Fun and Safety in the Pool this Summer

As summer approaches and the temperature starts to rise, attentions turn towards relaxing and cooling off in your backyard pool. Australia boasts the ideal environment for swimming, with the hot climate and suburban lifestyle providing numerous opportunities to get wet. Before anyone dives in the deep end, however, there’s a great deal of important swimming pool safety advice and tips that need to be taken into consideration. From diving rules and fence requirements through to general water safety and supervision, pool safety should always be embraced as a vital part of summertime fun.

Check the environment

It’s important to check the surrounding environment before jumping into a pool. Whether you’re visiting the local public pool or swimming in the backyard, it’s critical that you inspect the entire poolside area for potential safety hazards. For example, fallen branches may need to be removed from the pool prior to swimming, along with hoses, pool cleaning equipment, and pool toys.

External objects can create diving and tripping hazards, while long hoses and pool toys are easy to get tangled up in. It’s also important to inspect the edges around the pool and remove anything that may create a hazard, including poolside furniture and toys. A quick inspection doesn’t have to take long, and can be the difference between fun and danger. It’s also important to check water quality, along with correct chlorination and salt levels.

Supervision and pool rules

Water safety relies on common sense and constant diligence. Before enjoying a day at the pool, it’s important that precautionary measures have been put in place and that everyone is aware of their obligations. Parents have the responsibility to set rules and guidelines based on the surrounding environment and the specific needs of their children. While all children using the pool should already know how to swim, constant supervision is still needed to ensure safety at all times. When setting pool rules, it’s important to communicate with everyone in the pool and create signs that remind people of their responsibilities.

Basic pool safety rules include no diving into the shallow end, no running around the pool area, no fighting or rough play, and not holding people under the water. While older kids may be allowed to dive into the deep end, each parent needs to consider their options based on the pool in question and on their child’s swimming ability level. Young children need additional attention, including constant adult supervision and flotation devices. Arm floaters and life vests are two popular.

Fencing

Fencing has a huge impact on pool safety, especially for parents or anyone who is looking after young children. Pool fences are a legal requirement in Australia, so they need to be installed in order to avoid penalties. While there are different pool fencing regulations depending on the state of residence, there are some common rules applied nationwide.

CPR and signage

If something does go wrong, it’s important to be prepared and have people around who are trained in CPR. Learning CPR is a good idea for anyone, and a really good idea if you own a pool or have young children. CPR signage needs to be displayed in private and public pools in Australia in compliance with council regulations and the Swimming Pools Act of 1992. Preparing a first aid kit is also important, with standard kits widely available from chemists and other retailers.

Supervision and pool rules

Water safety relies on common sense and constant diligence. Before enjoying a day at the pool, it’s important that precautionary measures have been put in place and that everyone is aware of their obligations. Parents have the responsibility to set rules and guidelines basedon the surrounding environment and the specific needs of their children. While all children using the pool should already know how to swim, constant supervision is still needed to ensure safety at all times. When setting pool rules, it’s important to communicate with everyone in the pool and create signs that remind people of their responsibilities.

Basic pool safety rules include no diving into the shallow end, no running around the pool area, no fighting or rough play, and not holding people under the water. While older kids may be allowed to dive into the deep end, each parent needs to consider their options based on the pool in question and on their child’s swimming ability level. Young children need additional attention, including constant adult supervision and flotation devices. Arm floaters and life vests are two popular flotation options for young kids or anyone else who doesn’t feel confident in the water, but should not be used as alternatives to supervision.

Responsible fun

There’s nothing more fun than getting wet on a hot summer’s day, and taking the right precautions ensures that everyone can have a great time at the pool. Creating a fun but safe environment during summer is the responsibility of all pool owners and parents, especially those with young children. Pool safety doesn’t have to be a chore; just make these simple precautions part of your regular swimming routine. Here at A1 Swimming Academy, we teach swimming and water safety in the comfort of your home pool. Please contact us and make your booking today.

