When it comes to swimming for fitness, get yourself a swimsuit and you can be ready to hit the pool! But of course, there are always a few extra things to think about for an even better swimming experience when it comes to using the pool as a means for working out.
And so, here is a beginner’s guide to swimming gear, using pink swim gear and pink swim equipment as an example of what is out there for you to wear and use at the pool! Basic swim gear is listed, and so is swim equipment for added training benefits.
Covered on this page:
- Gear to wear while swimming
- Swim training aids
- Before and after your swim
- Open water swim safety
Note: As an Amazon Associate, products on this page link to Amazon, where you know you can find a whole bunch of cheaper swimming gear!
Swimsuit or jammers
If you’re getting a pool workout in on a regular basis, whether it be training for an open water swim or for a water aerobics class, an athletic style swimsuit will be helpful. You don’t want to jeopardize quality for price because you don’t want your swimsuit to become thin quickly or start to sag after wearing it for a short period of time. For quality pink-ish swimsuits, have a look at Speedo Race Quantum Splice Super Pro Swimsuit for women and Speedo Flipturns Geo Genie Printed Jammer Swimsuit for men.
It is natural for swimsuits to wear out over time, but the better quality the swimsuit, the longer it should last. You can also help to prolong the life of your swimsuit by rinsing it well with regular water after you’re done pool swimming in chlorinated water and then letting it hang dry.
Do you swim as a couple? How about going for matching pink and purple swimsuits at the pool?! (They are not that overtly pink!) It would make a fun gift, no? 🙂 See:
Side note!
See about the best shoes for hiking in Hawaii and what to wear snorkeling in Hawaii! And for Hawaii vacation ideas, see the best things to do in Waikiki that will give you Hawaii vibes!
Swim goggles
Although one pair of goggles can work out just fine, it is generally a good idea to have two pairs of goggles. One reason that two pairs can be helpful is so that you will have a quick back-up in case something happens to the first pair. A good pair of goggles will be form fitting to your face so you don’t run into problems with leaky goggles.
For some pink swim goggles, check out the Speedo Vanquisher 2.0 Mirrored Goggles. The mirrored lens is designed to reduce glare, but also note that depending on the conditions in which you are swimming, you may find them to be a bit dark. But if you’re always swimming in well-lit conditions, you just may love them!
Swim cap
While swim caps won’t completely keep your hair from getting wet, they can keep your hair much drier. This means that wearing one can also help your hair get less exposure to the chlorinated water if you’re swimming in a pool. It’s generally a good idea to have two swim caps with you when you go swimming.
Depending on the quality and material of your swim cap, it may not take long for you to accidentally rip your swim cap. And if you rip your swim cap as you’re trying to put it on right before you jump in the pool for your workout, well, it would be nice to have a back-up! For a basic swim cap for your pool time, a pink swim cap like the Speedo Silicone Swim Cap can work out well.
Swim caps will also help to reduce drag created by your hair, and this is especially true if you have long hair. If you do have really long hair or long and thick hair which becomes an issue for you in a normal swim cap, there are swim cap available tailored to long hair swimmers like the pink swim cap TYR Long Hair Wrinkle-Free Swim Cap
Swim caps do tend to wear out over time, but just like swimsuits, you can help to make your swim cap last longer by rinsing it with regular water after swimming and letting it air dry.
Sports watch or lap counter
Well, it’s inevitable. You will lose track of how many laps you’ve completed! You may develop your own method of counting the number of laps you’ve gotten through, but if that method continues to fail you, you do have the option of a lap counter. There are a few different types of lap counters, but the simplest one is probably the kind that you wear on your index finger. Then each time you finish a lap, you can tap the counter’s button with your thumb and can always be confident in how much swimming has been done!
Another option would be a pink sports watch like the Timex Ironman Classic 30-lap Digital Watch that can serve a purpose of more than just a lap counter. You can use it to count your laps, and you can also use it to time your workouts, and even time your rest intervals.
