World’s largest swimming pool

As we are stuck on the freezing weather of UK it is not mentally healthy watching videos and photos of people having a great time on swimming pools it makes a wii bit jealous. I sincerely hope that this year we have similar type of weather we had last summer. I was just browsing on the Internet finding some interesting facts for just general knowledge and found information on the World’s largest swimming pool on YouTube. The video was so appealing that I felt like I need to be there sooner than later.

The largest swimming pool is called San Alfonso del Mar seawater pool in Algarrobo, Chile. It is approximately 1,020 meters long and covers upto 20 acres. It was completed in December 2006 and holds upto 66 million gallons of water. Wow. Imagine how many pool covers are required to cover the whole pool up. I am so curious to know how they would actually clean this huge swimming pool. As I have a swimming pool at home, I know the swimming pool chemicals I need costs me a fortune, I want to know how much these guys spend to clean the pool. These are definitely the first few questions I will ask them when I get to Algarrobo.

While I was browising through this pool, my other half looked at me and whispered I wish we were there this Valentines. May be she is right we should have been there this Valentines but we are not. I thought about her words all night long and then I decided may be I should take her there for our anniversary this April. This will definitely be a lovely surprise for her. Thinking about it may be I shouldn’t tell her as it will be a even greater surprise if I just took her there without telling her, obviously when we reach the airport she will realise we are going to Chile but still would be great to see her reaction when she finds out in the airport.

It also seems like you can various different activities on the pool other than just swimming such as wake boarding, scuba diving and water skiing. I am truly looking forward to this swimming pool and Chile in general.

What do I need to maintain the swimming pool??

If you own a swimming pool it gives you an opportunity to use it everyday and enjoy everyday as a holiday but you do need to maintain the swimming pool if you want to get the best out of it. There are few swimming pool equipments which are essential to look after your pool those are swimming pool chemicals, swimming pool heaters and swimming pool covers.

As swimming pools often generate algae and dead bacteria, swimming pool chemicals are essential, to avoid them you will need to use the chemicals twice every month. Ideally this should clean the water and you should be able to enjoy swimming with minimum fuss. You can accomplish this using the best chemicals to clean your pool, so that the water is crystalised and clear.

Swimming pool covers will help the swimming pool from any dust, dirt and from random weathers. Pool covers have come into increasing use recently in an effort to save water evaporation, swimming pool maintenance, heating energy costs and safety of children.

Swimming pool heaters will warm the water and the pump. You will have to be very careful while using the heater. When the pump is frozen in the winter, someone people apply the heater in one position for a long time which then damages the pipes. The first thing to decide when choosing a pool heater is which one you are going to use gas, electric or oil heaters. Gas heaters are mostly used and recommended and if the gas heater is not available then oil heaters or heat pumps should be your choice for big swimming pools and electric heaters should be the choice for small to medium swimming pools. All of the heaters above can normally be used on different sizes swimming pools.

Swimming gives your body the umph to improve your fitness, it also tones various muscles in your body. Aquatics is an exercise that has no age barriers to exercise and allows people from any age in swimming pools. Swimming is a lifetime exercise routine, it never has to stop and never possess any injury threats unless you do too much in your first routine.

Even when you are tired you can use swimming to relax your body and mind. There are plenty of exercises to do and games you could play in the swimming pool. You can use swimming exercises or just general swimming can help to your body muscles and therapies to heal your body wounds if you have any joint pains or injuries. While swimming it almost works out your entire body such as legs, arms, back, shoulders and other body parts, with very little joint strain. It is great for general fitness.

Regular swim helps to improves cardio vascular fitness, builds muscle strength and endurance, which means it can serve as a cross trainer which you use to workout at the gym. It is also very flexible as you can swim before or after your gym workout. Use the swimming pool for a warm up session before the gym or you can use it after your workout to relax your body muscles.

You do group sessions in the pool, have some sort of games or exercise regime in a group, or may be you can throw a coin in the pool and have a competition on who gets it first. This activity not only keeps you fit but also keeps it social and fun.

