Swimming is one of the best activities that you can perform for
overall physical fitness. First, swimming involves almost all of
your major muscle groups. For example, the standard crawl stroke
uses the neck, shoulder, chest, back, triceps, and biceps muscles of
the upper body, the abdominal, low back, and oblique muscles of the
midsection, and the gluteal, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf
muscles of the legs.
Second, swimming is an excellent exercise
for conditioning your cardiovascular system. Although you won't go as
far in a 20-minute swim as you will during 20 minutes of walking,
running, or cycling, the cardiovascular benefits are essentially the
same.
Third, swimming seems to enhance joint
flexibility, especially in the neck, shoulders, hips, and midsection
area. Much of this is due to the repetitive twisting movements as your
body turns from side to side during the crawl stroke.
Of course, exercising in water is a totally
different experience than land-based activity. For one thing, swimming
requires a horizontal body position, that places less stress on your
heart with respect to blood circulation. The gentle pressure of the
water against your skin also enhances blood circulation.
Because water is an isokinetic medium, the
resistance varies in proportion to your muscle force. That is, when
you give low muscle force against the water you encounter relatively
low resistance from the water, and when you give high muscle force
against the water you receive relatively high resistance from the
water.
Another advantage of aquatic exercise is the
cooling effect of the water. Unlike hot weather activity on land, you
are unlikely to overheat when swimming. What could be better than a
cool pool, lake or ocean in which to exercise on a hot summer day.
With so many reasons to enjoy swimming, why
do so few adults spend time in the water? The major problem for some
adults is lack of confidence in their swimming ability. This can be
easily overcome by a few lessons or a refresher swimming course.
However, I find that most adults do not understand how to swim long
enough for fitness benefits. To make a land activity analogy, they
start out running rather than walking. In other words, instead of
starting with a slow swimming speed and gradually picking up the pace
new swimmers tend to sprint a lap or two, exhausting themselves and
ending their exercise session prematurely. By so doing, they miss both
the enjoyment and the fitness benefit of this fine physical activity.
Although swimming is excellent exercise, it
should be performed in a relaxed manner. Your arms and legs should
feel loose and your movements should be balanced and coordinated. If
you feel tight or tense, simply slow down and let the water work with
you rather than against you. Because the water buoys up your body, you
can swim very slowly and still maintain your top-of-the-water body
position.
By the way, unless you want to swim
competitively, do not compare yourself with other swimmers. Bodybuild
plays a major role in swimming speed, but it has little effect on your
fitness outcome. For example, people who are wide from side to side
and thin from front to back seem to skim over the water surface like a
surfboard. On the other hand, people who are narrow from side to side
and thick from front to back encounter much more water resistance and
must work much harder at a given swimming pace. The solution is to
swim for yourself at a comfortable speed, and let the faster swimmers
use the high speed lanes.
As an aerobic conditioning activity, you
should aim for at least 20 minutes of continuous swimming. However,
until you develop sufficient cardiovascular endurance, you may vary
the pace throughout your 20-minute swimming session. Consider the
following training progression for beginning a fitness-oriented
swimming program. For best results, stay within the guidelines that
gradually increase the swimming distance and the number of
faster-paced laps.
Sample Beginning Swimming
Fitness
Program
Week 1:
·
Day 1: Swim 100 yards (4 pool lengths) at a slow pace.
·
Day 2: Swim 150 yards (6 pool lengths) at a slow pace.
·
Day 3: Swim 200 yards (8 pool lengths) at a slow pace.
Week 2:
·
Day 1: Swim 200 yards alternating slower-paced and faster-paced
laps.
·
Day 2: Swim 250 yards (10 pool lengths) alternating slower-paced
and faster-paced laps.
·
Day 3: Swim 300 yards (12 pool lengths) alternating slower-paced
and faster- paced laps.
Week 3:
·
Day 1: Swim 300 yards alternating 1 slower-paced with 2
faster-paced laps.
·
Day 2: Swim 350 yards (14 pool lengths) alternating 1 slower-paced
with 2 faster-paced laps.
·
Day 3: Swim 400 yards (16 pool lengths) alternating 1 slower-paced
with 2 faster-paced laps.
Week 4:
·
Day 1: Swim 400 yards alternating 1 slower-paced with 3
faster-paced laps.
·
Day 2: Swim 450 yards (18 pool lengths) alternating 1 slower-paced
with 3 faster-paced laps.
·
Day 3: Swim 500 yards (20 pool lengths) alternating 1 slower-paced
with 3 faster-paced laps.
Week 5:
·
Day 1: Swim 500 yards alternating 1 slower-paced with 4
faster-paced laps.
·
Day 2: Swim 550 yards (22 pool lengths) alternating 1 slower-paced
with 4 faster-paced laps.
·
Day 3: Swim 600 yards (24 pool lengths) alternating 1 slower-paced
with 4 faster-paced laps.
Week 6:
·
Day 1: Swim 600 yards alternating 1 slower-paced with 5
faster-paced laps.
·
Day 2: Swim 650 yards (26 pool lengths) alternating 1 slower-paced
with 5 faster-paced laps.
·
Day 3: Swim 700 yards (28 pool lengths) alternating 1 slower-paced
with 5 faster-paced laps.
Week 7:
·
Day 1: Swim 700 yards alternating 1 slower-paced with 6
faster-paced laps.
·
Day 2: Swim 750 yards (30 pool lengths) alternating 1 slower-paced
with 6 faster-paced laps.
·
Day 3: Swim 800 yards (32 pool lengths) alternating 1 slower-paced
with 6 faster-paced laps.
Week 8:
·
Day 1: Swim 800 yards in the following manner - 10 faster-paced
laps, 1 slower-paced lap, 10 faster-paced laps, 1 slower-paced lap, 10
faster-paced laps.
· Day 2: Swim 800 yards in the following manner - 15 faster-paced
laps, 2 slower-paced laps, 15 faster-paced laps.
·
Day 3: Swim 800 yards without any slower-paced laps.
Succeeding Weeks
Gradually increase your distance until you are swimming comfortably
for 20-30 minutes.
