Month: January 2016

and other chemicals can do to your hair if you aren’t careful.

Chlorine can m ake your hair dry and brittle. And if you have recently colored your hair, the common pool chemical also can ruin your costly new hair treatment.

Protect Your Hair

Chlorine is highly effective at killing potentially harmful bacteria that can grow in your pool water. It’s what keeps your pool safe by killing E. coli and other things that can get you sick.

But chlorine also strips your hair of its natural oils, which are what normally protect it from damage and don’t do anything to protect your hair, it can end up looking like hay.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to protect your hair with silicone-based products before you jump in your pool. These are the conditioners that promise to eliminate frizzled hair that can come from blow-drying and curling irons.

A Natural Solution

You also can get the same results by using coconut oil, a natural product that provides moisture while giving shine to your hair.

Another all-natural solution is to simply get your hair wet under the shower or with the hose before jumping into the pool. Because your hair is already moisture saturated, it will be harder for the pool water containing chlorine to get absorbed into your hair.

For added security, tuck your wet hair into a swim cap. While it won’t completely block out the water, it will help slow down the process.

No Pool Smell

If your hair smells like pool chemicals after you get out of the water, it’s probably because thechlorine has bonded to your hair. Wash it out using a special shampoos designed to get rid of chlorine and other chemicals found in pool water — such as copper, which can turn some swimmers’ hair green.

Check out the shampoo aisle of your pharmacy for special shampoos designed for swimmers.

and enjoy the sun’s warming rays, sip on a tropical drink as you watch the wind make ripples along the water’s surface, or host an informal backyard get-together for your closest friends.

But can you use your backyard pool to get a good workout? It all depends on how you use it.

The Size of Your Pool

If you intend to swim laps, the size of your pool is going to determine the quality of your home workout. While very few people have an Olympic sized swimming pool in their backyard — which measures 25 meters (82) to 50 meters (160 feet) long — your pool may be wide enough for lap swimming. You may simply have to flip over more frequently.

If you have a smaller pool, such as an above-ground pool, swimming laps  may not be the most effective way to get a pool workout. Instead, you may want to consider water aerobics.

Water Resistance and Workouts

The way water aerobics works is this: Essentially, any exercise you can perform on dry land can be performed in the water. But the water’s resistance to your body’s muscles will make the same exercise more intense when you perform it in your pool.

For example, doing step aerobics on dry land you can often burn many more calories in the water than you would doing the same routine poolside.

Lap Pools

Another type of pool many people are using today to get a great workout are lap pools. These are often smaller pools that use hydraulic jets to create resistance in the water so that it feels as if you are swimming even though you are sitting still.

Lap pools offer all the aerobic benefits that swimming laps does, but in a much smaller pool.