Roll all those New Year’s resolutions together – you know: be more active, lose weight, have less stress, spend more time with your family and friends – into one beautiful backyard. If you do this renovation right, you can accomplish all your goals in 2017 by fulfilling the backyard inspiration you always dreamed of (or maybe didn’t realize, until now, that you always wanted).

Axe the Stress

Did you know that sitting in a hot tub for 20 minutes a day can help you to relieve stress? The heat helps your muscles relax and the massaging jets take you to a place of zen. The heat also helps you to sleep better. Our body temperature goes down when we sleep, so soaking in a Master Spas hot tub before bed increases your body temperature so that, when you get out and your body temperature drops, hitting the sheets is the next best thing!

Embrace Fitness

Forget the gym membership; it’s too hard to be consistent at it and it takes too much time out of the day to even get there and get home. Instead, hit your fitness goals for 2017 by installing a Michael Phelps swim spa in your back yard. It doesn’t take up as much space in your yard as a pool (leaving room for an awesome outdoor kitchen and beautiful landscaping) and it gives you access to a great workout just steps from your door. Most H2X swim spa models (Michael Phelps models too) have a hot tub attached to them too (see the previous paragraph).

Get Your Social On

Both a hot tub and/or a swim spa will certainly add a pull for getting friends and family to spend more time together. Consider upgrading your bland concrete patio to an outdoor kitchen design so that you can extend your living space and host social gatherings where several people will be comfortable and have fun.

Swim Fitness is happy to help you plan a backyard renovation that will help make 2017 the best year yet. At the very least, you can finally check off those New Year’s resolutions as accomplished!

Have you seen the big hot tub expos going on in our area lately? They’re effective for selling a lot of spas to the community.

But what you may not realize is that the majority of the dealers at those expos aren’t from around here. They come in from out of town with truck loads of hot tubs and swim spas, sell them to local consumers, and then drive off into the sunset, on to their next location.

We want to encourage you to buy local. That doesn’t necessarily have to be from Swim Fitness directly (though we are certainly biased toward the products we offer and our impeccable customer service!), but we want you to see the benefits of buying from us over a dealer from out of the area, which is essentially like buying from a big box store.

First, by buying local, you’re supporting the local economy toward success. It also helps to provide jobs to local residents because, when a business is thriving, more employees are needed to keep it running smoothly. Alternatively, when a local business is suffering because consumers are going outside the local sector to buy, then layoffs inevitably occur.

There’s also the service after the sale that only a local hot tub retailer like Swim Fitness can provide. When you buy a swim spa from a traveling hot tub salesman, where will he be after installation if a service issue comes up? Rather than deal with outsourced service work through a company you’ve never worked with before, buying local means you can request service assistance directly from Swim Fitness, the same company you bought from and people you’ve already met. There’s that local jobs thing again.

Do you know what else a local spa retailer can do for you that a traveling dealer can’t? We can provide you with a stellar warranty! You’ll also get superior customer service helping you to process warranty claims, and if you’re ever confused about what your warranty covers, all you have to do is come into our showroom – right here in your hometown – and we’ll gladly explain it in more detail.

That’s what buying local is all about: supporting your local economy, helping provide jobs to local residents and providing top-notch customer service and support. You’ll find all of that here at Swim Fitness, we promise you.

Okay, so maybe you’re wondering what a R-Value is anyway. R-Ratings score how a material resists the flow of heat. For hot tub and swim spa covers, the R-Value indicates how well the cover will contain the heat of your spa.

When comparing End2End Swim Spa Covers to a three-inch foam hot tub cover (R-19 rating) and a five-inch foam cover (R-30 rating) in a climate controlled test chamber, End2End out-performed them both.

End2End Swim Spa Covers use a full layer of Radiant Barrier that reflects infrared heat waves back into the swim spa water. This prevents radiant heat loss, saving swim spa owners quite a bit of money (and effort) over time.

Also, because End2End Swim Spa Covers are all one piece with no seams or sections – unlike a conventional hot tub cover – convective heat vapor and air are locked in and doesn’t escape through any cracks or crevices.

To take full advantage of the heat locking design of End2End Swim Spa Covers, the covers end-straps must be pulled tightly and latched down to ensure a proper heat seal and the domed effect to function properly. As you put the cover in position, the reinforced end-straps are the best way to maneuver it so that you don’t damage the cover over time.

It’s because of the radiant barrier and seamless design that End2End Swim Spa Covers out-perform conventional swim spa covers and save consumers time and money, and why Swim Fitness is proud to offer them. The quality of these products gives them longevity as well (with monthly cleaning and maintenance), so the investment for your swim spa is well worth it.

When you buy a hot tub or swim spa from Swim Fitness, you’re not just  investing in your own health and well being. You’re investing in the health and well being of the local community and economy. When you think of hot tubs being produced in a factory, you may think of automated machines shuffling parts down a fast-moving assembly line.

Think again.

It’s true that incredible technology helps bring our tubs and swim spas to life. The level of precision and quality that our customers expect, however, would not be possible without crews of dedicated, experienced, passionate people.

