Mark Threlfall: Okay. I'm just about to head to the pool for a swim. I have my
bag here packed and ready to go although you may notice this is a rather large bag
so other than just a swimming costume, a pair of goggles, and a towel, what on earth
do I have packed in this bag? I'm sure you've seen many other people going to and from the swimming
pool with similarly sized bags. I consider everything in this bag to be pretty essential.
Here are my swim kit essentials. [music]
All right, before we head to the pool, let's open this bag up run through a couple of the basics to
start off with. I've got my trunks or a costume I would very much recommend a set of those. A
towel for before, you can keep warm in it and also obviously, for after, pretty essential.
Then we have goggles and caps. Now I often actually pack a couple of goggles just in case
for whatever reason a set of goggles breaks, leaks or I've lost them previously so you've
got a backup pair, also the same with the cap, they do often split. In some parts of the world
they are mandatory in the pools. That's some of the basics. Now on to
my first bit of real essential kit that I never go to the swimming pool without, it is a pull buoy.
We really need Fraser here because he is rarely seen swimming without one of these. Now the idea
of these is they're essentially a buoyancy aid. These, in particular, go between your thighs,
up towards the top, in this region here right up in your crotch. The idea is that you don't use
your legs or you minimize your kick as much as possible and that means that then you're really
focusing on your arms, working on your technique there. Also, by not using your legs you don't
get the propulsion from your legs, so actually, it also makes your arms work a little harder.
They're brilliant also for some drill work, scull work because it then just allows you to
focus on the technique, focus on the scull without worrying about just simply staying afloat. Also,
if you're someone that drags your legs along the bottom of the swimming pool, you really struggle
with that, then a pull buoy can really help there. Actually, some people find they swim
faster with a pull buoy. I'll just say, don't use it all the time, do try swimming as well
without it, so it's not a total shock. For triathletes out there, a pull buoy can mimic the
effect of a wetsuit and that buoyancy that you get in the legs, also just a nice way of practicing
that kind of position in the water without having to put a wetsuit on in the swimming pool.
Right, now onto the next bit of kit, the kickboard or the kick float. This is almost
the flip reverse of the pull buoy, it's still a buoyancy aid, but rather than isolating the arms,
we're now isolating the legs. Essentially you just hold on to the kickboard, you may have some little
handles in there or hold on to the top or you can even hold on to bottom. I normally like
holding on to the entire board so you can rest on it. That allows you then to isolate the legs
and kick them and build up strength in them or just get used to that kicking action particularly
if you're a novice, that can be quite difficult getting that movement from the hips all the way
down to that flexibility through the ankles. Personally, I just like the kickboard because
I get bored of just looking at that black line at the bottom of the swimming pool. It's quite
nice to just grab the kickboard every so often, have a little look around, have a bit of a break
from just having your head down in the swimming pool. Like I said, brilliant tool for building
up the strength of your kick and getting used to that action. If you are starting out with this,
maybe include it into your warm-ups and your warm downs initially and then you
can build in some proper kick sets with time. The next bit of kick, again, we have the paddles.
I've actually got a broken set here from a recent swim run accident, but I'll use this one here.
Very simply, a swim paddle increases the surface area of your hand and therefore the resistance
as you're pulling through the water. These are fantastic. I absolutely love using these.
Basically almost like a progression of the pull buoy and building up that strength in your arms
and making you more robust as a swimmer. They're not for everyone, some people do hate these. I
would say if you're starting out with paddles, build up gradually. You can get different sizes
of these so start with a small one, get used to that first, and then start building up in size.
I think they're also fantastic because not only do they increase resistance by virtue of that,
they also slow your stroke down. It means that you can really focus on your technique,
so get that catch, you can feel that catch really nicely and you can see where your
hands and your arm are moving quite visibly. These are one of my favorites in the kit.
Okay next bit, again moving on, we have the fins or the flippers and these are just relatively
stubby flippers, these aren't like the scuba diving flippers you may see, but these are
brilliant for the swimming pool. A bit like the paddles, they basically increase the surface area
of your feet, they increase the resistance but also the propulsion from your legs.
