What do I need to leave the pool without getting dried and dressed again?

[CaptainSevenofNine]

I have 2 gym memberships, long story, but both worth it. Trust me as a frugal Scot I get my “money’s worth” from both.

One gym is a corporate private gym. They provide towels at no extra cost. There are single sex changing rooms and shower cubicles meaning I can get completely showered, dried and dressed easily. The single sex changing rooms are open plan with air con so I don’t overheat.

The other gym is a local authority gym. Mixed sex, over heated changing village. Hate it. Love the pool and health suite. Hate the changing facilities.

I’d like to use the local authority pool after classes or the gym and then when I get out. Put something on, drive home and shower there. I don’t even want to rinse off in the showers - they are open plan to the pool and I’ve watched men spit in them. 🤮

But what kit do I need? A towelling robe? A dry robe? Sandals?

My local pools are all like this too - totally open mixed showers and then a mass of cubicles. The leisure centre in my town actually has put mesh over the tops and round the bottoms of the cubicles due to the number of issues with phones being put over/under. It actually feels more exposed than getting changed at our local lake where everyone is in one tent and gets changed under their DryRobe

You mean just keep your swimsuit on, cover up and drive home?

Can you not just get dried quickly get dressed. Then shower at home?

I'll tell you, once I did the school run in pjs because we were running late and I broke down at the school. I had to wait for the AA coming looking like I'd just got out of bed.

Never did that again.

I’d go for an oversized trackie, hoodie and bottoms , hat and crocs but I don’t like the wind touching any bare skin so the thought of a draught going up my dry robe onto my naked damp legs would rule out that option for me .

They are completely standard at my local authority pools too. I’m in London. The showers are poolside and shared, visible to everyone in the pool. The changing cubicles are individual but are also poolside, no separation between men and women.

I have a dryrobe-type coat, flip flops for the minging floors and a hair wrap towel thing. Plastic bags for my swimwear so I can take it off, rinse out the chlorine and just put undies and tee shirt on then dryrobe and drive home.

@CaptainSevenofNine please be careful at the turnstiles leaving as one arm of it once caught the back of my coat and showed my arse cheek to everyone present 🫣

I used to do this with just a really thick pair of sweatpants and a sweat shirt. It gets much colder in winter where I live though, as in we regularly have warnings about exposed skin and being outdoors, so making sure everything is covered before I walked to my car was important. Trousers were essential.

Add a go bag in your car for emergency breakdown/ accidents so you did not end up too cold if delayed

Heavy socks joggers hoodie/coat and a wollie hat

Changing Villages really are the stupidest idea. Our LA gym had them, but luckily they went back to single sex facilities.

It sounds like same set up as all of my la pools. Showers are in the pool room open to the pool, just meant for rinsing off in with your swim wear still on. Changing village is just one big area with loads of individual cubicles rather than changing rooms.

I’ve only experience changing villages, except at uni when it was single sex for gym/pool all together!
I would definitely have something on my legs. Last week I had to put tracksuit bottoms over my gym leggings it was so cold between car/gym. No way could I have bare legs.
Id look in the supermarkets for fleecy Pj/leisure sets and stick a good coat over.

Luck?
or the staff were tired of dealing with criminal acts and senior management worked out the financial costs involved if when they were sued?

Sainsbury’s have got knock off dry robes atm. We’ve got a large store so they had loads yesterday. I think they were £55. Regatta have also got some ‘changing robes’ in their sale online.

I just chucked on a tracksuit,dried my feet, towel on the car seat.

Get a dry-robe. Don’t skimp on the price or quality as it’s a one time purchase. Mine is excellent.

There’s absolutely no point in me trying to dry. It’s hotter than the surface of the sun in the changing village (okay, slight exaggeration) but I cannot dry off properly as the sweat pouring off me simply replaces the water from the pool!

so yes. I want to leave wet! I’ll air dry on the walk to the car and shower properly at home.

A fleece onesie with a big jacket or dry robe over the top?

I get you, I have bannatyne membership and the changing rooms are lush, include good hairdryers and GHD straighteners. The local leisure centre is rank, they're dirty, overcrowded, communal showers and no decent area to dry hair etc.

Not at my gym (because it sounds like your first one and has individual shower cubicles and changing ones too) but I swim at a lake and throw my dry robe on afterwards, wriggle off my wet cossie,
flip flops on and dash to the car to drive home for a hot shower. Couldn’t be simpler.

www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-borg-zip-neck-onesie/microchip/p114028027?size=S&s_ppc=2dx_mixed_fashion_BAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20158968379&gbraid=0AAAAAD2el1xdFwp93yVuhyZLRqLhFqx4Z&gclid=Cj0KCQiAg63LBhDtARIsAJygHZ6rXR2lefKlp3iESP9DWdlwzymhWXpjLJ-X0Nuj2SO9_VS3aYC3EAQaAksAEALw_wcB

I’ve got this onesie on the grounds that it doesn’t look as much like a onesie as some. I don’t put anything on underneath.

I’ve also got a towelling tracksuit which is super warm. It’s an either or situation though and I’m just naked apart from the onesie or the tracksuit. Obviously I go straight home.

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-borg-zip-neck-onesie/p114028027

This is why I won’t use the council owned leisure centre. I hate showering and getting changed next to men.

I sometimes come home from the pool with wet hair and use one of those hair wrap towels / turban towel things. So much better than just using a normal towel. They are shaped and have a button on the front, plus your wet hair doesn't freeze on the car park.

With the kids the family changing village is actually much easier. They have family sized rooms so the dad can help or you don't have to send your 8 year old boy in alone. We never shower there though. In the summer the kids used a towelling poncho and crocs (I've just bought some adult ones for camping from OHS) and in the winter they quicky taken off their costume and into a onesie. They shower at home.
For an adult in the winter I'd go for a towelling poncho under a dry robe. I can't stand the feeling of the inner material when wet!

It says in the OP that she’ll drive home!

Not after the gym (because I go to a posh one where I can shower without men!) but after sea swimming I opt for microfiber towel poncho, then Dryrobe and crocs. Add some baggy joggers and socks if it's cold.

Pull on some uggs. Apparently they are designed to be worn without socks.