Just be on the lookout for how many laps the watch will count. Depending on the type of pool workout you do, the lap count can add up quickly. Or even with a lower lap count watch, you could get creative in how often you want to click the lap button if you think you manage to not lose track of counting a low number of laps or lengths. 🙂
Waterproof music device
If you love listening to music while you run or workout at the gym, a waterproof iPod can let you listen to music while you swim too. If that sounds appealing to you, look into a hot pink music device like the Underwater Audio Waterproof iPod Shuffle.
Swim training aids
Swim training aids like kickboards, pull buoys, paddles, and fins can help to improve your technique through swimming drills. When used appropriately, these kinds of swim tools can help you to develop better swimming technique and help you to swim more efficiently. You can also use them to give certain parts of your body a better workout. It’s important to not be too reliant on training aids if you’re training for a distance swim, but they can be a helpful part of your swim workout. You also want to make sure you’re using the training aids carefully and not overusing them in ways to cause a common swimming injury. For ideas of swimming drills for training and to improve your freestyle swim technique, there are swimming resources for adult beginners available.
Pull buoy
A pull buoy is a type of flotation device that you put between your legs so that your legs will stay afloat. If you suffer from sinking legs, swimming with a pull buoy can be helpful when you want to isolate the arms to focus on your swim stroke or get in a better upper body workout without having to worry about your legs. It can also help you to get a better feel for a better body position in the water. For a pink pull buoy, take a look at the TYR Pull Float.
You want to make sure you’re not relying on the pull buoy too much during your swim training session if you’re preparing for a swim in an event like a triathlon. Pull buoys have their place in your training plan, but you want to make sure that you work on developing proper body position without the pull buoy as well. You also want to make sure you are working on your kicking.
Kickboard
Using a kickboard as a part of your swim training can help to isolate the leg muscles to work on your swimming technique specific to the lower body. This can help to improve your kicking skills and improve the stamina of your legs for swimming. Kickboards can be good tools to improve your swimming, but try not to overdo it. Not only do you not want your biking and running workouts to suffer, but the extended position of the arms in grabbing the kickboard out in front of you can lead to added strain on your shoulders. For a pink kickboard, take a look at the TYR Classic Kickboard.
Swim fins
Drills with swim fins can help to improve your kick. There are shorter training fins and longer training fins that are available. For purposes of training for a swim event, the shorter fins are generally a better choice. The shorter fins can help you to develop a better kick technique specific to freestyle swimming. The shorter fins also will allow you to swim at a pace that’s more similar in nature to your actual swim speed. The longer fins may have you swimming much faster that it doesn’t feel all that natural.
Well, pink adult swim fins are hard to come by, but yellow can match your pink swim outfit. So for that, give the Finis Zoomers Gold Swim Fins a try. These are short swim fins which can help you work on your kick technique better than long swim fins.
Swim paddles
Swimming hand paddles can help you to improve your hand position of your swim stroke and your overall stroke technique. These paddles come in a range of sizes, as well as a range of resistance level. Drills involving swimming paddles sometimes include a pull buoy so the focus can be on improving arm technique.
The extra force required by your shoulders for the pulling of the additional water through the water can put more strain on your shoulders than usual. So if you decide to use swim paddles to supplement your swim training, be sure to ease into it by not doing too much paddle work at once.
Once again, pink swim paddles are hard to come by, but blue can match pink and yellow right? Well the more dominant black surely can! So a pair of swim paddles to take a look at would be the Speedo Nemesis Contour Paddles.
Before and after your swim
And finally, with all your swim gear at the pool decked out in pink, of course you want to arrive at the locker room, and leave the locker room, full on matching all your other pink swimwear and equipment, yes? Why of course! 🙂 So for your pre- and post-swim comfortable clothing, take a look at:
Compression sleeves
The idea behind any kind of compression gear, including compression sleeves like the Zensah Compression Arm Sleeves, is that they aid in muscle recovery.
