Learning How To Dive In - 3 Easy Steps

Diving into the pool can be an intimidating experience, especially for those taking their first plunge. Even confident swimmers may find the prospect of diving a bit daunting initially. Here are three steps to help you learn how to dive into the water.

Read more

4 Ways to Finish a Tough Swim

4 Ways to Finish a Tough Swim

With the new year just passed, many swimmers are heading back to the pool and face unique challenges when returning. Returning to a workout can be tough and can be hard to maintain motivation. Here are four ways to help swimmers get through a tough workout.

Read more

A Guide To Proper Nutrition For Swimmers

A Guide To Proper Nutrition For Swimmers

Having the correct nutrition is critical to meet the challenges of swim training. Having a lack of proper nutrition can cause swimmers to face fatigue, depletion of hydration and glucose levels, all of which inhabit performance. Here are some tips to get the correct nutrition to fuel you for your swim.

Read more

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.

Read more

Swimming Pool Safety For Kids -Tips For Parents

Swimming Pool Safety For Kids: Tips For Parents

With the warm weather now in full swing, everyone is excited to have some fun in the sun at the swimming pool with their little ones. But before you jump in the water, it is crucial to prioritise pool safety for your children to let you have a more joyful and accident-free swimming experience.

Read more

3 Tips To Improve Your Swimming Pace

3 Tips To Improve Your Swimming Pace

Swimming pace is vital for any swimmer as it doesn’t just allow you to preserve energy but also to be more efficient in the water and help you with forward propulsion. 

There are not many secrets to be learnt on how to improve your swim pace, but here are three tips to help your swim become more under control with a consistent and efficient rhythm and pace.

Read more

How To Protect Your Hair From Chlorine

How To Protect Your Hair From Chlorine

Swimming pool chlorine is essential to kill bacteria, viruses and fungus to keep the water safe for swimmers, but chlorine can also affect us! Chlorine can make your hair dry and weak, causing breakages and loss of moisture. It can make hair coarse and tangly. Here are some tips on how to protect your hair from chlorine.

Read more

Reasons Why Your Child Should Join A Swim Team

Reasons Why Your Child Should Join A Swim Team

Any activity your child wants to commit to, you want to make sure is adding value to their life in some way - Are they having fun? Are they learning? Are they growing?

It’s hard to know what will suit your child before they try it, but if your child has asked to join a swim team, we have some benefits on swim teams for kids that may help with your decision.

Read more

Reasons why you are not improving and how to fix them

Reasons why you aren’t improving and how to fix them

People who have started swimming recently often expect to improve more quickly than they actually do. This can be frustrating, especially if you set a goal that you struggle to reach. This is common with any new sport and can often get people to quit before they’ve even started! Let us go through some of the reasons why and discuss how to fix them!

Firstly, we need to ask ourselves ‘why can’t I swim that well?’ The main reason that you may not be able to swim well is because you’re new and have not had the right time to learn the right motor skills for a certain technique. Swim instructors will help you to improve your movement in the water to make it more efficient and improve your technique. 

Remember, quantity isn't important as a less experienced swimmer. Set realistic goals for yourself that you can achieve, as well as being willing to train hard. It’s good to set goals that are ambitious but within your reach. Use these variables to determine your goals:

  • Your motivation
  • Current standard in swimming
  • The amount of time you have for training
  • The effects emotions have on exercise

Sometimes the goals you have set are unrealistic, and that’s okay! Look at what you are doing in the pool and you can even track your progress with a training log to see your progress. Remember, working hard for three straight weeks won’t result in a three second drop in your freestyle swim. Practice makes perfect.

Having inconsistent training sessions can also be a reason. Some swimmers may do ten sessions a week but only perform well at one of those. Have a consistent training schedule that suits you. Can you practise three times a week? Awesome! Put your effort into these sessions to improve your performance. Have a training regime that works for you and what you want to achieve, one that you can work on and improve on throughout your training sessions.

The most frustrating setbacks are the mistakes we are aware of and ones that we experience over and over again. Don’t repeat the mistake over and over to expect a different outcome, the conclusion will be the same. It will only continue as a mistake if you don’t learn from it and learn how to improve from it. Are you kicking too low in the water? Try changing your body position to push yourself quicker through the water. Try not to focus on just your strengths, as fun as they are to do! Be sure to improve what is holding you back.

Don’t compare yourself to other swimmers because you will improve at your own pace. Often, a lot of the failure can come from a lack of self-belief. Confidence is a critical aspect for swimming. Learn to love and accept yourself as a person, train hard, do your best, give everything you can but also learn to take time for yourself. 

Understanding the pace of your own body on how quickly you can improve your skills is important but don’t think you have to push these limits. It takes time, and that’s okay! Believe in yourself and you will reach your goals, no matter how long it may take to reach them.