Now I actually often recommend these to people when they're first starting out
or they're really focusing on their technique because it allows you to work on that technique,
really focus on that without having to worry about staying afloat, you can just easily
propel yourself forward with the fins. Also, if you are trying to strengthen up your legs,
obviously fantastic because it does increase the resistance and how much you're propelling yourself
through the water. Also, if you are someone that does struggle with your kick, maybe it's because
you've got inflexible ankles particularly if you've come from like running, football,
often have quite stiff ankles, so you struggle with that kick because you've got quite stiff
ankles. The fins just very gradually and naturally flex your ankles and stretch them out with time.
Moving on we've got a couple of optional extras one of which is the snorkel. As you can tell, this
isn't your normal kind of snorkel you use when you go in the sea and look at the fishes this one is
a specific swimming one. It comes straight over the center, nice and streamlined, so you can just
crack on and swim. The idea of these primarily is to allow you to focus - I'm going to take
this off now - is to focus on your technique. It allows you to just focus on your arm movement,
your catch, your pull without having to worry about the rotation, the breathing,
and everything quite so much. They're really good, particularly if you're starting out swimming
trying to hone in that technique. Actually I used to use these a lot. I'll be honest,
I don't pack this all the time, as I said, optional extra. One other is the neoprene
shorts. Now these are brilliant actually. They've become really popular as of late, like the pull
buoy but without having to wear the pull buoy. Now a lot of people wear these all the time. Now,
I would say don't rely on them fully, but obviously what they do is help to lift your
legs and your hips in the water which is something a lot of people struggle with,
emulate that wetsuit to a degree. Interestingly Josh Amberger one of the best swimmers within
triathlon actually admitted to wearing these quite a lot, particularly after hard bikes and runs when
his legs are toasted he just needs to survive the swim. Like I say, another optional extra.
All right, that's pretty much all the kit, but one last thing,
a bottle. Now I will go through pretty much this entire bottle within a swim, if not more on some
occasions. I'll probably drop electrolyte tablets, some squash or something in there.
Some people barely drink a thing when they're swimming but honestly,
I can't survive without it. Like I said, I'm off to the pool right now. That's it. My bag's
empty, it's done. If i was off swimming open water right now I may want to pack a wetsuit. Obviously,
if you're lucky enough to live in a warmer climate and be swimming in warmer waters, you may not need
a wetsuit. The primary aim and goal of a wetsuit is to keep you warm and it's that added extra
layer that's going to trap some warmth in there. An added bonus and benefit of them, I'll use the
buoyancy shorts as an example here because the neoprene is nice and thick and it's this
foamy material, it traps air in it and that actually helps to increase your buoyancy and
lifts you in the water. If you were to compare yourself wearing a wetsuit in the swimming pool
versus not wearing a wetsuit in the swimming pool you'll find, hopefully, that you swim
faster in a wetsuit because you are lifted in the water and it reduces your surface area and drag
through the water. It does take a little bit of getting used to because like I say,
your body position is different. Do try them out a little bit before maybe heading to a race now.
If you are wearing a wetsuit, you're going to need something like a body glide to help reduce
any chafing or any rubbing particularly around the neck region when you're moving your head.
Body Glide is a non-petroleum based balm which is recommended. Personally, I used to use stuff
like baby oil and Vaseline which is advised against because it is petroleum-based and can
degrade the neoprene. Personally, never noticed anything over all the years of using it myself.
Like I say, I would recommend using Body Glide. Another thing you may want to consider for the
open water. I definitely use a lot these times of the year in the UK, is a skull cap or a neoprene
cap. I haven't got one here today but it goes on over your head and sometimes it detaches around
the neck region around your chin and again, just keeps your head nice and warm and stops
you from getting that classic ice cream head when you jump in the cold water. There we go.
I think that's pretty much everything today. If I've missed anything or there's anything that
you can't live about when you're swimming, please drop it down in the Comments section below. If
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