Team Division

We are days away from releasing our new "Team Division" custom team store website.

This website will allow coaches to set up an online store where their team members and their fans can log in and order team uniform items, apparel, and equipment. Each team will be able to shop from a website that sells exclusively their team items.

Building a custom team site is free. Teams with custom team sites receive bulk pricing and discounted shipping on all of their individual orders.

If you would like like to Demo the new site, go to:
www.thelifeguardstore.com/teams
Username: Team Division
Password: example

Top 10 Benefits of Water Aerobics

     2011 is just around the corner! For me, every year is the same old thing. Gym memberships start selling like hot cakes and all of the treadmills and ellipticals become occupied. While part of me wants nothing more than to get my turn on the 'rat wheel' over with; another part of me wishes there was something different I could do to change up my workout and make it more interesting (and more likely for me to stick with it through out the year, or at least until it is nice enough to go back outside). These are only some of many reasons to try water aerobics. Water aerobics can be defined as a non-weight bearing (easy on the joints) resistance and aerobic exercise performed in shallow water. It has evolved from just walking or jogging forward and backward in the water to jumping jacks and popular cross-country skiing movements.
     Water equipment has also become more popular. Water weights, floating belts, and other useful equipment are used to increase water resistance as well as help with flotation and balance. Water aerobics can be performed just about anywhere; from health and fitness clubs to public or private swimming pools to even shallow lakes. All you really need is the motivation and dedication to splash around a little bit (warm weather wouldn’t hurt either).
Benefits of Water Aerobics:

1. Non-weight bearing exercise
2. Improves muscular endurance
3. Improves core strength and endurance
4. Great exercise for pregnant women
5. Improves flexibility
6. Improves cardiovascular conditioning
7. Burns enormous amount of calories
8. Keeps the body cool during exercise
9. Fun and enjoyable exercise
10. Great way to modify or spice up normal routine

Safety can be a huge issue when it comes to combining water with exercise, so be sure to take note of these safety tips!
Water Aerobics Safety Tips:

1. Contact physician before starting program
2. Make sure lifeguard is on duty
3. Know your limits (listen to your body)
4. Give yourself space for movement
5. Stay hydrated
6. Be aware of wet surfaces while WALKING around pool area
7. Properly stretch before and after exercise
8. Make sure instructor knows your health background if you are at risk
9. Get CPR certified
10. Use sunblock if you are outdoors

 

Black Friday Sale

 

On Friday, November 26th, TheLifeguardStore.com will be having a 

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, WEB ONLY, 15% Off all stock,

Black Friday (and Saturday) Sale. 

Click here for details

Work out Submitted by Jonathan Miller

This workout was submitted to us by one of our facebook fans, Jonathan Miller. Try it out. Let us know what you think!


Warm up:
200m/y - easy, choice
200m/y - easy kick

Workout sets:
2 sets x 100m/y - Individual Medley (fly, back, breast, free) - 30 seconds rest between sets
3 sets x 50m/y - free, sprint - 45 seconds rest between sets
2 sets x 50m/y - negative splits - 45 seconds rest between sets
1 set x 100m/y - easy kick
6 sets x 75m/y - IM (fly, back, breast; free, fly, back; breast, free, fly;) - 45 seconds rest between sets
1 set x 100m/y - easy kick
10 x 50m/y sprints on the 1min or 1:10
1 set x 100m/y - easy kick
10 sets x 100m/y - alternating choice

Cool down:
100m/y - easy, choice
1 set x 100m/y - easy kick
 
Approximate time: 60 minutes
Total distance: 3300m/y

Choosing Goggles

Having a reliable pair of goggles is important for all water sports, especially swimming. Not everyone can win races by closing their eyes and counting stroke the way Michael Phelps did during his butterfly at the Beijing Olympics.

When buying swim goggles, there are three factors that you should consider; quality, cost, and most importantly fit.  Goggles keep chlorinated water out of your eyes which allow you to see during your race or whatever sport you are competing in.

Swim goggles must be able to withstand repeated exposure to chlorine and water. When selecting a pair of goggles, check the quality of the rubber around the headband to ensure it is at least 0.07 inches (2 mm) thick. The most common issue with goggles is related to issues with the rubber headband. 

Many types of goggles come with anti-fog coating, with a chemical applied to the inside of the lenses. This coating reduces the development of condensation that can occur during swimming. The condensation is caused by the contrast between the heat inside the eyepiece and water temperature. 

Goggles range in cost from around $5 - $50. To help decide how much you should spend on your goggles, consider how often you swim, and how rough you are on your equipment. Goggle lenses are made of plastic and scratch easily. If you are rough on your equipment or are buying goggles for children, consider the replacement cost. You might also consider getting less expensive practice goggles and reserve your higher quality goggles for competitions.

 When putting on swim goggles, push the eyepieces of the goggles firmly against your eyes. The rubber creates a seal and keeps the water out.

We, at The Lifeguard Store, recommend the Speedo Vanquisher Goggles. They are a good quality at a good price.  But we carry many other brands and styles if you prefer or would just like to try something different.

