Just like any kind of sport, you need to warm up your body and always make sure it’s ready for any tedious activity. For golf, you would need to perform golf exercises, for basketball, you need to exert effort in circuit training, but since swimming is a watersport, exercises tend to be more difficult, but we’ll help you through it in this article.

There are several exercises to improve swimming available, and we’ll outline how you can use them to get better at swimming. Also, the type of pool you use can impact whether or not you swim better – we’ll go over several that are excellent choices below. Read on to get to our tips for getting better at swimming now!

Three Easy Exercises to Improve Swimming

You can focus on one area at a time to help you learn how to swim better. Dedicate time to each area of your body, and go as quickly or as slowly as you like.

1 – Planks

You don’t have to do all of your exercises in the pool to strengthen your body. One effective way to strengthen your glutes, arms, shoulders, upper and lower body is with planks. Position yourself like you’re going to attempt a pushup with your arms grounded slightly wider than your shoulders. Squeeze your glutes to stabilise yourself and use your toes to hold your feet. Your head should be in line with your back, and you hold this position for 20 seconds. Your legs shouldn’t hold any of the pressure. Planks, loved and recommended by (almost) all PTs, can significantly help you with getting better at swimming.

2 – Warmups

Before you get into the pool, you should be performing warmups to loosen your muscles up. This session should stay under 30 minutes. Do prone holds, stretch your hamstrings, do push-ups, burpees, and sit-ups. You can do this right alongside the pool, or you can do it in your home before getting into your pool. This reduces the risk of developing cramps.

3 – Core Exercises

Your core is the one place that will go through the biggest workout when you swim, so it makes sense to strengthen it any way you can. Start with the bird dog position. Get on your hands and knees and make your spine flat. Extend your right leg and left arm out, keeping them below your spine. Hold this position for five seconds before switching limbs. For V-sits, start in a seated position before raising your legs to a 45° angle. Extend your arms out to your knees and hold for 30 seconds. Strengthening can contribute to you getting better at swimming.

Six Big Benefits of Exercising in the Pool

There are several benefits that come with exercising in the pool or any body of water. These benefits are why many forms of therapy take place in the water, especially if people have injuries and they need to restrengthen their muscles. We’ve picked out the biggest ones and outlined them below.

• Low Impact – Unlike traditional exercise that can put more stress on your joints, swimming is very low impact. Water gives you buoyancy. This means you float once you enter the water. When you do your exercises, the water will save your joints from excess stress and reduce your risk of injury.
• Built-In Resistance – When you push against the water, you meet resistance. This resistance makes your body work harder to complete whatever exercise routine you have set up. You can adjust your resistance level depending on what you’re doing and the water depth. Deeper water has more resistance than more shallow water.
• Slowly Increase the Intensity – Water exercising is beginner-friendly. It allows you to start out slow and gradually work your way up to more complicated routines. To do this, you increase your time in the pool and take shorter rest breaks between exercise sets. You can also go to a greater resistance level.
• Tones Muscles – Working out in the water allows you to tone a huge range of muscles that you may not work out if you exercise on land. You can focus on more than one muscle group at once as well, and it helps keep your joints nimble because it’s so low-impact.
• Whole Body Support – No one wants to hurt their back because this can set you up for a lifetime of problems. Water exercises help to protect your body, particularly your back and spine. The water will support your weight and keep it off of your spine.
• Heart Healthy – Swimming laps, water jogging, or other water exercises are all aerobic. They get your heart pumping faster and encourage your vascular system to work. In turn, this can improve your heart health. Water also has a naturally cooling effect that lets you exercise for longer periods without feeling uncomfortably hot or sweaty.

Consider Investing in a Lap Pool

Lap pools are designed for swimming and swimming laps in your own lap pool can become an excellent way of getting better at swimming. We have several great lap pool models available at Compass Pools. They feature a narrow design that fits into more versatile areas, and they’re big enough to help you practice your swimming strokes. You can have this pool right outside your door, and this gives you the freedom to practice your swimming in the comfort of your own home. Spend the holidays at home and swim every day!

First up is the Fastlane lap pool design. This pool is excellent for serious swimmers because it offers lengths up to 30m. There are also two standard lengths coming in at 12 and 10m. This is more than enough space to help you clean up your strokes and improve your swimming speed. The flat bottom allows you to swim unhindered, and you can add optional external steps in several places along the pool wall.

Locate Your Nearest Compass Pools Dealer to Design Your Lap Pool

If you’re ready to try getting better at swimming in your own home, locate a Compass Pools dealer near you. They’ll be happy to answer all of your questions and help you decide which lap pool would work best for your needs. With dozens of colours and sizes available, you’ll get a pool you can’t wait to use for years to come!

The post 3 Exercises for Getting Better at Swimming appeared first on Compass Pools Australia.

Here we take a look at the many factors that make rectangular pools are so popular, and how the Compass Pools range is leading the way when it comes to this iconic swimming pool shape.

1. They are incredibly easy to swim in

It may seem obvious, but a rectangular pool offers the perfect shape for swimming. It offers a long, unimpeded stretch of water which is ideal for doing laps, and it is no coincidence that Olympic swimming pools are always rectangular in shape.

One of the main advantages of having your own backyard pool is that it offers a private place where you can improve your health and fitness. Swimming laps is the ideal way to achieve this, as swimming is one of the best forms of exercise you can do, toning almost every muscle in the body and improving your cardiovascular health in the process. In order to get the full benefit of this exercise, you need an expanse of water which allows you to swim laps. There is no pool shape more suited to this than the rectangle.