It’s people who guide superheated acrylic into place over the molds and apply vacuum pressure to form the shell into shape. It’s human operators who strengthen the finished shells by spraying them with resin and fiberglass. It’s people who use tiny rollers to press out air pockets by hand. It’s the job of a person to sand the edges and drill holes for the jets. Human assemblers insert and seal the jets before creating elaborate webs of PVC hosing. Human beings attach tubes to the pumps and wire lighting into the shell. Finally, people spray expanding insulating foam, and then add another layer of foil-backed insulation before sealing the outside paneling.

Robots don’t make spas. People do. When you order a Master Spas hot tub, dozens of American workers get to work in an American manufacturing plant, earn good money through an honest trade, and then go home to their families.

Meanwhile, you’re at home with your family relaxing in your hot tub.

Most people associate hot tubs with luxury and relaxation. Hot tubs are, no doubt, both luxurious and relaxing. But did you know that hot tubs, as well as swim spas, are also healing machines?

Hydrotherapy is defined as “the use of water to treat a disease or to maintain health.”

People don’t get out of hot tubs and swim spas the same way they got in. Hydrotherapy can soothe and repair people who have arthritis, who are recovering from a sports injury, who exercise strenuously or who have physically demanding jobs.

In hot tubs, warm water opens blood vessels, improves circulation and engulfs the entire body in therapeutic heat, unlike radiant heat, which can actually make sore muscles worse. Powerful jets massage and loosen muscles. Hot tubs also offer meditative qualities, which reduces stress and improves cognitive function.

Swim spas take it even further. It’s no secret that swimming is good for the bod. Have you seen a swimmer lately? They look like they’re chiseled out of granite.

Take Michael Phelps, for example. Only a handful of mammals on Earth know more about swimming than Michael Phelps, and they all have blowholes. Phelps has endorsed his own signature series of swim spas that will make you feel and look better quickly.

That’s because swimming is a full-body, no impact workout that improves endurance, strengthens muscles, promotes flexibility and posture while helping swimmers maintain a healthy bodyweight.

You can do all that in a little rectangle in your backyard that’s far cheaper and easier to maintain than a full pool.

Hydrotherapy isn’t magic, but it’s pretty close. You get into a warm, relaxing, massaging, healing machine, and you come out better.

Shopping for hot tubs is like looking at the menu at T.G.I. Fridays — there are so many options that you’re sure you’re going to pick the wrong one.

The good news is, you can focus on six simple questions that, once answered, will narrow down that T.G.I. Friday’s menu to a prix fixe brunch list at that hoity toity French joint with the white tablecloths that you never go to because you don’t like the maitre’ d’s mustache.

What size?

Ignore Samantha Jones. Bigger is not always better. You should have just enough tub for the amount of people who are most likely to use it most of the time. If it’s just you and your squeeze, don’t get an eight-person tub for those times that your sister and her kids come over once every 18 months.

What seat type?

Lounge? Bench? Ergonomic? Head rests? With the exception of water, seats are probably a spa’s most important feature. Research the many different kinds of seats and narrow it down.

What for?

What’s the main purpose of the hot tub? Hydrotherapy? Relaxation? Entertainment? Sports injury recovery? Pain management? Maybe you’re a rapper who wants to have the coolest deck on “Cribs.” The point it, the use will play a large part in determining the tub.

What’s your style?  

Are you looking for a simple, modest Amish hot tub, a neighbor-infuriating monstrosity with flashing lights and sound system, or something in between?

Body type

LeBron James and David Spade need different spas, although I’m sure we can all agree we’d like to see them in a hot tub together. The size and length of your body, arms, legs, torso, etc. will make some of the choices for you.

What’s your budget?

Finally, there there is the never-escapable issue of money. You budget has a lot to do with your options, so pick a range before you get your heart set on something you’d have to rob a jewelry store to afford. Typical ranges include: $3,000-$5,000, $6,000-$8,000, $8,000-$11,000 and $11,000-Thurston Howell III.

Upgrading your hot tub or swim spa, but can’t decide on an in-ground, above-ground or in-deck replacement? Consider the benefits and drawbacks of each.

In-Ground

In-ground swim spas and hot tubs take a long time and a lot of money to build. Installation requires excavation, plumbing, electrical and even gas hookups. An in-ground hot tub will generally run you at least $10,000-$15,000, and could easily cost $25,000.  

But …

They should last as long as your home. Really. They’re that durable. They are incredibly customizable and can be designed individually. They’re easy to use and are compatible with all kinds of jet configurations and add-ons, like lights and waterfalls. Finally, they are truly beautiful and designed to blend in seamlessly with the surrounding decor and landscaping.

Above Ground

Above-ground tubs and swim spas cost far less, generally between $3,000 and $12,000. They are also cheaper to run, usually less than $30 per month. They have individual, ergonomic seats, as opposed to the communal benches common in in-ground tubs. They require less maintenance and their parts are warrantied for longer. They don’t need to be preheated and they work with lift covers. Finally, they are portable, which is especially important in multi-season or colder climates.

The tradeoff? They can run the risk of looking like a big box of water in your backyard.

Built Into a Deck

Before building a swim spa or hot tub into a deck, you’ll have to consider the foundation and make sure it is strong enough to hold the weight of the tub plus water and people. Also, even on a small deck there has to be sufficient room for the cover lift to operate. That said, deck-in tubs and swim spas can be a more affordable, less permanent alternative to in-ground spas, but that look just as elegant. Building a deck, of course, requires a larger investment than an above ground spa or hot tub, and you will lose the benefits of portability.