This is not intended to replace my lap pool swims, but I thought it could be good for one of those situations where I might need some pool time and you don’t have access to lanes or open water.
There are two small pools in my apartment complex, neither are useful for lap swimming, so I have to get in my car and drive to the pool when I want to swim. I was thinking that it would be convenient to be able to walk out the door and swim without the hassle of driving to the pool during the “open swim” hours. After doing some research there seemed to be three basic options for not driving to a lap pool (there are probably many more that I didn’t consider however).
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Endless pool (or variant). No way this is something I could spend money on as an apartment dweller. I would probably just get a membership to a gym that had a pool if there wasn’t a natatorium nearby. If I ever buy a house and was really dedicated to swim training - maybe I could consider it.
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Vasa trainer (or variant). This isn’t something I would be opposed to, however I have not seen one for sale locally for a good price. The retail price is beyond what I am willing to spend for a machine that will likely find its way into the corner with my rollers and fluid trainer after the new wears off.
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Stationary resistance band system. This is something I can get behind, its cheap and portable. It can be taken to different hotel pools if you travel, it can be taken to a lap pool if needed, or it can be setup in tiny home and apartment pools as well. The price seems to be roughly $30 to $80 depending on the attachments and whatnot. If it sucks, you didn’t break the bank.
Having a DIY itch that occasionally needs to be scratched, I decided to go with option 3, but with a DIY approach. They look so simple, it would be pointless not to try and make a free one.
DISCLAIMER: I haven’t tried this yet, it might be a suckfest. I just thought I would share in case someone else might have the stuff laying around to try it on their own.
BASIC INGREDIENTS:
- A waist belt (I had one from a backpack that I didn’t use)
- A rubber tube resistance band like you would get from Academy or Dicks for workouts (I had three of these in the closet)
- A way to attach the band to the belt and attach the other end to something at the pool such as a ladder, lane rope, etc.
The resistance bands I had were of three different resistances, and they came with a pair of velcro ankle attachments. Using one ankle attachment, I simply wrapped it around the waist belt (it also had velcro attachment in the middle from the backpack it came with, seemed perfect). The clip that the bands came with attaches to the resistance band - halfway done already. The other ankle attachment is attached to the other end of the band with another clip. This ankle band can be wrapped around something stationary at the pool such as a ladder. If that is not available, I suppose you could extend some rope or something from a stake in the ground next to your pool (I don’t have this issue, so I haven’t explored beyond my simple ladder setup).
All it cost me was some stuff that was sitting in the garage not being used.
It packs up small enough to throw in a swim bag or suitcase