2. They are also ideal for relaxation

Another benefit of having your own swimming pool is that it gives you a secluded place to relax in comfort on your own property. There is nothing more refreshing than taking a dip in the pool at the end of a difficult day, and spending time in the water has been proven to relieve stress and anxiety, making your day-to-day life easier to deal with and increasing your general sense of wellbeing.

While this can be achieved in pools of all different shapes and sizes, rectangle pools are particularly suited to relaxation, as it is extremely easy to design large, comfortable seating areas around these pools. This offers you a perfect spot to enjoy the water when you don’t feel like swimming.

3. They are a practical choice for families

Choosing a family pool can be particularly difficult, as you have a variety of different needs to take into account. You need a pool which offers enough space for the whole family to swim together and play games in the water. A rectangle pool is perfect for sports such as water volleyball, which the whole family can enjoy, reinforcing your bond and giving you the ideal way to spend quality time together.

However, when you are looking for a family pool, the most important consideration of all has to be safety. Again, rectangle pools score extremely highly here. As their shape is open, with no shady corners or hidden areas, it makes it much easier to supervise the kids and ensure that they are enjoying the water safely.

In addition, all private pools in Australia must comply with Australian Standard 1926, which specifies that your pool has to be fenced on all sides, making it safer for children. While this is possible with other shapes of pool, it is much easier to build a level fence around a rectangle pool, making your pool installation easier.

4. They coordinate well with most properties

When you are having your own backyard pool built, it is important that the design of the pool suits the style of your home. Achieving a good match of styles will enable you to create a cohesive and unified design for the whole of your property. This looks much more stylish and gives the impression of a well-cared for property, which is attractive to potential home buyers. By doing this, you can add value to your home and achieve a higher sale price if you ever decide to move.

Some homeowners have strong views about pool shapes, and do not want a conventional type of pool. This is perfectly fine, as your pool should reflect your personal tastes and preferences every bit as much as the rest of your property does. But if you are looking for a pool shape which will coordinate with the widest variety of architectural styles, the rectangle pool is the obvious choice. It has the clean lines and streamlined shape to suit modern homes, while still being classic enough to coordinate well with more traditional properties. It is very difficult to go wrong with a rectangle pool.

5. They are easy to landscape around

Landscaping is an important consideration when choosing to have a backyard pool installed. Ultimately, this will have a huge impact on how good your pool looks once it is finished, as well as determining the level of functionality for your backyard.

The first thing to establish is the right positioning for your pool. It needs to look good from all angles, when viewed from both outside and inside the home. You will be looking at your pool for many years to come, so it is essential that it provides you with an attractive view which will encourage you to venture outdoors and take full advantage of the pool.

A rectangular pool is the easiest type of pool to position. As houses are almost universally built on straight lines, a rectangle pool will automatically look good whether it is positioned close to the house or parallel to it at a further distance away. Additionally, a rectangle is a standard shape, so it is easier to achieve a look which is attractive when viewed from every vantage point.

Your landscaping should also make the best use of the remaining space in your backyard, as you also need to consider other elements of your outdoor lifestyle. With a rectangular pool, this is easier to do, as the regular shape makes it easier to plan the rest of your backyard design, enabling you to create space for socialising and relaxing at the poolside while also taking full advantage of the other areas of your backyard.

Attractive and highly functional landscaping is essential if you want to add maximum value to your home. A rectangular pool enables you to create a cohesive flow which looks stunning while still offering all the practicality you need to enjoy an active and fulfilling life outdoors.

6. They make the best infinity pools

The infinity pool is a major swimming pool trend at present, and is viewed as the ultimate in luxury. These beautiful pools have a “disappearing edge” so it looks as if the water is simply falling away. An infinity pool can offer beautiful views over the surrounding area, whether this is a rural landscape or a bustling city. It is also an extremely peaceful way to enjoy the water, making you feel as if you are directly part of your surroundings, unimpeded by barriers.

Rectangle pools are the best choice for an infinity pool by a long way. The long, straight design is ideal for creating a disappearing edge, enabling you to feel like a part of nature as you swim, and becoming the envy of your friends with the most luxurious pool in the neighbourhood!

Rectangle pools in the Compass Pools range

At Compass Pools Australia, we offer a wide range of fibreglass swimming pool designs to suit all tastes and usage needs. However, it is no surprise that many of our top sellers are rectangular pools.

The Contemporary is a rectangular family pool which is available in three different sizes to suit most backyards. It offers plenty of space for swimming and games, and is ideal for families with kids, as it will continue to meet your needs as your family grows. With chic, clean lines and a wide choice of pool colours available, the Contemporary is designed to suit the vast majority of property styles.

The X-Trainer is an extremely popular lap pool. Its long, narrow rectangular shape is perfect for swimming laps, as it offers a clear water corridor with nothing getting in the way. However, as it is available in different lengths and widths, the X-Trainer can also be a great pool for families.

If you are looking for a smaller rectangle pool, you might want to consider our Plunge pool range. These are compact pools which are deeper than regular pools, so they are ideal for relaxation, as they give you an immersive experience perfect for creating calm and relieving stress.

All of our rectangular pools come with safety features such as seating areas and non-slip surfaces, and they can easily be customised with a wide range of pool colours available. Thanks to their strong ceramic cores, they are also built to withstand all climate conditions and usage demands, and will last a lifetime.

If you would like more information about the rectangle pools we offer, please contact us. Our team will be happy to assist you.

The post Rectangular pools: Why the rectangle is still the perfect swimming pool shape appeared first on Compass Pools Australia.