The small amount of equipment you need to get started swimming shouldn’t fool you into thinking you only need to buy a pair of goggles and a swimsuit. Swimming is all about technique, with some tools to improve your skills and others to make you swim faster. You will need the following essential items of equipment.
swimming pool
This is the piece of equipment that most triathletes find the hardest to handle. Unlike biking and running, which can happen right outside your front door, swimming involves specific planning and placement. Ideally, you need a local group, divided by skills (slow lane, mid lane, etc.). Find a triathlon club session or teacher group to connect with other triathletes and get feedback from fellow swimmers or a poolside coach.
Some triathletes re-book a lane as a group and swim together to ensure a clear lane and an enjoyable session. Whether you pay per session, buy a season ticket, or pool is part of your gym membership, swimming comes at a cost and good strokes are the product of hours of training.
glasses and hat
Safe and comfortable goggles make training more enjoyable and help prevent unnecessary injuries caused by swimming into people or objects. A fitted hat means less drag, less cleaning hair out of the eyes, and less chlorine damage to hair. You may have a warmer head, but you’ll need to run in a hat, so take that as race day preparation.
Swimwear
Women wear a one or two piece suit. Men can have boxer shorts or a longer cycle type. Don’t wear baggy suits or shorts; they do too much drag, forcing you to swim too hard. It’s an advanced training method for wearing a drag suit, so think tight and low resistance when shopping for a costume. Triathlon suits are what a lot of people wear for running, but the wear, chlorine, and stretching caused by regular training will soon make them too expensive to justify training.
pool toys
There are three basic tools to help you swim better and learn good technique.
o Fins allow you to focus on arm action and body twist while performing light but incredibly effective foot and leg action.
o A skateboard allows you to focus on the rhythm of your kicks.
o A bottle of drink allows you to stay hydrated and provides liquid energy, essential if you want to maintain good technique and mental focus from the beginning to the end of a session.
Advanced training tools
Drag shorts, which are designed to be worn over your normal wetsuit, build strength in swimmers with good technique by adding resistance. However, they are not suitable for beginners, who need good skills before building strength. A set of plastic paddles will force you to swim with perfect hand placement or your hands will slide uselessly through the water; always choose a small couple and then add them a little at a time.