People who wear compression sleeves will probably tell you that it helps them to recover better after they’ve worked their muscles hard out. There is some controversy over the true value of compression gear, but those who do use it will tell you it works! Although you could wear them any time, compression sleeves would probably be most ideal for swimmers to wear after finishing up a swim training session. If you decide to get compression sleeves, make sure you’re buying a pair, and not just a single sleeve.
Swim bag
And then there are a few different types of bags you can use to transport your swim gear pink-style to and from the pool. These include mesh type bags, duffel bag type or tote bag type bags, or backpack type bags.
There are a few reasons swim-specific bags can be useful. Many have side pockets made with mesh material that can be convenient to store some wet gear. This can be handy to allow your swimming gear to air out. These types of side pockets can also offer convenient access to smaller items so you don’t have to go digging through your bag to find what you’re looking for. Although don’t use this as an excuse to leave your wet items in your bag! They still should be properly aired out.
A swim backpack will also be designed to be waterproof on the bottom so you don’t have to worry so much about placing your bag on top of a puddle of water. Or if you have your own swim training aids that you take with you for each pool workout, a dedicated swim bag could become helpful, as swim backpacks tend to also have enough room to hold a bunch of swim equipment.
As an example of these types of backpacks is a pink swim backpack like the Speedo Teamster Backpack. These Teamster backpacks by Speedo are originally designed more for grade school swimmers so there are a few features that are convenient to students, like a laptop sleeve, but nonetheless they can be convenient for adult swimmers as well. They are available in a few different sizes.
Another option if you’re looking for something to conveniently transport your swim training aids out to the pool deck without having to lug them all out in your arms is to get a mesh bag. An example of this would be a pink mesh bag like the Speedo Ventilator Mesh Bag or TYR Big Mesh Mummy Backpack. This would also make it convenient to carry once you’re done swimming, so you can carry the mesh bag with the wet swim equipment separately, instead of having to put your wet pool toys into your duffel bag or athletic bag.
Or there is yet another swim-specific option to carry all your swim gear between your home and the pool. If you prefer a bag closer to a standard duffel bag that you carry over your shoulder that can also be useful as a beach bag, give the Speedo Ventilator Tote Bag a look.
Open water swimming safety float
Finally, if you’re getting some triathlon training in the open water, training for an open water swimming event, or just love swimming in the open water (!), then safety is always an important concern. Whether you’re swimming in a group or swimming alone, the Safer Swimmer Personal Swimming Float with Dry Storage can make you a safer swimmer, and it can add some convenience too. The float makes you more visible in the open water, and there is also a little bit of storage space so that you can stash some of your personal belongings like your keys and cell phone and swim along with them. (While the space is meant to keep water out, it might be a good idea for extra security to put these types of items in a ziplock bag, just in case!)
HAPPY SWIMMING!
pink swim / pink bike / pink run
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🐠 Here are things you must consider packing!
- Swimsuit or swimming shirt aka rash guard
- rash guard: swim set for women and swim shirt for men
- Water shoes
- Waterproof phone case (so you can capture pictures of fishies underwater!)
- cheapo phone case OR waterproof camera
- I also have this "camera" wrist float to attach to my cheapo waterproof phone case so my phone won't sink to the bottom of the ocean in case I somehow let go of it. (Mine does stay afloat - test this for yourself before completely trusting it!)
- Swimming goggles or snorkeling mask set
- Reef-safe(r) sunscreen
- lightweight travel towel:
- walking sandals:
I also don't go snorkeling without a personal swim float buoy. Not only does it help to keep me visible, but it makes for a perfect way to rest out in deeper water! Oh, and it also serves as a dry bag so I can take stuff into the water with me.
Another way I have taken valuables into the water with me is to wear a travel money belt that I don't mind getting wet with salt water (it's not waterproof but I have several so I just use one of them) and then I put things in a ziplock freezer bag, and put that freezer bag in the money belt.
There are also designated waterproof waist pouches that you can store your valuables and take into the water with you.
see more:
- What to wear hiking
- What to wear snorkeling