How Deep Is Good For Swimming?
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How deep should the deep end of your swimming pool be so that you can swim with a natural, unobstructed stride without touching your feet on the floor? I know that is something that I specifically want in any swimming pool I own and build. I want the pool to be deep enough that I can tread water (vertically) without touching the bottom with my feet. Yes I am aware that I can just tuck my legs in a little bit but if I am in the designing stage why not just build the pool that suits me best? I think with so many people buying pools for health benefits and relaxation, many will agree that a comfortable depth for treading water is ideal. So how deep is that, exactly?
Before I get to the ideal pool depth for swimming let me just point out that diving is something entirely different. Many people want a diving pool, which is actually a very specific thing in that the pool must meet minimum diving envelope requirements including slope proximity, water depth, deep end pad length, etc. and all of this stuff is critically important if you are installing diving boards or jumping rocks. Be aware of that. However this article answers a different question. I am old. I do not jump in. I fall in at best. No kids are here jumping into this pool either so instead I just need to know what is good for swimming lengths, and more importantly, treading water comfortably.
I jumped into my pool which is just a shade over 9' in depth in the deep end and I tried treading water at different lengths along the slope. Before I did this I was thinking that seven feet, seven and a half feet would probably be what I recommend. I was surprised to find that the shallowest depth that I felt comfortable and totally without restriction in treading water was only six feet...which is exactly how tall I am. When you think about it I suppose it makes more sense in that my mouth and nose are above the water level, so that means that unless my legs grow a full six inches, or I dip entirely underwater, I will not touch the floor at all and I am free to swim and flail about and the depth might as well be a hundred feet deep since I can not feel anything when I swim at that depth.
So there is the answer to what is the ideal swimming pool depth for treading water. The ideal depth for treading water in a pool is a finished water depth of exactly your height. I hope you found this information helpful. Please feel free to like and share this article anywhere on social media if you think it would help other swimming pool owners.
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Swimming Pool Steve is an award winning, second generation swimming pool and spa specialist from Ontario Canada. With over 10,000,000 views on the Swimming Pool Steve YouTube Channel, winner of the 2018 Pool & Spa Industry Leadership award and author of hundreds of pool and spa articles both online and in print Steve is committed to helping pool and spa owners as well as pool and spa industry workers learn more about the technical side of building, renovating, repairing and maintaining all types of swimming pools and spas. Follow Swimming Pool Steve on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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