As I mentioned before you can also use the swimming pool aquatic therapy, this therapy is for people who have diabetes, joint replacement problems, spinal injuries, broken bones, weight management and many more.

I recommend swimming for all ages and especially parents – get your children to the pool at early age. This help maintain child’s health and fitness.

These days almost every leisure centre, gyms and spa clubs use swimming pool chemicals, swimming pool pumps and swimming pool heaters to clean and keep the water warm.

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Having the correct amount of swimming pool chemicals in the swimming pool water is the answer to a healthy pool. The water will look fresh and algae growth will keep to a minimum and because of this neither pool nor you will suffer.

Water is generally clear and clean during the winter in the swimming pool, even though very little has been done to it. Algae do not appear and I hardly ever see the pool turn green during the winter time. If algae do occur the growth is very slow. You should keep cleaning and maintaining the swimming pool, so that it is ready to use anytime.

How many times a month should I use the pool chemicals?

You will need to use the pool chemicals twice a month to deal with dead bacteria and algae. Even after the filtering process you should still use the chemicals. Filtering process cleans most of the waste materials but not all of them, the remaining one can cause damage to your eyes and skin.

How do I test my swimming pool?

To measure the acidity use pH level to test your pool. For Chlorine to work properly the balance of the ph level needs to be stable. After this the pool filtering system should keep your water clean and healthy. Akalinity and Sanitiser can also be used to test your swimming pools.

Few people asked me questions on is there a chemical that changes colour of the water if someone urinates in the pool. There are no such chemicals to change colours when someone urinates in the pool. Though there are dyes to change the colour of the water.

After the swimming pool chemicals has been applied cover your pool with swimming pool covers , this will ensure the water stays clear and your pool is ready for use anytime.

Swimming is a great aerobic exercise that improves cardiovascular fitness and also tones the muscles in your body. There are no age barriers and people is different age will be able to do the aquatic exercises in swimming pools, as children under 16 are not allowed to use the gym for heavy exercises, swimming can help smooth and tone their body up, till they are old enough to get inside the gym and build up muscles.

There are plenty of exercises, that can be done in a swimming pool to work different parts of your body such as abdominal, arms, legs, shoulders, back and others.

At the gym to do these various exercises, you will have to use different machines, from cardio to muscle building make is going to be twice as hard than swimming. In swimming you can achieve working those muscles and also cardio by just one stroke.

Though however, you shouldn’t over do it at the gym, overdoing your first time out or if you are back exercising after a long period of rest time, then overdoing can cause serious injury. Swimming definitely is one of the best form of exercise for your body.

Swimming can be used for exercise, fitness and aquatic therapy. Aquatic therapy for people who have multiple sclerosis, asthma, cardiac rehabilitation, joint replacement, stress reduction, diabetes, broken bones, spinal injuries, weight management and constant pain of muscles and joints.

Whereas just to clear things up, aquatic therapy and aquatic exercise are two different types of fitness regime. Aquatic therapy focuses on techniques and healing of your body, whereas aquatic exercise is done when you are already in good health and focusing on strength, weight loss and endurance.

So the above quick read should give you an idea on how to increase your fitness, increase your strength or to do some other types of exercise or therapy in the swimming pool.  This all can be done within your own home these days. Swimming pools are being built these days as a form of investment.

Keep in mind there are swimming pool equipments and swimming pool chemicals to look at for the maintenance of your swimming pool.

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Inground Pool

To keep your swimming pool maintained throughout the year, you require good swimming pool equipments , you will alsoneed to keep cleaning your swimming pool every few weeks so that when the spring is here your pool is ready to be used. You should be enjoying the pool in clean water.

Other equipments will also be required to keep your pool clean and tidy, such as; swimming pool heater swimming pool chemicals, swimming pool filters and swimming pool cover.

Certikin, Intex and The Laars Jandy are manufacturers of various swimming pool equipments. Research on these companies should give you an idea of which swimming pool equipments are required for certain parts of the swimming pool.

