-
Feb
25 Reasons Swimming is a Love-Hate Relationship: Celebrate Valentine's Day + Win!
With Cupid aiming his arrow at February 14, we’ve got one true love on our mind—swimming. As swimmers, we devote countless hours to the sport. We develop a strong passion that fuels us day in and day out. We unknowingly put the sport before our own wants and needs. We create unforgettable memories and unbreakable bonds. We put our entire heart into the sport of swimming. Sounds a lot like love, right?
![]()
Sure, we love swimming—if we didn’t, would we really be jumping into water in near-freezing weather? But every swimmer will be the first to admit, with that undying love, there’s a little bit of hate.
Swimming is the true essence of a love-hate relationship. Here are 25 reasons why;
1. We love to eat, but hate practicing for hours on end to the point of starvation
2. We love the sun-kissed skin, but hate the inevitable tan lines
3. We love our teammates, but hate it when they beat us
4. We love our coaches, but hate when they makes us swim the 200M fly
5. We love pulling on the lane lines, but hate jamming our fingers into them
6. We love the Lochte-Phelps rivalry, but hate having to choose a favorite
7. We love swim meets, but hate the two-a-days leading up to them
8. We love missing a week of practice, but hate how out of shape we feel when we return
9. We love the water, but hate the chlorine
10. We love to taper, but hate when tapering is over
11. We love the feeling of accomplishment after a morning swim, but hate waking up early
12. We love relays, but hate when someone false starts
13. We love leading the lane, but hate when we don’t know what we’re doing
14. We love the adrenaline we get stepping up to the blocks before a race, but hate when we realize who we’re up against
15. We love painting our nails in team colors, but hate when it chips after one practice
16. We love using kickboards, but hate when coach yells at us for chatting
17. We love flip turns, but hate when our heels slam into the wall
18. We love dolphin dives, but hate cool downs
19. We love ultimate frisbee, but hate dryland
20. We love sharks and minnows, but hate that it never happens
21. We love the infamous swimmer bun, but hate when we have to wash our hair
22. We love tech suits, but hate putting them on
23. We love Missy Franklin, but hate that she’s not our best friend
24. We love our time at the pool, but hate when we don’t have time for anything else
25. We love swimming, and we love to hate it at the same time!Regardless of how much we complain, at the end of the day swimming will always have a “pizza” our heart (did we mention that we love pizza, too?).
![]()
Win a Ryan Lochte Autographed Speedo Cap!
Tell us one thing you love (and hate) about swimming in the comments below and you’ll be entered to win an autographed Ryan Lochte cap courtesy of Speedo!
[Note: Only one entry per person, all entries must be received by Friday, February 20 at 11:59pm PT. One winner selected at random.]
![]()
Email Address Invalid. Please enter an email address in the format: xx@yy.zz![]()
Nick zarrillo
3 years ago.I love having something to do everyday that makes me feel important, but I hate having no time for actual important things- schoolTayler
6 years ago.I wake up at 4 every morning. Go to practice and swim my butt off for 2 1/2 hours. I rush to school and get slammed with homework and schoolwork. Throughout the school day I'm a tired mess that probably could sleep in my locker. While other people are complaining about waking up at like 6:30. I go home and haul my butt back to practice for another 3 hours. I get home and start my homework and usually finish around 11 , sometimes 10 if I'm lucky. Then I do it all again the next day. You know why? Because this is my sport and i love itMaegan Moody
6 years ago.The things I love about swim is when you are together with the people I love and make treasured memories. Also you get to se yourself grow in many different ways. The love and the growth of swimming is an amazing experience and you meet so many new people and learn the meaning of teamwork and learn to be a team player.Cody Wood
6 years ago.What I love about swimming is the big swim meets with lots of competitors. What I hate is false starts/ being DQ'dEevee Bauguess
6 years ago.I love swimming because it means I can eat my weight and still look good, that's easily the best part.
I hate swimming because I don't enjoy being kicked in the ribs at meet warm ups.
I love swimming because the over all rush of being able to pull yourself through an intense work out.
I hate swimming because of its the only sport your coaches yell at you for breathing!
But in the end we all love swimming even though it make drives is insane , we couldn't live without it.Abi Pfeiffer
6 years ago.I love swimming because its has given me life ling friends I know will always be there for me and I love swim because no matter how bad of a day I am having swimming always makes it better and me happy! I hate disappointing my coach or any time when I can't swim weather it is for an injury, vacation or just because it is off season.Nicole
6 years ago.I am a swim mom. I love watching my daughter swim and I hate that she is a senior and it's almost over.Mikayla Owen
6 years ago.I love swimming because I can enjoy feeling confident I'm my body because I work hard for it. I hatethe fact that you can miss one week of practice and you become out of shape. Every secondTyler
6 years ago.I love swimming because it's a sport that you have to strive day after day in order to be successful and it truly gives you a second family with your teammates, but I hate how one bad day is like a "punch in the gut during a 1650" because you always have to do your best to be great.lisa
6 years ago.I love swimming because my team is my family. I hate swimming because I have no time to do anything else.Kyra Helfrich
6 years ago.I hate going to morning practice, but I LOVE when the boys team cooks us breakfast afterwards! Right on pool deck!Maura west
6 years ago.I love how swimming can cause you to be stressed, but it's also a stress reliever.Elle k
6 years ago.I love swimming because no matter how tired u are when you go under the water, its like a whole different universe. It gives you a feeling of power that if there was ever a shark i could out seim it .Kate
6 years ago.I love how swimming forms friendships that will last a lifetime and teaches a swimmer so much about sportsmanship and how to work your hardest, though I hate it when I lose count in a set and I'm leading the lane. That's the worst!Emily
6 years ago.I love that when it's cold outside and you first jump into the pool it's nice and warm but I hate when we start our main set and the pool starts feeling like a sauna.Wendy Bryant
6 years ago.one thing that I love is the bond between each teammate and the bond between teammates and the coaches. One thing that I hate is cold water temperatures in the pools.Morgan Bryant
6 years ago.Love- the relaxation that swimming brings on your body
Hate- meets that last foreversammi meyer
6 years ago.I love the feeling of the water when you first jump in, the bubbles rush past your body, and you feel invincible. I hate not having gills, and not being able to spend several minutes underwater, whether it's for a race, or its just for exploring and spending time underwater. I also love blowing rings underwater, but hate when coach catches you doing when you're not supposed to.Add a CommentName * Your Email (will not be displayed) * To prevent automated bots from spamming, please enter the text you see in the image below:
The Official Blog of SwimOutlet.com is where you can catch up on all the latest SwimOutlet.com news, events, swimming
trends and product updates. Check us out and leave a comment, or send your own blog submissions directly to us for consideration at 
THE REVIEW
Top Swim Products Tested and Reviewed by Gold Medalist Mark Gangloff
RECENT COMMENTS
Thank you so much for this detailed review. Super helpful when pu...
Thanks for sharing the review and feedback. It really helps me al...
Love the prints and the concept of using these fabrics to create ...
Hi Julie and Swim Outlet .comYour cute face and name caught my ey...
Thanks for updating the post. Keep up the good work. I really the...