Step by step tips on how to create your own DIY endless pool with an adjustable tether on a budget! When pools close, swimmers need a way to train to maintain their feel of the water and of course keep up their fitness. Check out how we created our own DIY Endless Pool with an adjustable tether in our own garage for under $300.
My daughter is a competitive swimmer and after 2 months out of the pool she was absolutely desperate for a way to get back into the pool during the recent shutdowns. Buying a Michael Phelps endless pool and spa was far out of our budget when we needed a temporary solution to the closure of our local YMCA training facility.
We used this option for 6 weeks until summer finally arrived and my swimmers were able to begin training at our local swim club. Creating our own DIY Endless Pool with an adjustable tether for under $300 was a far better option then spending $45,000 on a fabulous Phelps Endless pool.
DIY Endless Pool with an adjustable tether
Believe it or not, using a large “baby pool” you can easily create a way to train with a tether in your own backyard, garage or basement. We even were able to HEAT her pool by filling it with hot water by connecting the hose to our laundry room water line. Read on to see what we used to make this work for our competitive swimmers looking to maintain their feel of the water.
Video Demo of DIY Endless Pool
Check out Kenzie as she takes a swim in our garage pool. We also show you how we created the adjustable tether using a chain and caribiner so she could change the resistance depending on the stroke she swims.
Doesn’t this look fun? And it really is easy and inexpensive to create this homemade DIY Endless Pool!
What You Need To Buy for a DIY Endless Pool
Swimmers and Triathletes are all looking for solutions to train at home on a budget when pools suddenly close. Step by step, you’ll see how easy it is to create a DIY Endless Pool with an adjustable tether by using a small pool at home.
You’ll need to buy a pool – Intex or Bestway brands have lots of options. Prices range depending on supply and demand from $150-$300. You can go with a circular or rectangular pool depending on whatever is available. Given all the pool closures in the last year, you can buy whatever is available. I’ve seen many use the circular pools too, but the rectangular pool worked best to fit into the space we had available in our garage.
People who watch our Youtube video always wonder exactly what size we have. We bought the 9.8 ft x 6.7 ft that was 29.5 inches deep. My daughter is 5’4″ and this size and depth worked great. (I’ve seen tall swimmers also use this set up but they will obviously need more tension on their tether given their length. )
Please ignore my messy garage! Here’s a photo of the pool and the box it came in.
We also hung “painters plastic” from the ceiling in the garage to prevent the walls from too much splashing and water. You can imagine a lot of water splashes during an intense workout!
This is the tether we use that we bought for under $30 on Amazon. Currently it’s only $7 !!!! There are lots in the $10-$30 range so buy whatever you think looks best or is available. Using it is totally simple, just adjust it around your waist and then the bungee will be attached to something strong – if outdoors a fence, or in our case we attached it to a chain we nailed into the wall of our garage.
Buy a Chain & Carabiner clip $20
We literally bought a super basic chain at Lowe’s that we could easily attach to a wall in our garage. Next, buy yourself a carabiner clip to attach to your tether so you have the option to adjust the tension from your tether as you swim.
Using a carabiner clip and attaching it to a chain gave my swimmers multiple options for tension. Depending on the stroke you want to swim, you can vary your tension levels by hooking into the chain at different spots. Also, my son is not as strong or fast as my daughter, so he needed an easier setting. This chain let us hook the tether into a different spot for each swimmer so they could vary the tension as needed.
This may not be a Michael Phelps Endless pool with adjustable resistance and water flows, but it works great and adjusting the tether let us change the resistance and tension to fit our swimmer’s needs!
This DIY endless pool is easy on the wallet if you are anxious to find a way to swim at home!
Why Train in a DIY Endless Pool with a Tether?
It’s all about the feel of the water. Swimmers are just desperate to glide through that pool after a long period out of the water. A Vasa Trainer is another excellent option for swimmers who can’t get in a pool, but ultimately, nothing compares to being a pool when it comes to maintaining all those swimming muscles and stroke specific technique.
My swimmers kept up their cardio with lots of running, however, the opportunity to go into a pool with a tether is a fabulous way to maintain that feel of the water that is so important for swimmers. Even if you only swim for 20-30 minutes, the time in the pool on a tether can still provide a great return when you ultimately get back training in a real pool.
Hope our budget option to create a DIY Endless Pool with an adjustable tether helps your swimmers find a solution if their pools ever shut down again!