The above gives you examples of how you should maintain your swimming pools. NOw let’s have a look at a different part of swimming pool, which is the safety..

It is very important to have safety equipment installed with the area of your swimming pool. It is as important as the maintenance of the swimming pool.

Especially if there are children in the household, it is always a good idea to have life jackets and ring buoys next to the pool. Get the lifejackets and ring buoys approved by the Coast Guard.

The first aid kit completes the swimming pool safety device. They should be constantly replenished. Anything that has expiration date should be replaced when it expires, which is just common sense really.

After all the routine check, of first aid kits and swimming pool equipments the pool is ready to be used. Just do not forget to clean the pipe every month, because it might get dirty and you will not get clean water on to the pool, also over the winter the pipe frozes so you will need to heat the pipe up with swimming pool heater, but don’t heat one spot of the pipe for too long as it might damage the pipe.

Enjoy swimming.

There is no doubting that you can get a super body by taking part in sport regularly, but super skin is often an unwanted side effect of all the blood, sweat and tears. If you’re an active sole, but don’t want to compromise the quality of your skin, you might like to consider these sports.

Surfing. If you suffer from bad skin, surfing probably isn’t the first thing you would think about doing, but actually it can really help. The fresh sea air acts to cleanse pores of many chemicals and toxins that are found in town environments. People have been visiting the coast for thousands of years to help fight illness, and the benefits are the same for your skin as well. Further more, you will naturally be exposing your skin to grains of sand and salt in the water, with both soften and exfoliate it perfectly. Who needs spa days when you have the ocean to look after you?

Golf. Among other things, stress is a major contributor to poor skin complexion. More oil than required is manufactured by pores on the skin as a result of an imbalance of hormones when stressed. If there is too much oil preventing air from getting into the pores, they become inflamed as bacteria spread and this leads to spots. Many sports psychologists agree that low intensity and low pace sports such as golf are very good at reducing stress levels and thus alleviating the negative effects of stress on the skin. So if your skin is in need of some relaxation from all those intensive beauty products, your local golf course is the place to go.

Skiing. Scientists have been studying the effects of UV rays on the skin for many years and a good number believe they can really help some bad skin condition. It is even prescribed by some doctors to help with conditions such as acne and eczema. That said, catching some rays often involves get hot and sweaty at the same time, which is not what the skin needs at all. Winter sports are one way to get some exposure to the sun’s rays without getting all hot and sweaty and blocking the pores with the oils you’re trying to avoid. For sports-friendly skincare beauty gifts visit this great spa.

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Michael Fred Phelps is an international swimmer born on June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, U.S.A. who created history by winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games breaking Mark Spitz’s record of 7 Gold medals at the Munich games in 1972. In total he has won 16 Olympic medals which include 6 gold and two bronze medals at Athens in 2004. He is already a second highest holder of Olympic medals, with London Olympics still to come, there are no doubts that he will soon surpass the number one slot. He is fondly nicknamed the Baltimore Bullet for his record breaking performances. Phelps has won many prestigious awards repeatedly for consecutive years, he has won the World Swimmer award for 5 years and Americal Swimmer of the Year7 times.

Here’s how it all began. Phelps’ father, Fred Phelps, was employed with the state police and his mother, Deborah Phelps, works as a school principal. Whitney and Hilary, sisters of Michael Phelps were also swimmers. Therefore the sports culture was always there in his family.At a very young age, Phelps was a very hyperactive child and was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Phelps was so hyperactive that to channelise his energies his mother decided to get him swimming. Bob Bowman was his coach under whom he was trained at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. He was already a national record holder at the age of 10. He was still all of 15 when he qualified for the Summer Olympics in the year 2000. There were step backs initially which reinforced his determination to win, and only five months after his defeat he went on to break the world record of 200m butterfly becoming the youngest man ever to do so. From 2004 to 2008 he studied sports economy and management from the University of Michigan. He is back to his first training centre in Blatimore after the recent Olympics to train and set newer records in the next Olympics.

