It is hard to think that anything could really change swimming for me. I consider myself a “lifer” because I have been competing consistently since I was five years old. Now in early adulthood, my expectations for training are fairly set. Yes, I could easily go swim a workout and would know how hard or easy a given set would be, how interesting or boring I would find it, how long it would take – these are things you learn over time. Yesterday, I had the privilege of wearing the FINIS SwiMP3 for the first time and it blew me out of the water.
When I was first introduced to this product I was more than a little skeptical. After a lengthy club and collegiate career, I had never used anything like them, so why on earth would I start now? I am going to tell you from experience that you should probably reconsider. Not only did the SwiMP3 sound amazing, after a few laps I did not even remember it was there. The speakers clip snugly on either side of your goggle straps, just an inch or two above your ear. The SwiMP3 uses bone conduction technology, so you begin to notice the music when the unit is set onto your cheekbones. The SwiMP3 holds 2GB of music, which is more than enough music to get through a pool workout or open water swim.
My biggest concern initially was the way the SwiMP3 would clip onto my goggles. I thought the unit would surely fall off as soon as I accelerated or kicked off the wall. I slipped underwater and gave a steady push. Purposely, I held a long streamline and drove hard with my legs. To my surprise, it did not budge at all. I broke out onto the surface and took a few long strokes – no movement here either. I spent another few minutes testing the SwiMP3 in this manner, looking for a way to shake these things off. Before too long it was evident that the device conducting music through my skull would not get in the way of anything I wanted to do. Not only that, but it played with perfect clarity and was easy to operate.
I started to realize that I might be in trouble here. It is not too often that I add a completely new product into my gear bag. I may be the biggest skeptic in the world when it comes to my own training. However, this product, this marvelous machine, was quickly becoming a new favorite. The sport that so many love can now be influenced in so many ways. I hope that you are all as skeptical about your swimming as I am – it means you care about what you are doing. But, guys… you really need to try this SwiMP3.
Your friend in swimming (and newest SwiMP3 enthusiast),
David Seiler
It is really amazing. I wish I had been exposed to these much, much sooner.
We sell them at the swim school where I work, and our adult swimmers rave about how much they like them for making workouts fun.