There may be other reasons that you are not improving as quickly as you would like at swimming, but remember that practice makes perfect and time. Set yourself realistic goals that you can reach and continue to improve your technique. You can do it! 

What you should know before your child gets into competitive swimming

What you should know before your child gets into competitive swimming

The weather is getting warmer and those competitions are getting closer. The idea of your child swimming can sound more appealing during the nice weather as a way to keep them healthy. But, is your child looking to become a competitive swimmer? Here are a few things you should know before your child competes.

Don’t skip the basics! Your child should feel comfortable in the water and have a good level of confidence. Practise those four techniques used in competitive swimming: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Swim programs are perfect to help a child prepare for swimming at a next level, helping your child to perfect their technique.

The team you decide to go with should fit what you and your child want out of swimming. Having a good team with similar goals in mind will help build confidence in your child and allow them to have friends who are also going through the same struggles to support each other and push each other on to achieve their goals. 

Having the right gear is important for any competitive race. Check with the coach or instructor to see what is required for your team members. Some essentials you will need are goggles and caps! Also make sure to have spares of everything, including their swimsuit in case any issues arise, such as a strap breaking. 

Unlike other sports, swimming is a low-impact sport that helps prevent strain. Swimming is a sport that can be a lifelong activity for your child, even one that can be a launching point if they are interested in pursuing competitions and triathlons at younger ages. Although swimming is a team activity, your child will often be competing in individual events. Keep in mind that your child will put in a lot of practice before the competition!

Most importantly, your child’s safety should come first. Your child should be monitored in the water, even after a child learns to swim and improves their skill. It’s crucial to prevent drowning and other accidents happening by going to practices where you and the instructor can keep an eye on your child.

Is your child heading to their first swim meet and you’re not sure what to expect? Check out more information here: https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/blog/what-to-really-expect-at-your-childs-first-swim-meet-/ 

What You Should Eat Before A Swim

What You Should Eat Before A Swim

Race season is approaching quickly, and eating before a race can be tough due to nerves. Whether you’re training for a competition, or putting the strokes in to manage fitness, make sure that your fuel stores are primed while avoiding discomfort in the pool with these tip tips. 

Swimming provides a good workout for the whole body and is a great way to keep fit and healthy. It is a competitive sport, and training for it can involve a mixture of endurance and sprint training, depending on the distance. Competition races can last anywhere between 20 seconds and 15 minutes, containing multiple heats over the course of the day. This places unique considerations on how swimmers should fuel the body for training. Fuelling your body before a swim can be a challenge to ensure you are eating properly and at the right times to help develop your strength and cardio. 

 

How long after a meal should you wait before swimming?

Everyone has different comfort levels when it comes to eating around swimming, so it is important to experiment with what works for you and your body. In general. Allow 2-4 hours before you swim to allow for digestion of a larger meal, and 30 minutes to 2 hours for a smaller snack. 

High Glycaemic Index foods (GI) are quickly broken down and are more readily available for energy. These make for great quick snacks, before, during, or after training. Lower GI foods give a slower release of energy and should be the focus of your main meals during training. In general, main meals should include foods with low-GI carbohydrates and have moderate protein and fats. 

Work and other commitments may determine when you can get in the pool, resulting in just being able to have a small snack before your swim. For energy boosting snacks, try to focus on smaller, higher GI carbohydrate foods which will be quickly absorbed and cause less strain on the gut. 


Good options for this are:

  • Isotonic sports drinks
  • 1 large banana
  • 1.5 carbohydrate energy gels
  • 1 large cereal bar or carbohydrate based energy bar (low fibre)

 

Should I eat before an early swim? What should I eat?

You should eat when it is possible before your morning swim, especially if it is a longer duration swim or high intensity session. If you train on an empty stomach, you might find you tire quickly. Many recreational or competitive swimmers find eating before swimming difficult. Many experience reflux or even nausea once in the pool.

If you are an early riser and get out of bed two hours before your swim, you could eat porridge, muesli, banana yoghurt pots or even blueberry pancakes.

If you get straight out of bed, try energy boosting snacks. If you can’t eat before a swim, or prefer not to eat, try increasing your evening meal, the night before, to include more carbohydrates so the energy will be stored and will be ready for your morning swim.

 

What should I avoid eating before swimming?

In the 2-4 hours before swimming, you should try to limit: excess fibre, excess fatty foods, excess caffeine intake, spicy foods, and alcohol. These are known to cause bowel upsets that can make you feel nausea whilst swimming.

In the hour before a swim, focus on snacks that are smaller that can be easily absorbed and contain limited amounts of fibre. Any high GI snacks will help you be prepared for your swim. 

At Proswimwear, we offer MyProtein bars which have no sugar and high fibre, it is a good snack to have before swimming and leaves you with lots of energy to perform your best!  They 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 food containing protein and paying a fortune.

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

© 2024 ProSwimwear Ltd. All Rights Reserved. - Part of the Niche Online Sales Group Ltd