Glenda's Swim Spa Deck Plans
For a fun & fit retirement, Glenda added an Endless Pools® swim spa to her deck.
What are your retirement plans? Glenda is envisioning time in her Endless Pools R500 swim spa. "One of my goals in retiring is to get in better shape. This is my retirement gift to me. I worked an extra year just to have this put in!"
After a 40-year career in computer programming design, Glenda says, "I will have significantly more time to use it at the end of November – 23 more days, but I'm not counting!"
Even with acres of property, Glenda wanted her Endless Pools R500 swim spa close to her home. "I wanted something close enough that I could use it easily, put on a robe and come in the house and be done," she says. She designed her swim spa deck plans with an in-ground installation to maintain her view of the pond.
Swim Spas – The Alternative to Traditional Pools
"I always wanted a pool, but I didn’t want the maintenance of a pool." And Glenda's had experience with traditional pool maintenance. "My parents had a pool years ago. It was wonderful, but it was a lot of work and a lot of maintenance."
She also had to consider the limitations of her yard. "I didn't have an ideal location for a full-size pool, and yet I still wanted one." After some research, she decided that a swim spa "was exactly what I needed: something I could do water aerobics in, something I could swim against. I had a hot tub and didn't really want another hot tub. I love the fact that this is heated and has seats.
"To me, this is the best of everything!"
After 40 years in IT, Glenda looks forward to an active retirement. "One of my goals in retiring is to get in better shape." She calls her Endless Pools swim spa "my retirement gift to me."
Choosing the Right Swim Spa
"I went to a number of stores. I looked at multiple different brands," Glenda recalls. "Endless Pools was not the cheapest brand, but it just seemed the best." She also preferred her area's Endless Pools dealer to other swim spa vendors.
At Hot Spring Spas of Music City, near her home outside of Nashville, she worked with their representative, Adam. "When I walked in and talked to Adam, I said, 'What all do I need'" to create an in-ground swim spa connected to her existing deck. "He had the contacts, and he helped coordinate the whole thing.
"Not only did Adam have the connections, [but also] he knew everything. He was very knowledgeable about Endless Pools swim spas, so that was huge for me. Every other place that I went to that sold swim spas, they didn't know much about them. They just sold pools or hot tubs, and the swim spas were an afterthought."
Adam's involvement extended beyond the sale. "The day it was installed, he came out to make sure it was installed correctly," she enthuses.
When she's not getting fit in her R500 swim spa, Glenda uses it to relax. At night, she likes to "turn the lights on and turn the jets on, and just listen to it. It is beautiful; it is peaceful."
A Swim Spa for Exercise
The R500 swim spa is part of Endless Pools' RecSport® Recreation Systems series. We have other swim spas and customizable pools for more rigorous exercise and faster swimmers. Glenda found that the R500 "is perfect for me.
"I'm not phenomenally athletic, but I do want to stay in shape," she attests. "I'm not looking for rigorous exercise; I'm looking for exactly what it has. It has the swim jets, [so] I can do water aerobics, I can swim. It checked all the boxes.
"I will just put it on the one set of swim jets, and that's enough resistance for me. If I put it on high, I'm shot across the pool!" With the Endless Pools current on a lower setting, Glenda says, "I do water aerobics, I float, I swim. I have a noodle, and I do water exercises on the noodle."
A Swim Spa for Recreation
Glenda also appreciates that her R500 swim spa gives her opportunities to unwind and share good times with her family. "After doing yard work, I use it to relax. I have a sister-in-law who comes over and we get in it to relax.
"I have two nephews that live close to me. They hang out and play. They swim. The 12-year-old stays in it for hours. We'll put it on high, and we'll both curl up like a ball, and it shoots you to the other side of the swim spa! It's just fun.
"The other thing I do with the 12-year-old – we dance. Dancing is great exercise, and dancing in water is even better exercise. I cannot imagine this thing without the Bluetooth [speaker system]. It's a great feature. I hook my iPad to it, and it plays the radio or Pandora. I love it!"
To plan her swim spa deck, Glenda relied on Adam at her nearby Endless Pools swim spa dealer. She told him that her swim spa deck plans included a fully in-ground model, and "he helped coordinate the whole thing. ... The day it was installed, he came out to make sure it was installed correctly," she enthuses.
Creating an At-home Swim Spa Retreat
"Even when we're not using it, we're sitting out on the back porch, I'll go to the swim spa, turn the lights on and turn the jets on, and just listen to it. It is beautiful; it is peaceful. Multiple people have sat on the back porch and said, 'I could just fall asleep right here.'
"It's a focal point. It's like having a fountain. When it's open at night, it's beautiful. It's part of the landscape." It's that atmosphere that inspired Glenda to connect her swim spa to her deck. "I wanted it to be convenient. I wanted something close enough that I could use it easily, put on a robe and come in the house and be done.
"I did not want to obstruct the view of the pond from the porch. The house was built to be able to see the views of the pond, so it made sense to make it an extension of the back porch."
Over the swim spa, Glenda set up a pergola "for architectural interest. I have lights hanging up there. On the other side of the porch is a fireplace – so very feng shui, fire on one side, water on the other.
"Saturday night, I was in it, and I watched the most amazing sunset. It was gorgeous." Now that sounds like a solid retirement plan!