Swim spa advantages for your training
When you have the opportunity, I recommend using a swim spa for your swimming practice. Swim spas are compact pools that combine the features of a hot tub or spa with a current swimming area. You can think of it like running on a treadmill. The equipment is stationary, but your body moves.
My top reasons why a swim spa is a good choice for swimming practice:
Beginners
Shallow water is a perfect fit for new swimmers who fear the deep end. When learning to swim, one can stand up whenever they want.
Consistency
You do not have to touch a wall and turn. Reaching for the wall and turning can break your rhythm. Touch turns and flip turns are learned skills that swimmers often need to improve. As Nemo says, ‘Just keep swimming’
Strategy
Swimming in a small space with a current is excellent preparation for changing water conditions in open water. One needs to adjust their stroke as the water splashes off the side walls. Part of your event training should be to mimic and practice expected scenarios and make your practice as accurate to real life as you can.
Adjustable Current
Swim spas are equipped with jets that create a current strong enough to swim against. The swim current is flexible, so you can customize it to your preferred resistance level, allowing you to practice different swimming strokes and intensities. My favourite focus at a high intensity is to swim quiet. Try ‘quiet’ as a swim focus, and leave us a message on what you discover.
Immediate feedback
A swim spa gives immediate feedback on distance per stroke so you can make real-time adjustments. Perfect practice makes perfect. One of my favourite examples is when I was tidying up my 2 beat kick. As soon as I focused on using ‘quiet power’ with my legs, I moved closer to the air stream. When I lost focus, I slid backward.
Proprioception
Awareness of one’s body position in the water can be learned. You can use portable swim mirror in the swim spa to improve your awareness. This is another way to give you immediate feedback. You can make changes in real-time so you can make quick adjustments, reinforce good habits, and track your progress over time.
A swim spa is an excellent option for your swim practice and should be part of every triathlete’s swim strategy. Multiple advantages, from immediate feedback to training in various environments, make a swim spa a Tri Balance recommendation.