.

Doing activities in the water that cause no stress or harm to the muscles and spine will most certainly help out back pain and help to prevent the pain from getting worse over time. Swimming is a full-body workout, that helps to stretch and exercise various muscles that you may miss in daily land training. 

 

Lots of people recommend swimming to help subdue some of that pain, so give swimming a try to see if it helps to relieve some of that back pain!

How Swimming Can Improve Your Mental Health

How Swimming Can Improve Your Mental Health

Swimming is perfect for physical exercise, working out all of the muscles at once, but it can also be mentally beneficial. It brings a therapeutic state to your mind and helps to bring a positive effect. Swimming is very beneficial for the mind, here is why:

Swimming is an effective way to relieve stress. The regular, repetitive motion of swimming through the water is often relaxing and can help focus the mind on one task. Swimming is a sport that releases endorphins into your brain and can help to bring a positive outlook to life. Being immersed in the water boosts blow flow to the brain, which can have a positive impact on its health. Swimming can lead to at least a 30% improvement in self-worth and satisfaction in life. 

Regular swimming can also help to lower the effectiveness of anxiety and depression. The release of these natural endorphins helps to boost happiness. Swimming is also a great way to help improve memory, focus, and concentration as swimming often takes a lot of focus into your swimming technique. The water can help to relieve the tension of muscles, the floating effect of the water is calming to the mind and helps people to feel happier in themselves.

Swimming has a big community of fellow swimmers who support each other, give each other advice, and help to influence each other. Social interaction with other swimmers to share experiences, tips, and tricks, or simply to enjoy swimming together, can help to boost serotonin and to find some like-minded people to support you. 

There is scientific evidence that suggests that the colour blue/being in blue spaces can improve mental well-being, for example looking up at a blue sky, or looking at the blue sea. It is abundant throughout the natural world and is associated heavily with water. 

In conclusion, swimming is perfect for your physical health, but it can be perfect to help your mental health too. At ProSwimwear, we offer a large range of swimwear, accessories, and equipment to dive into the water with a smile.

Why you should teach your kids to swim

Why you should teach your kids to swim

Water safety is very important for children to learn from a young age due to the risk of accidents and even drowning. It is one of the only sports you can teach your child that can save their life. 

Drowning is one of the top causes of accidental deaths in children, so being able to swim is an essential skill, not only for your child to exercise and socialise with friends but also so they can survive if they accidentally fall in the water. 

Swimming is fun! It’s a great form of exercise that is fun for all ages, so it is much easier to get a child to learn. Swimming is also an accessible sport for children, regardless of age and ability, and can be a key form of exercise for children with additional needs. It can have the advantage of making your child more self-confident, and to make friends. 

Swimming keeps your child’s heart and lungs healthy. Swimming works out the whole body, helping to improve their strength and flexibility, as well as their posture and stamina. Swimming has many health benefits that work for all different muscle groups and help to promote a healthy life if your child is introduced to swimming at a younger age. This can also help to increase their confidence in the water and be able to keep themselves safe with more knowledge and experience.

Swimming is also a great sport to meet new friends and work on team building, allowing your child to learn new social skills and helping them build a team atmosphere. Swimmers learn to support and help each other from their shared experiences in the pool, often making great friendships for life. A positive atmosphere and team skills are skills that can be carried through life. 

Swimming also helps your child to learn self-motivation and goal setting, to push themselves to learn more skills, and to be more confident in the water. Swimming ties teamwork and individuality into one sport.

Swimming is also a sport you can have for life if you teach your child how to swim from a young age. The skill is forever with them and is something they can take with them as they get older. Since swimming is a low-impact sport, it is a hugely popular and safe option for older adults, unlike other sports which can risk falling, swimming is good for the joints and is great for people of all levels.

At Proswimwear, we have a large variety of swimming costumes for children, ranging from performance swimwear to training swimwear. We also have training aids to help support your child in learning how to swim. Make sure to check them out! 

https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/swimming-accessories/swimming-training-aids.html

https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/kids-swimwear.html

The Health Benefits Of Swimming

The Health Benefits Of Swimming

Swimming is a great form of exercise for many people of all ages and genders. If you already know how to swim it is easy, and not too expensive, and you can go at your own pace but if you do not know how to swim, lessons can be pricey in the very beginning. It not only helps your physical health due to the demanding nature of the sport, but it can also boost your mental health.  

 

The Physical Benefits

Swimming allows you to work out all of the muscles in your body. It requires all the major muscles to move your arms, legs, core, and brain. It helps to tone your muscles and increase metabolism. Swimming regularly can help to increase these benefits.

