I've been drenched this summer. About a million hours so far racing around water parks, pounding out cannonball after cannonball with my children and running laps in pools with clients striving to become more fit. I just thought I'd give credit to the one thing that's allowing me to get through it all and keep coming back for more: my pool shoes.

I tell you, they're ugly, fugly, and completely unflattering with my brown polka dotted bikini. They are, in fact, the only thing keeping me from tapping out of summer fun though. I realized this yesterday as I went to work at my client's lap pool and forgot them. Oh man! Every step I took was more excruciating than the last. It was dreadful. I also had a rotten experience a bit back when I hit Disney's Typhoon Lagoon without my fancy footwear. Between the heat, the concrete, and the sand ... my feet took quite a beating.

Pool Shoes are Vital Tools for Aqua Training(click thumbnails to view gallery)

So! If you too, are working out in the water this summer and want to take it up a notch ... protect those tootsies and get yourself some pool shoes. They're one of the most functional fitness tools I've used all summer!

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Everyone of course! I recently returned from a fabulous vacation with my family at Walt Disney World in Florida. Our six-day adventure was non-stop fun, and a major highlight of this trip were our days at the Disney water parks. We enjoyed both Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon to the max and would love to go back every sunny day of the year.

I had a little sad moment though as I chatted with a father of two little ones in the kiddie section of Blizzard Beach. We were commenting on what a challenge it was to keep perfect track of our children in such a busy, water-filled place. The poor guy told me he was alone with his children, because his wife didn't feel like she could go out in public in her swimsuit. He didn't want the kids to miss out on the water fun, so he took them himself. She stayed back at their resort.

It made me amazingly sad to think that this woman felt so uncomfortable in her skin that she couldn't even enjoy a beautiful day with her family at a ridiculously perfect place. I know we all feel self conscious at times (including me). And even as my profession is to educate and inspire others to be more fit ... I wouldn't want anyone to place their life on hold because of their body shape or size. That woman is a really special part of her family, and I imagine they missed her very much.

Sadly, this suggestion may not be viable for many of you in various locations. But! For the lucky ones who live in a predominantly sunny state like I do, and have a water-park nearby......get ready for a whole new training adventure. I spent the day today at one of the several local water-parks near my home here in Florida and I had one of those little fitness trainer epiphanies.

After I finished running up and down a thousand stairs for hours on my way to some swirly water slides, I dove into the wave pool and struggled to keep my head above water due to exhaustion! Now....I don't mean dangerous exhaustion, but I was certainly whooped. Amongst all the fun, I was exercising really hard.

If you live near one of these watery wonderlands, get an annual or seasonal pass. I kid you not. What a fun way to get in shape. You could literally spend an hour running up stairs or ramps and sliding into a bubbly pool for cardio and lower body strength training. Head on over to the wave pool and either jump the waves or doggy paddle for 30 minutes or so. It is tough!