Whether you swim competitively or for fun, have swam for years or are just beginning, the struggles of a swimmer are inevitable.

1. The constant smell of chlorine.

The saying “chlorine is my perfume” is all too real.

2. Shaving every other day.

Razor burn kills.

3. Hair changing color.

This is no myth. Depending upon the chlorine levels in the pool and the amount of time spent in the water, your hair turning white or even green is no shocker to a devoted swimmer.

4. Ripping a cap or breaking your goggles.

Of course this would happen right before you’re about to dive in.

5. Goggles fogging up.

No matter what you do to prevent your goggles from fogging up nothing ever works. The notorious “anti-fog goggles” are full of lies.

6. Expensive.

We may not wear a lot, only a suit, cap, and goggles but the price of the gear we need is ridiculous.

7. Swimming in the dark.

Whether it be for a meet or for practice, coaches always seem to choose hours of the day when every other form of life is catching up on sleep.

8. Freezing cold water.

Is it truly a heated pool?

9. There’s never enough food.

After practices and meets your stomach somehow manages to become a bottomless pit.

10. Choking on water.

We’re still human, we don’t have gills that prevent us from inhaling some water every now and then.

11. Having to explain swim terminology.

IM, medley, drafting, glide,

streamline, pull buoy… There’s a lot to know.

12. The lane line.

Dragging your fingertips along the lane line or kicking the lane line will always make any swimmer cringe in pain.

13. Toe cramps.

The oddest feeling yet they always seem to make you laugh as your toes look like talons.

14. Changing in front of everyone.

You either become so comfortable that you let it all show or you master the art of towel changing.

15. Packing for a swim meet the way you would to hibernate.

Blankets, sweatpants, sweatshirts, multiple shirts, showering supplies, food, games… Buy yourself a swim bag that can fit it all.

16. Half pull butterfly.

Swimming butterfly with multiple people in your lane requires that you only swim half the stroke so you don’t break your wrist.

17. Warm up lanes.

It’s almost impossible to fit in an entire 100 without slowing down or someone swimming on top of you.

18. No deck space.

Big meets means lots of people, lots of people means no deck space, no deck space means no sleep in between races.

19. False starts.

Every swimmer has been there done that. The humiliation you feel as all eyes are on you makes you want to quit in that exact moment.

20. Distance vs sprint sets.

Distance swimmers will complain about sprint sets and sprinters will complain about distance sets.

21. Losing count during a long set.

Your mind can easily become distracted during a 1000. Losing count of what lap you are on is bound to happen. Luckily you can just stop when everyone else does.

22. Yards vs meters.

To non-swimmers this may not seem like a big deal, a pool is a pool. However, strokes per lap and your backstroke count will need to be adjusted based upon the length of the pool.

23. Excitement when coach says you’re doing something other than actual swimming.

Regardless of our love for the sport, swimmers always look forward to anything but swimming. Kick and pull sets aren’t that bad but when we hear starts and turns we light up inside.

24. The pain you feel while swimming.

Your shoulders might feel like Jell-O and your legs might cramp during every practice but the feeling of accomplishment is worth it all in the end.

These struggles may cause anyone to quit. As a swimmer though you learn to live with these struggles. We do it because we love the sport.