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Injury and Pain Rehab with Swimming

Since humans discovered bodies of water, swimming was about survival and travelling from point A to B. Today, people swim for hundreds of positive reasons and most typically it’s for leisure and fitness. But how about for those that are injured?

Therapy with the use of water has been around for hundreds of years. Even before pools were invented, people have used natural springs to help relax and heal their injuries. Fast forward to today, we have scientific research and technological advances to use swimming for therapeutic and rehabilitation purposes.

Where is your pain coming from? If you’ve got back pain, neck pain, post-surgery, torn ligaments, joint and other injuries that affect your movement – swimming can help. Each type of stroke activates and relieves different muscle groups. Using the correct technique can help you stretch whilst working on your strength.

Because of the wide variety of pain and injury, we’ve worked with members from all sorts of occupations and backgrounds, does any of them sound like you?

• Office workers who sit stiffly all day looking down at their screen
• Elderly members who want to stay active but too afraid of risking further injury or worsening the pain they are already experiencing
• Mums and Dads who’ve been ignoring pain and injury symptoms because they simply don’t have the time to address it
• People with pre-existing and chronic pain that’s affected their whole lives
• We’ve noticed over the years that frequent mobile usage has also contributed to pain and injury!

Whatever and wherever your pain and injury is coming from, it can all become too much to handle. It can cause you to avoid exercise and physical activities all together causing your general well-being to deteriorate even further.

So how does swimming actually help your injury?

The weightlessness created by the buoyancy of the water reduces pressure in your joints and other pain points. This allows you to relax whilst improving your blood circulation. You’ll be able to move and exercise with less pain.

The gentle resistance of the water also aids in your strength training. It’s far gentler than lifting weights and easier to go at your own pace. The water will support each of your movements. As you practice the different strokes, you’ll feel that your range of motion will increase as the strokes are a form of stretching.

Swimming as physical therapy and rehab is a good low impact yet targeted therapy. An unexpected benefit is also emotional and mental relaxation. We understand that pain can cause anxiousness and lowered confidence which can easily affect your day-to-day activities. One of the greatest feedback we receive is that through relieving their pain, our members feel more relaxed and emotionally confident.

Therapy through swimming is incredibly versatile as it’s easily customisable for each specific physical injury. It’s crucial to find the right coach or therapist who can develop a program unique to your needs as each injury is different. That’s why it’s important for us to have a conversation before starting our lessons to ensure that we understand the pain and discomfort you are going through, and the positive health changes you would like to see in your lifestyle.

Get in touch with us today to talk about the pain you are going through and how we can help achieve relieving it. We don’t believe in a one-off pain relief, but rather a long-term rehabilitation for you so that the pain doesn’t come back. Try our free trial to see the benefits for yourself!

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Physical exercise can become a chore and even daunting for some. But could you imagine the fears and stress a child with special needs may face when it comes to exercise?

Whether it’s a physical disability where mobility is an issue, or a mental illness where the sense of fear can take over your child’s body, swimming can help your child overcome those day-to-day hurdles.

We understand these struggles and also know the value in exercise and therapy. For us, swimming lessons for special needs children is not just about “swimming lessons”. Instead, we aim to help build physical strength and self-confidence. Through one-on-one coaching, we work at the child’s own pace and create a safe space for them to be at ease emotionally.

Through our experience with special needs children and the feedback we receive from their parents, we’ve gathered the five top reasons children with special needs love swimming lessons:

1. Improvement in Cognitive Processing – Speech and Coordination

The process of acquiring knowledge through swimming lessons gives them the experience to improve their learning capabilities. As each child gets to learn at their own pace, they really get the chance to absorb information and improve one skill at a time. They can apply this in all aspects in life.

2. Physical Exercise

The safety of a special needs child is always a top priority. With certain disabilities, there are higher risks when it comes to physical injuries. Luckily, swimming is a fantastic low impact sport that helps you improve your fitness and well-being. Specifically, swimming can help increase their muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility and most of all technical ability.

3. Social Activity

The one-on-one interaction the child has with their instructor directly impacts their confidence and improvement in communication. The constant relay of instructions and feedback helps the child practice listening and comprehending the information. In return, they have the chance to ask questions, comment and communicate their concerns.