It is also the best form of cardiovascular fitness that is low impact, this involves the heart, lungs and is a great way to stay in shape for a lifetime. This helps to train your body to use your oxygen more efficiently. The water also has a resistance that allows you to work out more vigorously with little chance of injury. Swimming for just thirty minutes a week can help protect against heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

In addition, the more you swim the better you sleep. Trials have been conducted with adults who have insomnia and they reported improved sleep for those who exercised regularly. 

All-Inclusive Health Benefits

Swimming is suitable for people of all ages, and fitness levels, it allows you to go at your own page and fitness levels. It is therefore inclusive for people and can allow all generations to get together and exercise, from grandparents to grandchildren. 

It is also a low-impact activity, so if you have a health condition, like arthritis it is a great way to exercise, with the water gently supporting the muscles, with the water’s resistance helping your muscles get stronger. It will improve your muscle endurance which will prevent injury too!

For people with physical disabilities, swimming is a great way to exercise. It can help lift a lot of weight off your limbs and help improve muscle strength. It also helps to improve motor skills and coordination, increases flexibility, and helps to improve mental health.  It can help provide a greater sense of independence and confidence, and swimming is often used for physical therapy sessions.

Swimming exercises are also safe during pregnancy. Pregnancy can often make joints and muscles ache due to the drastic rate at which your body has to change and gain weight to accommodate a child. Swimming is a safe, low-impact exercise that is easy on the joints thanks to the resistance of the water. While pregnant, it is possible to swim pretty much until delivery, but we recommend you consult a doctor before starting any new fitness programs.  

The Mental Benefits

Swimming doesn’t just improve your physical health, it can also improve your mental health. Exercise is proven to help improve sleep regularity and swimming is no different. It can help to reduce insomnia and improve your sleep patterns. Swimming engages your entire body and encourages your body to get a full night's rest to recover all of your muscles.

Swimming also can help manage stress easier. It can redirect your thoughts and let you escape into your own world for a while. There’s a relaxing and meditative side to swimming. It allows your mind to float, only focussing on your breathing and body movements as you push through the water. It can make you happier as swimming releases endorphins. It helps to improve your overall mood. 

The swimming community also is a great way to build social skills and improve your confidence. Having a little support from your friends and family can help your confidence and make you happier.

In conclusion, swimming not only helps to improve your physical health but also your mental health. It is perfect for all ages and all people as a great form of exercise. At Proswimwear, we have a large variety of swimwear, training aids, and wetsuits that can aid your journey in swimming, be sure to check it out here: https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/

Why are swimming caps not designed to keep your hair dry?

Why are swimming caps not designed to keep your hair dry?

A big misconception people have is that caps are purely designed to keep your hair dry. So why does everyone think they are designed for this? Though some caps do keep your hair dry, it’s an added bonus as opposed to its primary purpose. This essentially leaves the burning question…

 

So, what are swim caps for?

Swim caps are made for a number of reasons, listed below are the key reasons to wear a swimming cap. 

 

  • For Aerodynamics

A swim cap will reduce water drag and keep your hair out of your face so that you can see as you swim. This is important for competitions and racing as it will lessen the hydrodynamic drag whilst in the water and will make your swimming more efficient, and consequently faster.

 

  • To be hygienic

Those who tend to swim without a cap lose hair in the pool, resulting in hair floating in the water and clogging up pond filters. To help keep ponds clean, wear a cap that will stop any stray hairs from getting in your, or your fellow swimmers, way.



 

  • To keep your hair in good condition 

Even though your hair can still get wet, caps prevent the chlorinated water from saturating your hair, preventing dry or damaged hair. It is especially important for those who swim more regularly to wear a cap to avoid any damage caused by the chlorinated pool.

 

  • To be visible in the water

Whether you swim at a pool or in open water, caps help you be seen by lifeguards and bystanders to identify a swimmer in the water. In addition, competitive swimmers wear caps to represent their team and be able to keep track of their laps!

 

  • To keep you warm

If you swim in open water, a neoprene cap will help you to retain heat in your head whilst you’re in the cold water. It works similarly to wearing a woolly hat on a cold day!

 

  • And for fun!

Sometimes, you just have to wear a cap that is fun, stylish, and bright! Sometimes you just have to unleash your personality with a quirky design or crazy pattern. Caps are supposed to be fun for training, leisurely swimming, and open water swimming, so have fun picking out the right cap for you!

If you are looking for a cap to keep your hair dry, then the best advice is to ensure you have a tight-fitting cap such as a silicone cap. You can even wear two caps, such as a lycra cap underneath the silicone cap.

Lycra and polyester swim caps are also great for children learning to swim who are discouraged by the usual swimming caps.

