It’s always fun traveling to a different pool to race. There’s something about making the trip and staying overnight that adds to the hype of the meet. However, with all that added hype, there can also be a lot of nervousness or anxiety about traveling and the meet. There are a lot of things you can do to help prepare yourself to swim your fastest at your travel meet. Swimmers at all levels have pre-meet rituals that help them ease the nerves and focus on the meet, and with travel meets, these rituals are especially important. Here are three tips worth adding to your pre-travel meet ritual:

1. Pack the day before you leave– The only thing worse than packing is scrambling to pack at the last minute. You’re already hyped up about the swim meet and you want to channel your energy towards that. You definitely won’t want to add anything else to your plate. Give yourself some time and some peace of mind by packing the day before you leave. Make yourself a list of everything that you need, pack it, and go through it again. Inevitably, there will be last minute items you’ll need to pack the next day, so write those things down for the next day so you don’t forget anything. This will make leaving for the meet easy and stress-free!
2. Always pack back up goggles – Imagine this…You arrive at your swim meet, your biggest competition of the year. You step up to the blocks of your best race, adjust your cap and goggles, and BOOM, your goggles snap. Or how about this… you're nervous before your race, and you run to the bathroom to relieve yourself. You set your goggles down on the bleachers before heading into the locker room, and when you come back, they’re gone! Oh, or imagine this one…you get to the hotel, unpack your bags and settle in. You pack up your swim bag to head to the pool for warm-ups and, SHOOT, you left your goggles at the hotel! The moral of these stories is BRING BACK UP GOGGLES. You never know when yours will break, yours will go missing, or your teammate needs a pair. You’re better safe than sorry, so pack a few pairs for your next travel meet.
3. Wear compression while traveling ­– Whether your heading to your swim meet by car, plane, or bus, it’s hard to keep your muscles warm and loose when you’re cramped up in your vehicle. Wearing compression sleeves on your arms and calves is a great way to keep your circulation flowing, your blood pumping, and your muscles fresh while you’re traveling to the big meet. Whether your tapered and shaved or in the middle of a brutal training season, you’ll be thankful that you had compression sleeves to help you prepare for the big meet. We recommend BODIMAX Sleeves because you can wear them while traveling, but also in the water during warm-ups and cool-down at the meet.