4. Relaxation

The one-on-one swimming lesson allows the child to understand and truly value that the instructor has the child’s best interest at heart. Creating this safe space is crucial for the child’s improvement. With the help of the boundless water and the feeling of being able to move freely helps the child mentally and physically relax.

5. Achieving New Goals

Each special needs child has their own unique set of challenges and struggles. Thinking about fixing or ridding such problems may seem impossible and even discouraging for some children. Swimming helps channel these challenges into a fun activity they can tackle in a more step-by-step approach. With each stroke and kick, the child feels a sense of accomplishment. Building their confidence, they can transfer this positive mindset into their day-to-day challenges.

We love seeing each special needs child come out of the water feeling emotionally boosted and physically stronger. We take great pride in helping each child through their therapy and also allowing the parents feel at ease. Each child has the potential to improve and grow but best done at their own pace. Book your one-on-one session today and enjoy the benefits that come from learning in your home.

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Are you looking to change up your workout routine? We have the perfect answer for you.

Here at A1 Swimming, we believe that getting fit should be fun too! Our Aqua Aerobics classes are created to meet your needs, whether it’s one on one in your home, or with a group of friends in your apartment complex, or an outdoor ocean pool both – enjoy exercising while having a laugh along the way.

A common misconception people may have about Aqua Aerobics is that you’re not getting an intense workout. However, it’s a fantastic low impact, full body workout that is fun and suitable for all ages, especially for those that have injuries or require rehabilitation. One of the main benefits of engaging in water activities is that it increases your mobility, without risk of injury.

So how does this work? Did you know, water acts as form of built in resistance that forces your muscles to work harder to move through the water. Water also lessens the effect of gravity, so as a bonus you’re able to move your body through a wider range of motion, improving your flexibility.

Here’s 6 benefits of Aqua Aerobics:

Increases Muscle Strength

• Aqua Aerobics requires the use of large muscle groups to move through the water. This requires more strength which in return improves your muscle tone and function.

Builds Endurance

• Unlike traditional weights, which require the human body to push and pull against them, water resistance is a natural resistance which requires the body to work with the water instead working against it.

Improves Flexibility and Range of Motion

• Exercising in water will overcome the restrictions of gravity and allow you to move freely, increasing your range of motion.

Low impact Exercise

• Aqua Aerobics is a low impact exercise that uses water buoyancy to minimise the impact it has on our joints. This is especially beneficial for those with joint conditions such as arthritis.

Relieves Stress

• Like all forms of exercise, water workouts help reduce stress by releasing feel good hormones called endorphins and help your cardiovascular endurance by encouraging oxygen flow to your muscles. (Also the sound of water is so peaceful!)

Burns Calories

• The average thirty minute pool workout approximately burns 300 calories. Pair this with the help of water buoyancy, and you’ll discover why an intense Aqua Aerobics session is one of the most effective ways to decrease body fat.

Water aerobics, it provides you with the perfect combination of improving your endurance and strength training, while minimising the risk of injury. Now that you’ve a good idea about the benefits of Aqua Aerobics, it’s time to get down to business! Our friendly qualified Aqua Aerobics Instructors create customised classes that are dedicated to your needs. We offer Aqua Aerobics classes in your home, apartment swimming pool or a great outdoor location – get in touch with us to find out how!

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During Winter, many parents tend to pull their kids out of swim school because it’s “too cold”. This common misconception that swimming is only for the hot Australian summer is a one dimension approach to swimming. Swimming is an activity that can be enjoyed all year long.

Here at A1 Swimming, we believe that the winter months are perfect for children and adults to boost their immune system and continue to improve their overall well-being. That’s why we are Sydney’s best mobile swim service, with personalised training instructors that come to you, learn to swim in the comfort of your own pool or within your apartment complex facilities.

The benefits of swimming during winter:

1. Boost Your Immune System

While a lot of parents might think that children who take swimming classes in winter will be more prone to getting sick, the truth is the complete opposite. If anything, one of the main benefits of swimming in winter is that it will help children develop a stronger immune system and help them fight off the nasties going around.