At Proswimwear we stock SoCozy, which is a haircare brand focussed on protecting swimmer’s hair. The  SoCozy Swim Leave-In Treatment + Detangler 8oz, this spray is specially formulated to smoothen, detangle and defend hair from harmful pool chemicals, it is also infused with Beeswax and Jojoba to prevent chlorine and salts from damaging hair. The SoCozy 3 in 1 (Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body Wash) 

https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/brands/socozy.html

How To Put On A Wetsuit More Easily

How To Put On A Wetsuit More Easily

Putting on a wetsuit can be a challenging task for a multitude of reasons, and can be the most exhausting part of the dive of open water swimming. But, squeezing into a wetsuit doesn’t have to be so difficult. Here are some hints and tips for putting one on more easily.  

 

Keep in mind, some wetsuits are simply too tight. If it restricts breathing or blood flow, squeezing around the neck, the wetsuit is too small. Another indication can be if the wetsuit is stretched tightly that the material leaves a hollow at the small of your back or stretches thin in places, this means that the wetsuit is too small. Over-stretched material will not keep you warm as it would if it is a properly fitting and snug wetsuit. This is because a stretched suit will allow water to circulate inside of your wetsuit, whereas a fitting wetsuit will keep you warm by stopping water from circulating inside the suit.

7 tips for squeezing into a tight wetsuit 

 

  1. The plastic bag trick - place a plastic shopping bag around your foot before sliding into your wetsuit. Once your foot is through the wetsuit leg, remove the bag and repeat the process with your other foot, and then take it to the next level and place it around each hand. The plastic helps the neoprene glide over your skin, without it getting stuck. 
  2. Blow into the wetsuit - this trick requires a helpful friend. Once your hand is through the wetsuit sleeve, have your dive buddy lift the edge of the wrist seal and blow a bubble of air into the suit to help it stretch and slide into the right place. 
  3. Start with the wetsuit inside out - turn the offending wetsuit completely inside out and put one foot through the ankle of the reversed suit. Roll the suit up your leg slowly and repeat with the other leg, the torse, and finally the arms.
  4. If you can, get into the water with the wetsuit and put it on in the water. Whenever the suit sticks, pull the fabric away from your body to allow water to flow into the suit and break the seal between your body and the suit.
  5. A dive skin can be worn underneath a wetsuit. Thin lycra dive skins cover a diver from the ankle to wrist to provide protection from wildlife. When under a wetsuit, dive skins help you to put on and remove the suit by preventing the suit from sticking to your skin. 
  6. Use a water-based lubricant - they can help a dive to put on a wetsuit more easily. The diver spreads a small amount of lubricant on his wrists and ankles to help them slide through the tightest parts of the wetsuit. 
  7. Having zippers installed into a suit's ankles and wrist makes putting on a suit much easier.

 

There are methods you should avoid to try and get a wetsuit on. Using soap, detergents, shampoo, or conditioner as lubricant can affect the suit's neoprene and may irritate or dry out your skin. Biodegradable solutions should not be used with a wetsuit as some of the liquid will also leak from the wetsuit into the water. Even biodegradable versions of detergents and soaps can leave thin residue and can make the neoprene become stiff and begin to crack.

 

Oil-based products can also damage neoprene, such as petroleum jelly or oil-based lubricants. Don’t use oil, grease, or any oil-based lubricants to aid sliding on a wetsuit.

So, sometimes wetsuits can be a challenge to get on. These tips should help you to get a wetsuit on with more ease and avoid the hassle! Take a look at our Skin Slick Anti-Chafe Skin Lubricant 1.5 Oz which is safe with lycra, neoprene, and wetsuits. 

 
 

https://www.proswimwear.co.uk//skin-slick-anti-chafe-skin-lubricant-1-5-oz.html

Why You Should Begin Dryland Training

Why You Should Begin Dryland Training

Dryland training is important to swimmers, and should also be used to maximise swimmer performance. The purpose of swimming is to improve the swimmer’s power and overall speed in the pool, but this is not enough to maintain muscle strength. Therefore there needs to be exercised outside of the pool to improve the versatility of the swimmer’s muscles. 


Despite the repetitive movements and use of the whole body whilst swimming, gaining muscle just by swimming is a tricky task. Training outside of the pool can help assist with this task. When weight is placed onto a muscle, that muscle is working to resist the gravitational pull which causes a muscle to contract and tense. When muscles contract against a weight applied, micro-tears in tissue appear that cause that soreness you feel after a workout, but as the body repairs these micro-tears, the muscle builds up and gets stronger.


At Proswimwear, we offer a range of protein powders and nutritional products that can help with muscle gain and repairing muscle after a workout. These also help to increase your protein intake to hit nutritional goals without having to consume vast amounts of meat and costing a fortune.

https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/nutrition-hydration/nutrition-and-hydration/after.html

Weight-bearing strength training for swimmers helps increase bone density too! Swimmers naturally have a low bone density because they spend the majority of their training in the pool rather than putting weight onto their muscles through dryland training. The extra weight on your bones helps to form stronger bone tissue.


