Conquer the Winter Blues with Hydrotherapy At Home

Conquer the Winter Blues with Hydrotherapy At Home

Exercise and relaxation can lift your spirits during the long winter months. Hydrotherapy is a centuries-old method used to improve  mental and physical well-being — the CDC reports that water exercise is beneficial for people with chronic conditions such as arthritis as well as for mood and mental health.

But, getting out to the gym or to the spa can be a struggle to schedule. Recently, there have been many closures and changes due to the pandemic, or those icy cold mornings can make it hard to get out in the morning. This year, skip the gym membership and create your own at-home workout and spa space with a swim spa or hot tub. A hot tub or swim spa can upgrade your backyard or finished basement space, to make relaxing and exercising easy for the whole family. Here are tips for creating your own home gym and spa:

Select Your Vessel

Is a hot tub or swim spa better suited to your wellness needs? A hot tub is optimal for hydrotherapy, with high temperatures and jets that can help with stress relief and muscle relaxation. You can also do light workouts in the hot tub, but if exercise is your goal, a swim spa may be the right choice. Swim spas are larger, allowing for more movement like lunges, rowing, aerobics, crunches, and even swimming laps.

You’ll need to consider the location, maintenance plan, and budget before making your choice and building your space. Read here for more information about hot tubs and swim spas, and how to decide what’s right for you.

Build A Workout Plan

If you’re not already into water aerobics or swimming laps at your local pool, find which exercises are right for you to meet your goals. For your home gym or spa time, set a schedule for your workouts so you can prepare the hot tub or swim spa, like heating up the hot tub in the morning for exercise and again in the evening for a soak. Picking days and times will help keep you on track and on schedule, to get the most physical and mental benefit.

Create Ambiance

Create a calming space for your at-home spa days. Set up lighting around your hot tub or swim spa, you can add outdoor lights or maybe colored lighting inside the vessel. Add scented candles in the room – away from the hot tub – or an essential oil diffuser. Make sure to find a space to store the equipment you need, such as noodles or weights for swim spa workouts and towels and a hamper nearby.

Keep the It Clean and Ready for Anything

Hot tub water and sweat from swimming laps in a swim spa can make cleaning and maintenance a challenge. The chemicals need to be balanced regularly to prevent bacteria that can cause hot tub rash. Technology can make managing a home gym or spa easy: The pHin Smart Water Monitor helps you keep water in balance by taking measurements, sending alerts, and guiding you through custom chemical dosing instructions.

Learn more about pHin at phin.co.

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It’s Time to Build Your Winter Fitness Plan

It’s Time to Build Your Winter Fitness Plan

Spice up your fitness routine to get active and stay healthy all winter long. A swim spa, hot tub, or indoor pool will be your new favorite spot for exercising for an intense, full-body workout with low impact on your joints.

If you’re considering adding water to your exercise routine and want to add a hot tub or pool to your home, the pHin team is here to help you get started:

The Benefits of Water Workouts

Water offers resistance, making exercises in the pool or swim spa more challenging without additional equipment. Aquatic exercises are beneficial for a full-body workout to build muscle and boost cardio endurance.

Seniors and those with chronic conditions can also benefit from aquatic exercises that can help to soothe with frequent joint and muscle pain from. The water buoyancy is gentle and low impact to reduce the stress on joints. Some exercises use foam “weights,” but many can be done with no extra equipment!

Set Your Goals

As you plan your aquatic workouts, decide which part of the body you would like to focus on. Are you looking to build muscle in your arms and core, or do you want to increase your cardio endurance? Tailor your exercise plan to fit your personal needs whether that be strength or cardio training.

If you want to increase overall cardio endurance, consider walking or jogging in the water. Swim spa owners can take advantage of their system’s water resistance feature, and some swim spas even allow them to swim “laps.” In an indoor pool owner, you can walk or jog back and forth across the pool and increase muscle with arm and leg raises, pushups against the wall, butterfly kicks, and other routines that require more space.

Stay Safe

Using your indoor pool or swim spa as your exercise routine can put you on the path to achieving fitness goals, big or small. As you build your aquatic exercise plan, check with your doctor to make sure the plan is acceptable for you. You should always wear water shoes in the water to prevent yourself from slipping during your workout. It’s important to pay attention to your body as you are exercising: because you’re working out in the water, you may not realize how tired and sweaty you become, so it’s important to stay hydrated.

Safety equipment is important, but don’t forget the water quality. Especially in hot water where you’ll be sweating, the water must be well maintained to prevent harmful bacteria from growing. Choosing a pool workout doesn’t have to add more work, you can easily use the pHin Smart Water Monitor to keep the water balanced and safe. From the app, you can simply check if the water is safe before each workout. And it’ll keep your water in-shape with water testing and simple chemical dosing instructions.

Happy exercising!

