Dive into Sandal Season

Summertime temperatures elevate making our workouts seem harder as we sweat more and tire faster. If you're like us, the carrot dangling to get us through a workout is a beach nap and cool ocean swim to recover after. We work hard to stay fit year round, so we are healthy and ready for the style perks of the sandal season - summer dresses, cute sandals and bikinis. Rebekah Steen, the beach babe blogger of Goldfish Kiss, reminds us how much we love being in the water as much as by it. So why not take our workout to the water? After all, there are many benefits of swimming. According to an article in Women's Health Magazine, swimming for an hour can burn 500-700 calories.

Because water is nearly 800 times denser than air, each kick, push, and pull is like a mini resistance workout for your entire body—especially your core, hips, arms, shoulders, and glutes.

Your muscles and cardiovascular system work differently when training in the water than they do on land, so swimming is a great cross-training workout that combats the heat, shapes the body, and is a lot of fun. The key to any fitness routine is to start slow. As a beginner in the water, your breath may be labored after 1-2 laps. That is okay. With time and consistency, your lungs (like any muscle) will become stronger to support your water training. Keep your workout exciting and effective by splitting your time it into shorter segments using different strokes and intensities with a mixture of work and rest intervals. We love the Pool Workout that Steen recommends, so we listed it below for your to try.

• Swim 24 laps (aka 600m) in a not too fast not too slow speed. Rest 30 seconds to 1 minute

• Swim 12 laps (aka 300m) in a faster speed . Rest 30 seconds to 1 minute

• Swim 8 laps (aka 200m) in a faster speed. Rest 30 seconds to 1 minute

• Swim 4 laps (aka 100m) in a sprint. Rest 30 seconds.

• Swim 2 laps (aka 50m) as fast as you possibly can. Think: you are racing someone who has yet to swim a single lap. And the prize is a new bikini. Then rest 15-30 seconds.

• Swim 2 laps as fast as you possibly can…again. Then high five. You are done.

Now, float around for a minute and relax. Because you just swam 1,300 meters.

The best part of it all, is when we're done working out we just throw a dress on over our suit, slip on our sandals, shake out our wet hair, and move on to the next summer activity. Styled in and styled out. TIP: Goggles make the swim so much more comfortable on your eyes. Pack them in your tote (along with sunscreen if you're swimming outside).