Having a strong core as a swimmer can help you maintain the correct body position in the water that helps to minimise drag. This will help a swimmer to move faster and carry more acceleration into a dive with clean entry. Core training can help to improve your breathing flow in the water, improve posture and upper body strength. You can do many dryland workouts that help to improve core strength, such as using resistance bands or doing sit-ups. At ProSwimwear, we have resistance and dryland training aids to use during your training routine.

https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/swimming-accessories/swimming-training-aids/resistance-training.html

Dryland training requires strong focus and coordination. Having the correct body position for the different kinds of exercises that can be used when training outside of the pool is very important and can be learned over time. Balance and stability can be improved with single-legged exercises. When a swimmer gains a constant level of strength, there are a huge variety of exercises that can be done with quick bursts of energy. This helps develop power in your legs and arms, such as squats and push-ups, which then can be applied in the pool.

 

Dryland training helps to vary your training regime, introducing new movements and challenges to the muscles. The repetitive motions in swimming can lead to injuries and dryland training can target these areas that are underdeveloped. Training out of the water can also help to relieve some of the pressure placed on strained muscle groups. Introducing these exercises can help to develop stronger muscles, letting the muscles get stronger in the weaker movement which will put less strain on them overall.

 

No Pool? No problem! At ProSwimwear we have everything a swimmer needs to stay sharp for their next race, even when they are out of the pool. Whether it’s a warm-up, strength and conditioning training, or recovery, when you aren’t able to get in the pool we have the best variety of swimmers’ land training equipment so that you can stay race-ready.

 

Make sure that you check it out below:

https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/swimming-accessories/land-training.html

How to Increase Your Kids Water Confidence

How to Increase Your Kids Water Confidence

 

As race season is fastly approaching, it’s easy to get distracted by your child who is a confident swimmer that is preparing for the races, but what about your younger child that is still frightened of the water and is not confident in themselves? Here are some hints/tricks to help improve their confidence in the water.

 

Getting familiar with the water

For babies and toddlers, early swimming experience can be hit or miss, some children downright refusing to get into the water. The key is not to push the child to get into the water but to slowly introduce them to it. Take little steps with your little one, gradually getting them closer to the water. From sitting at the side of the pool to dipping their toes in the water, without taking them out of their comfort zone. Take your time to let them get comfortable with the sight of the water before they approach it.

 

Distract them from their fear

Think about what your child loves to play with, in the bath. Squirty toys? Floating ducks? Transfer these to your local swimming pool and get a family member to play with them enthusiastically - or your little one might want to join you! For children, water pistols provide an unprecedented level of excitement - especially when they receive an over-exaggerated reaction to being soaked. Pop one in their hands, ask them to gently squirt a willing victim, and stealthily move your child down a pool step further in the water.

 

Letting go - floating with buoyancy aids

When you’re in the pool with your child, they’ll happily splash around with the safety of your arms holding them. Let them build their confidence with this. Swish them around in the water, sing songs and nursery rhymes to get them feeling comfortable and happy. When you know they are ready (normally shortly after their first pool experience or weeks after), the next step is to let them float in the water, away from your arms. Buoyancy aids such as armbands and float vests will help your child float around in the water safely and independently. This should make the transition fun and easy.

Keep in mind, small babies do not have the control or stability that of an older child to float by themselves unsupported. If your child is under one or between 1-2 years old, make sure they have full support in the water.

Don’t forget to praise your child as they make progress. Never underestimate the encouragement that you give them. The cheers, compliments and support will have great power on their growing confidence.

 

Getting their faces wet

Even confident water-babies can find the thought of getting their faces wet, or putting them underwater, unappealing. If your child really hates getting wet, you should try to slowly familiarise them with water with games in the bath. When you’re in the pool why not help them become more confident when submerging their face by challenging them to a water-blowing contest? Just ask your child to blow bubbles on the surface of the water and make it fun. Goggles can help to encourage your child's underwater confidence while Dive Toys provide them with the incentive to take a peek underwater on the pool floor.

 

Building their swim confidence with pool games

Pool games are a great way for building both confidence and a love for swimming in the water. Go for themes you know your child will be excited by. This could be a mermaid game where they collect their shells from points around the pool. Chasing, racing, and dive games always prove popular and most children love to play with the inflatable animals as well as the foam noodles!

Let your imagination run wild to increase the fun in the pool!

Don’t forget at Proswimwear, we have a large range of swimming aids to help your child in the water including kickboards, floatation devices such as armbands, and fun pool toys to increase your child's curiosity and confidence in the water.

 

Proswimwear Training Aids 

https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/swimming-accessories/swimming-training-aids.html?product_list_limit=60

 

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