Swimming is one of the best non-weight bearing activities out there and I totally recommend implementing a swim routine into your workout. It’s a great way to burn an enormous amount of calories all while having a blast in the water. Non-weight bearing refers to no weight or pressure being forced onto the joints, thus great for those with injuries, arthritis, or pain.
Although indoor pools are somewhat hard to come by, they are definitely worth the small cost to use. You may find indoor pools at your local health or fitness club, university, YMCA, or hotel. Before starting your swimming workouts, here are a few things you should know:
- The first step is safety, you should always have another person around in case of an emergency.
- The second step is to find the one type of workout that works for you (enjoyable and effective). One style consists of just plain sprinting (swimming) while implementing different strokes into the mix.
There are a few different stokes: front crawl, back crawl, side stroke, back stroke, butterfly, and breast stroke. Another type of workout routine is water aerobics; which consist of performing exercise-type movements in the water.
For example: empty milk jugs are a great way to implement dumbbell movements in the water. Below are two different workouts for you to try; remember to stretch before and that safety comes first!
Swimming Workout #1
Warm-up:
- Stretch
Workout:
- 5 x 50 Meter Sprint (change strokes as desired)
- 20-second Rest (hydrate if needed)
- 5 x 100 Meter Sprint (change strokes as desired)
- 60-second Rest (hydrate if needed)
Cool-down:
- 15-30 Minute Non-Stop Swim (at a regular pace)
Swimming Workout #2
Warm-up:
- Stretch
Workout:
- 5-minute Jog In Place
- 50 Side Leg Raises (abductor muscles)
- 20 Lateral Raises (deltoids)
- 30 Squat Jumps (legs)
- 30 Biceps Curls (biceps)
- 100 Torso Twists (obliques)
- 50 Jump Scissor Kicks (legs)
- 10-minute Jog (jog in water around the pool)
Cool-down:
- 5-10 Minute Stretch