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The Future of Pool Care is Smart

The Future of Pool Care is Smart

Every home is becoming smarter, as families add devices to make their lives easier and safer. Smart door locks ensure that the house is secure, or a water leak detector can send an alert if water is detected in the basement or under the sink.

Connected experiences like this aren’t limited to the home, they can make life with a pool or hot tub easier and safer, too with connected apps and devices. Here are today’s connected pool experiences:

Smart Lights

Many families added smart lights inside the home, whether to save on energy with schedules or to add ambiance with different colors. Did you know that you can have smart lights in your pool, too? ColorLogic LED lights can be added to most pools. Not only are they energy efficient, but they can brighten up a pool party or a night swim with 10 different color choices and seven color-changing shows.

Smart Water Balance

It’s easier to have fun in your pool when you know the water is safe, but chemical balance can be a challenge even for veteran pool owners. The pHin Smart Water Monitor measures the water over 1,000 times per week, and sends alerts and instructions when the water is out of balance. A pool technician can also connect to stay in-the-know about the water quality so they can schedule service when it’s needed.

Pool Control from Anywhere

Pool owners can ‘set and forget’ their equipment using the OmniHub from Hayward. It works with most pools and spas, giving users control through the app to turn on/off or set schedules for their equipment, including variable-speed pumps, heaters, pool/spa color lights, spa settings, AquaRite® salt systems, booster pumps, backyard lighting, and water features.

A Robot for Your Pool

Many families have a robotic vacuum that keeps their floors clean for them. Pool owners can spend less time on pool cleaning with robot vacuums like Hayward’s AquaVac® 500. It’s designed with two scrubbing brushes to clean the walls and floors of the pool, programmed to find the most efficient path possible. It uses 94% less energy than other cleaners, and it’s also automatic: Users can set it to operate every 24, 48, or 72 hours.

If you haven’t started with the smart pool devices available today, it might be time to revamp your pool care routine. Who knows what will come next!

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Did you miss our previous article…
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Hot Tub or Swim Spa, What’s the Difference?

Hot Tub or Swim Spa, What’s the Difference?

Are you looking to upgrade your backyard for entertaining and relaxing this winter? A hot tub or swim spa might be the perfect addition to your home!

Many homeowners assume hot tubs and swim spas are similar, but there are different benefits to each system. The pHin experts share factors to consider before deciding between a hot tub or a swim spa for your backyard oasis.

Purpose for Purchase

Are you looking for a new place to relax or a space to entertain and exercise? Hot tubs are designed with seating and jet placement for optimal relaxation and recovery. Whether you’re feeling stressed or you’re looking for muscle relief after a tough workout, hot tubs are a great place for practicing hydrotherapy. Soaking in warm hot tub water helps loosen tense muscles and stimulates blood supply to various organs in the body.

Swim spas, on the other hand, are more spacious and are a better fit for people who are looking for a place to exercise with more space to move around, you can even swim in a swim spa.  Exercising in swim spa water has many benefits. The resistance from the water will result in more calories burned and aquatic exercises are low impact taking pressure off joints which is ideal for users recovering from an injury or are concerned about potential injury risk. Swim spas are larger than hot tubs making them a good spot for hosting a larger group of friends or family.

Location, Location, Location

Before you make a purchase, start planning the new home for your hot tub or swim spa. The space available inside or in your backyard can determine which system is the best for your home. Are you looking to put the system in the yard or on your deck? Hot tubs are more compact, they can fit on a deck or in a small yard, whereas swim spas are longer and require a larger area. For reference, most swim spas are around 180 inches long and 90 inches wide whereas the average size of a hot tub is about 84 inches long and 84 inches wide. You may also want to consider placement in terms of trees, to allocate enough space with the least amount of possible debris getting into the water.

Maintenance

Because they’re larger, swim spa maintenance is generally more complex than hot tub maintenance. Measuring, chemicals, and dosing can be a challenge but pHin is here to help! The pHin Smart Water Monitor floats in your hot tub or swim spa, measuring the water over 1,000 times per week If the water gets out of balance, pHin will notify you in the app and give you instructions to correct it. You could also ask pHin (or Alexa) for the temperature of your hot tub or swim spa water before heading out for a dip. Whether you’re maintaining hot tub or swim spa water, it can be frustrating when you go out for a post-workout soak or you’re prepping for a night with friends and the water isn’t at the right temperature. This pHin user shares how pHin helped him get his hot tub relaxation ready.

Budget

Once you have a set budget, consider the size of the vessel. Swim spas tend to be more expensive than hot tubs because they are generally larger in size with more features including swim current and high-powered jetting systems. Or, a basic hot tub might suit your needs, and can be more economical.

Before you purchase a new hot tub or swim spa, consider which system is the best solution for your family. Swim spas may suit a family who is looking for a place to get active, go for a swim, and entertain groups of family and friends and hot tubs are a good solution for those who want a place to relax and loosen muscle tension. Make the most of your swim spa or hot tub with the help of pHin.

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