2. Increase Confidence – In and around the water

Continuing to swim during the colder months, will allow your children to swim more consistently during practice so that they feel more confident all year round. Meanwhile, the importance of water safety is reinforced to give them an all rounded boost of confidence. At A1 Swimming, we firmly stand by that children should always have age appropriate parental guidance around water.

What’s more if you or children in your family are new to swimming, Winter is a great time to start on the basics, to be best prepared before Summer arrives demanding more time in the water.

3. Maintain skills and Progression

One of the major benefits of swimming during winter is that you maintain your swimming skills and continuously improve. If you stop swimming during winter, it is most likely that your child will have to re-learn some of the previous skills they were taught before, hindering their progression and potentially making them feel less confident about swimming.

4. Keeping Active

We’ve mentioned a few benefits of swimming during winter but ultimately, swimming is a fun activity that will keep you physically active. Whether its rain, hail or shine, there is always somewhere you can swim, and have the same consistent experience unlike running that when chained a treadmill can feel quite different and mundane.

Swimming throughout the winter helps adults and children to develop a stronger immune system to fight off colds during the colder months. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that ‘Swimming is only for the Summer’ because not only is it a skill for life, you might risk the progress you’ve made.

There is a great Chinese Proverb – The best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is NOW – and so it goes with learning to swim – no matter the season, the best time to learn is now!

Our friendly, qualified swimming instructors are passionate about teaching adults and children the necessary skills to be safe in and around the water. Our mobile service is flexible and reliable, book your one on one session today!

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Knowing how to swim is an essential and potentially life-saving skill which is particularly important in Australia where we are surrounded by some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and have a love for outdoor entertaining in the warmer months. Swimming is much more than an activity, there are benefits that your child can take through life with them. At A1 Swimming Academy, we believe that every child should learn how to swim and that everyone has the capacity to learn. All you need to do is to get out there and give it a go!

Here are 6 reasons of many, why your child should learn to swim in 2018:

1. A Skill for Life

Teaching your child to swim from a young age equips them with the skill that will last a lifetime. It will come in handy when you least expect it and they can even teach others later on in life!

2. Safety

According to the National Safe Kids Campaign, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury – related death to children ages 1 through to 14. It is crucial that kids learn how to swim at a young age, considering we are surrounded by water (even your bathtub). Not only will you be more confident in your child’s ability to be around the water, they will gain the confidence they need and be better equipped to stay safe.

3. Improving Health and Fitness

Swimming is such a great exercise because it burns so much energy! Whether it’s learning water drills, swimming laps or pool games, swimming requires a large amount of energy that will improve their overall health and wellbeing. It’s also great for kids with Asthma as it doesn’t irritate or cause flare ups like running – plus it helps improve lung capacity allowing them to function more efficiently. Swimming is also great for the health and fitness of your game obsessed tweens and teens, the posture and spine strengthening benefits are considerable.

4. To Have Fun

All seriousness aside, swimming is such a fun activity! If your child learns to swim, a door of opportunities will open. Remember that pool party Ryan was throwing? Now you have the confidence to allow them to have fun and be safe at the same time while making new friends.

5. Low Impact Sport

There’s a reason why swimming is used for rehabilitation – because it’s a low impact sport. The body is 90 percent buoyant when in the water which reduces the impact it has on your child’s growing body. This makes swimming a great activity for kids alongside other sporting activities like Football or Netball, and can help them stay injury free.

6. Self Confidence

Many people develop a fear of water at a young age. Some situations may be more complex than others but by making sure that your children learn to swim whilst they are young, you can significantly increase your child’s confidence in and around the water, ensuring with the appropriate parent supervision that they are safe and comfortable in the water.

Swimming is an essential skill for life. It’s never too late to learn how to swim. Our friendly, qualified swimming instructors that are passionate about teaching children and adults the necessary skills to be safe around the water. The best part, is that we’re completely mobile and come to you! Book your one on one session today!

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