3 Effective Swimming Workouts for Weight Loss
- Last Updated: April 4, 2021
- by Jason S.
Swimming is in the top 10 most effective activities that burn the most calories. Using every muscle in your body while staying afloat in water, swimming builds up every muscle group effectively which in return burns up more fat, even when your not swimming.
Experts believe that there are a lot of physical benefits that sit behind swimming especially to those who want to get in shape and be healthy. Firstly, it is highly aerobic which means it improves circulation while gaining muscle strength and endurance. Next, swimming is a low-impact workout that results in greater carbohydrates, protein, and fat metabolism and turns it into energy. Lastly, it is a whole-body training that with different strokes can target every single muscle in your body.
Like many exercises, swimming is also mentally and emotionally healthy. However, there are a lot of studies that people who swim more often find themselves more at peace and centred. This may be because water is known to be a highly meditative element. On top of that, the exercises in swimming can increase fine motor skills in kids too.
So, if you are looking for swimming workouts to start shredding those unwanted fats, these 3 exercises will help you.
3 Swim Workouts for Losing Weight
Do you know how many calories you can burn by swimming freestyle at a fast pace for only 30 minutes? You will burn approximately 404 calories and it will continue to burn even after that.
The flutter kicks that you do when swimming is the key to this effective weight loss technique. It is a great cardio work that burns a lot of fat. Therefore, if you want to lose more pounds, pile on the kicks. Warm-ups of swimmers, even athletes, involve a lot of kicks to get their heart going.
PRO TIP: Completing alternate drills of swimming and kicking will beat the hell out of you but trust the process. You will find yourself out of breath and exhausted for the first few sessions. Expect your legs and shoulders to be sore for a few days too. But your body is an amazing sponge that can easily adapt to the changes. Slowly, you feel your body adjusting and eventually, you will see your body changing.
Observe that each set includes a warm-up to get your body warm and loose, a pre-set to keep circulation going and fired up, followed by a fat-blasting main workout set and ending it with a soothing gentle cool-down to allow your body to recover.
Workout #1: High-intensity 25s
This Tabata-inspired workout is set out to have short but high-intensity exercises. This set’s ultimate goal is to go all the way during the first rep then sustain the momentum and intensity. You will notice that this exercise does not require doing a long lap but if you can deliver properly and at full intensity, your body will reach a skyrocket metabolic reaction.
PRO TIP: The challenge in this set is that no matter how built you are, this exercise will always be a tough one, even for professional swimmers. You will be in a constant battle with your strength and the more you do it, the more you will be quicker in doing the reps.
Warm-up: 4 × 100 meters swim (close your fists every last 25 counts—this will enable a higher elbow latch thus progressively intensifying your warm-up)
Pre-set: 4 × 25 meters descend effort from 50%-95% 1-4 with 20 seconds rest in between
Main set: Repeat this set 3 times
8 × 25 meters with maximum intensity and speed with 10 seconds rest in between reps
50 backstroke swims between rounds
(Round 1: swim, Round 2: kick, Round 3: swim)
Cooldown: 6 × 50 meters swim using any kind of stroke with flawless technique taking 15 seconds to rest between reps
Workout #2: The Swim-Kick Aerobic Combo
This second workout is ought to be the core foundation of a lot of swimmers. Each set includes a variety of intervals and combinations of different swimming fundamentals that will inevitably increase your aerobic levels. In summary, a full cardio workout!
To give you a glimpse, this set comprises of alternate repetition and combinations of swim and kick. This will ensure that your circulation is flowing, and your heart rate is increasing allowing you to put in the meters without fixating on your shoulder too much.
For beginners, you can start with 50s or 70s (if you can) and eventually hit the goal of 100 over-time. Remember not to take no more than 20 seconds to rest in between sets because you want to keep the momentum going. You want to feel that rush!
Warm-Up: 300 meters swim with any stroke of your choice keeping a great posture
Pre-set: 200 pull breathing every third out of 5 strokes by 50 + 100 kick build
Main set: 30 × 100 meters freestyle as 10 x [2 reps swim – 1 rep kick] while taking 20 seconds to rest in between each repetition.
Cooldown: 4 x [50 meters swim choice + 10 deepwater bobs, shaking out legs and arms + 10 seconds rest]
Workout #3: Vertical kicker’s delight
Just as the title suggests, this last workout incorporates some vertical kicks which are going vertical while kicking as you keep your head out of the water. Also, this is merged with a descending effort ladder swim set.
This technique is known to be a core builder that also targets your backside. If done correctly, you will be able to pull through with symmetrical kicks with equal forces in both directions and work out your midsection as well.
Warm-up:
200 meters swim loose + 8 × 25m choice swim DPS + 15 seconds rest after each lap
(DPS: distance per stroke—the main objective is to swim across the pool with the smallest possible number of strokes)
Pre-set:
6 × 50 meters (25 meters swim and 25 meters kick without a board), descend at 1-3 and 4-6 then take 15 seconds to rest after each rep
Main set:
5 × 100 meters swim with 15 seconds rest (80% effort)
30 vertical dolphin kick (NOTE: Intensify your core while targeting an equal power kicks in both directions)
4 × 100 meters swim with 15 rest (85% effort)
30 vertical dolphin kick
3 × 100 meters swim with 15 rest (90% effort)
30 vertical dolphin kick
2 × 100 meters swim with 15 rest (95% effort)
30 vertical dolphin kick
100 meters swim with MAXIMUM EFFORT
Cooldown:
8 × 25 meters swim DPS (aim to beat your warmup count) then 20 seconds rest after each rep.
Common questions about using swimming for weightloss
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