In late 2007 Phelps received a wrist injury and was only allowed to practice kicking with the kickboard in the pool. It is no more than a matter of good destiny that Phelps harder push made him win the seventh gold by a fraction of a second as is believed by his Coach. Questions were constantly being raised about whether Phelps had used performance enhancing drugs. He has surpassed all the 9 tests that were subjected to him during the games.

Michael Phelp idolises Thorpe and has tried to follow his footsteps. Several people including Thorpe had doubts if Phelp's could overcome legendary Mark Spitz's record. Later he commented, "A 100m butterfly and 4*100m freestyle relay is no big deal". I am glad that Phelps has proved me wrong.”

Like Lance Armstrong, Phelps has had his share of controversies. At the age of 19 he was areested for drunken driving and was put on probation for 18 months. He landed int trouble with a British tabloid that published his photo with a bong, but due to lack of evidence the charges were dropped. He has won adulation from fans and is now respected among the swimming circuit. Phelps is a friendly and family person close to his friend circle and relatives. The story of this young legend has just begun to unfold. With the London Olympics only two years away, Phelps seems to be a hot favourite in the swimming fraternity considering his form and performance.

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You can find them on almost any beach that has waves, surfers that seem to glow with self-belief and make even the hardest things look easy. I’m sure you’ve asked yourself if it’s something in the water that gives them their confidence or could it be those long surfboards that inflate their self-esteem? Well now surfing can claim the title of the most confidence enhancing sport of all, after new research from Exeter University in England proves it categorically.

Before we delve into what influenced the findings, let us first examine just how the research study was carried out. 20 sports were tested overall and around 200 people took part who did not take part in regular sport themselves. Participants completed an extensive psychological confidence test and then took part in a specific sport for 3 months, after which they completed the same confidence test. The conclusion from the study was that among all the sports, the participants who had been riding the waves for 3 months showed the highest increases in their confidence test scores.

According to the students who carried out the study, surfing is a sport that promotes confidence in a number of ways. Firstly the sport is very environmentally-oriented and people find themselves often battling the elements rather than other surfers. Steve Underfield of the Sports and Exercise Sciences Departments states that gaining control of outdoor surroundings is very empowering and gives people the feeling that they can look after themselves even somewhere traditionally outside of their comfort zone. Additionally, due the very physical nature of surfing, participants usually dramatically improve the way they feel and look, which naturally boosts their confidence. Surfers often get a good tan from all their time outside and this again makes them look healthier. Another reason that surfing helps people become more self-assured it that it has ethos of laid back, happy-go-lucky confidence at all times, which is something that rubs off on new comers very quickly indeed.

Runner up in the list of most confidence building sports was cycling, so if you’re in need of an ego boost grab your surfboards or mountain bikes, get outside, and start training today

Safety advice is the focus of this installment of our guide to how to surf.

By being respectful of the weather and oceans, staying fit and alert you will drastically increase your safety during the process of learning how to surf.

Always remember that the ocean is stronger than you are and that the force of even an average swell is far greater than anyone can resist. Staying alert is key because water patterns will change rapidly and unexpectedly, especially rip currents and undertows.

Be conscious of weather conditions by checking the local forecast, every morning prior to going to the beach, as well as watching the sky while surfing. Heavy rains can limit visibility and can make it more difficult to remain atop your board, and powerful winds can generate huge waves and unexpected water movement.

Be mindful of certain hazards in the ocean that could threaten your safety: piers, wave breakers, rocky outcroppings, and sea creatures. Even if you didn’t see any obstacles when you began surfing, the ocean’s currents will usually relocate you in one direction or another along the beach and you’ll face new obstacles. Remember that some of these obstacles will be completely underwater.

If you do ever encounter a dangerous situation, being in top physical condition will help you get out of it. Any and all exercise that maintains and builds stamina and strength is advised.

Even if you think that you are in good condition, once you get into a bad situation you may not be able to use your good judgment and strength. Know that you are not the only one in this space of the ocean and communication is key to avoiding collisions and crossing paths with others. If you practice with a more experienced surfer than going out on your own will not be as bad the first time.

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