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Swim Bag Essentials

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. 

My daughter just finished another season of high school swim and had one of the best season’s of her career to date. Her hair also survived the season better than it ever has before, too!! So, what was in her swim bag this season? Let’s take a look:

Swim Bag Essentials

The biggest difference this year (apart from her dropping times meet after meet), was that her hair did not get trashed this year from the chlorine! Prevention really is your best friend when it comes to protecting your hair and skin from the damaging effects of chlorine.

We invested in some good quality hair/body products this season. Triswim makes a line of shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion that removes the chlorine from the hair/body and then protects it. We bought the travel size set of the Triswim products to put in her swim bag and got the full size ones for home and refilling the small ones.

She also found that if she put a little conditioner in her hair before she put it up in a silicone swim cap, that it helped to protect it even more. Silicone swim caps are thicker and more gentle on the hair than the latex ones.

Even though most pools have kickboards and pull buoys that can be borrowed for training, my daughter prefers to use her own pull buoy to work on just her upper body strength during her strokes. The short fins make working on leg strength and endurance more effective. The shorter fins provide more resistance that the traditional length fins. I like that you can purchase the shorter fins – we used to always have to buy the long ones and cut the tips off.  The pull buoy, fins and other wet equipment goes into a mesh bag for transport and to dry out.

Rounding out her essentials is a quick-dry, microfiber towel that does not take up a ton of space in her swim bag and her favorite Vanquisher goggles. Everything gets packed into the Speedo backpack that has plenty of compartments for caps, goggles, hair care supplies, a sealed compartment for wet suits, and room for dry clothes for after practice.

High school swim season may be over, but in a few short months it will be time for summer swim season!

February 21, 2018 Leave a Comment

Team USA Winter Games Fan Gear

This post contains affiliate links which means I will earn a small commission for any purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.

The countdown is on for the 2018 PyeongChong Winter Olympic Games happening in South Korea from February 9 through 25. I personally LOVE the Olympics and it doesn’t really matter which sport is on, I want to cheer on all the athletes. I know how much talent, commitment and luck it takes to make the team and I want them all to have a great competition!

The team at Fanatics has the best selection of Team USA gear for any occasion.  I love long-sleeved t-shirts in winter for coaching, so I am going to be adding the Team USA Olympics in Mountain Long Sleeve T-Shirt – Navy  to my shopping cart shortly!

Team USA Olympics in Mountain Long Sleeve T-Shirt - Navy

Long sleeved t-shirt not your style? Here are just a few of the other Team USA items that Fanatics carries.



 

What is your favorite winter games event? Have you got your Team USA gear yet?

January 15, 2018 Leave a Comment

Tips for Dealing with Gymnast’s Hand Rips

Tea bags to help treat gymnast hand rips

A gymnast’s hand rip after it has been treated using tea bags.

This was originally posted a few years ago, but I have had many questions about how to treat rips from swinging bars lately, so I figured it is time to republish it. This post contains affiliate links – if you make a purchase through any of these links I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

***

At our gym when one of the pre-team girls comes to us with her first “rip”, the coaches usually make a big deal about it, letting her know she is now an official gymnast. Seems silly, but rips from swinging bars is part of the sport of gymnastics. But once a gymnast has a rip, how do treat it?

  • Have the gymnast go to the bathroom and wash her hands to remove any chalk and surface germs. Yes,it stings, but it still has to be done. Pat the rip dry with a paper towel.
  • Have an adult carefully trim any excess skin using sterilized scissors and apply Neosporin or similar antibiotic ointment. Cover with a bandage and then wrap the bandage with athletic tape to keep the bandage in place. This should get the gymnast through the remainder of practice.
  • Once at home, we swear by tea bags to reduce the pain and speed the healing of the rip. Prepare a cup of black tea using a tea bag according to the package directions. Remove the tea bag and place it in the freezer for a few minutes to cool. Apply the tea bag directly to the rip and leave it on there for 20 minutes or so. The tannic acid that occurs naturally in the tea is an amazing pain reliever! The tea bag will discolor the rip area, but only for a few days. It also helps speed the development of the new layer of skin.
  • Over the next few days be sure to keep the rip area moisturized to prevent cracking and reopening of the wound. My daughter uses Bag Balm or her favorite lip balm – like Carmex or Blistex Daily Conditioning Treatment.
  • During practice, cover the rip with a bandage and athletic tape or make a tape grip so your gymnast can continue training. It really is good practice for gymnasts to learn to swing bars with a rip because undoubtedly at some point in their gymnastics career they will get a rip right before a meet and need to know how to work through it.

The tea bag method is not the only way to treat rips, however, it is the one that most of the gymnasts in our gym use. You can also treat rips with Vitamin E applied directly to the rip, Neosporin + Pain ointment, and some gymnasts will tell you that Preparation H works well (since it contains medication for pain and to reduce swelling).

Once your gymnast is ready for grips – don’t worry, her coach will let you know when – she still may get rips.  For some girls, working bars with hand grips (I only recommend dowel grips with buckle closure) makes a big difference in their ability to swing bars and cut down on the number of rips.

January 15, 2018 6 Comments

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