Butterfly Stroke Tips

There are several different elements to swimming with a proper butterfly stroke technique. Pay close attention to your body position and get your technique right before you work on your speed. Swimmers with good technique can swim faster and longer than more athletic swimmers with poor technique.

These basic tips can help you refine your butterfly stroke:

• Your head will vary slightly, but should primarily stay in-line with spine

• When not breathing, look at bottom of pool. When breathing, look down and forward

• Your shoulders and chest should tip up and down/forward. Your chest lays forward and presses down as your hands enter the water

• Your arms should be a mirror of each other. Arm speed controls rhythm, with generally steady to decreasing/slowing rhythm through the course of a race unless you are really well-conditioned

• During your forearm and hand pull, your arms should remain shoulder width apart, flex at elbows with line from fingertips through elbow moving towards pointing down an slightly inward, then sweep inwards to outwards they press on the water, with the fingertip through elbow line moving from pointing inwards and down to slightly outwards and down

• During your forearm and hand recovery, you should have straight arms, relaxed hands, with a wide and low arm swing, your thumbs should be down, pinky up, and the back of your hand towards thumb should lead

• During your forearm and hand entry, you should have straight, extended arms, extended, thumb to fingertip first, shoulder width apart

• Keep your hips relatively high in the water, acting as moving-forward pivot point

• You should generally have two kicks per cycle, but one per cycle is also acceptable. Your kick timing is based on your arm timing, with your kick balancing your arm and trunk motion. There is generally a kick as your pull begins and a second kick just prior to hand exit. Your kick action and your chest position must work together or you will be moving your body up and down instead of forward. If you attempt to kick with too much effort you will tend to tire sooner than if you allow your kick to work with your arms and body

• Your feet must remain in the same plane through the entire kick. They may be in slightly different planes, but that difference must not change. Your feet should be extended with a relaxed ankle on the down-beat, and a flexed ankle on the upbeat. Your kick amplitude should not be exaggerated

• Keep your body as low and flat/forward as possible, your head should tip up enough for your face top clear water, inhale before your head lays down prior to your arm-recovery reaching a "T" from the shoulders out to the fingertips

LGS Fall Coupon

Use this Coupon Code for 10% off of your Purchase at TheLifeguardStore.com!

Backstroke Tips

There are several different elements to swimming with a proper backstroke technique. Pay close attention to your body position and get your technique right before you work on your speed. Swimmer with good technique can swim faster and longer than more athletic swimmers with poor technique.

These basic tips can help you refine your backstroke:

• Keep your Head in line with your spine
• In longer events, look straight up. In shorter events look slightly back towards your feet
• Your shoulders and chest should rotate around central axis of your spine in same plane as your hips. Your upper shoulder is on recovery, while your lower shoulder pulling your arm through the water
• Your arms should always be 180-degrees from each other. Your arm speed is controlled by your kick speed. Your recovery arm is straight from wrist to shoulder and points straight up
• The propulsive surface of your arm (the line from fingertips through wrist and elbow) starts pointing towards the bottom and side of the pool, rotates more towards the side and surface of the pool, then finishes releasing the water towards the feet and under the hips; (1 )reach towards the bottom, (2) then arm-wrestle, (3)then throw something into your pocket.
• Your hips rotate around central axis of your spine in same plane as shoulders. Attempt to initiate body rotation from your hips
• Kick in a steady 6-beat tempo; a faster tempo results in faster hands
• Take one breath per cycle; inhale on one pull, exhale on the next pull

As always, the #1 thing you can do to improve your swimming is to practice.

Freestyle Tips

There are several different elements to swimming with a propper freestyle technique. Pay close attention to your body position and get your technique right before you work on your speed. Swimmer with good technique can swim faster and longer than more athletic swimmers with poor technique.

These basic tips can help you refine your freestyle stroke:

• Keep your head in line with your spine
• When breathing, look sideways with one eye directly over/above the other. When not breathing, look at the bottom of pool.
• Your shoulders and chest should rotate around the central axis of your spine in same plane as your hips. Your upper shoulder is on recovery, while your lower shoulder is pulling your arm through the water.
• The propulsive surface of your arm (the line from fingertips up through wrist and elbow) should point at the bottom of the pool as much of the time as possible.
• Rotate your hips around central axis of your spine in same plane as shoulders. Attempt to initiate body rotation from your hips.
• Kicking is secondary to the pull, and shouldn’t overpower it. It should be natural and not forced. A variety of kick rhythms are acceptable.
• The faster feet your feet, the faster your pull, and ultimately the faster your swim. Splashing is not only OK but encouraged to facilitate better follow-through on.

Remember, the #1 thing you can do to improve your swimming is to practice.

Introduction

This is ‘A Competitive Swim Blog’ provided by The Lifeguard Store in order to share work outs, review new products, discuss college and Olympic level swimming, or any other swimming related topic.

We would really like to use this blog as an opportunity to interact with you, the swimming community, and hopefully post what you want to read! So please comment on our posts, share your training tips with us and the community, let us know if there are any products you would like us to review. We want to adapt our blog to your wants and needs.

We’ll also post promotions and coupons, some may even be exclusive to this blog; So check back often!

Dreamhost promo