Swimming plan

[B0D]

I’m a regular intermediate (I think) swimmer. I swiim 60-100 (25m) 2-3 times a week ab 40 x freestyle and 20 breast. I don’t feel I’m doing anything to improve my figure.

Could I change my swims to make my swims better workout for my body? I have recently bought a kickbuoy

I’m very surprised you don’t think your body is being changed by swimming. How long have you had this routine?

What do you want to change? For a good 5 years I've swum 2km of breaststroke 3 times a week at 25 min per km. It's great for toning your arms and legs but not much else.

does breast stroke tone better than freestyle? My upper arms an thighs are very flabby

You probably need to vary intensity.

mix in some kick lengths (front and back) and some faster lengths to get the HR up.

swimming is a great non weight bearing exercise but if you are just swimming up and down with ease it won’t be aerobic or muscle which sounds like that’s what your looking for?

os there a local club that does a masters session you could trial at as that’s proper training and can add a social aspect too. (If that’s something that interest you!)

It's about how you're swimming as well.

Lots of people think they're doing exercise and losing weight because they're swimming. Which, technically, they are - they're going forwards. But, actually, if you swim 'properly' (for lack of a better phrase) and propel yourself through under the water it is far more effective (not only for fat loss but also for speed).

I used to swim competitively, and still coach. The big mistake people always make is thinking they are really putting in effort when, actually, they were barely moving/pulling with their arms and instead relying a lot on their legs and momentum from the overhead phase of their stroke on freestyle.

Most of the 'force' of many people's forward propel with their arms in freestyle actually comes from the overhead phase and the momentum gained there rather than the push through the water phase (if that makes sense). It'll feel like you're putting in effort under water, because there's water resistance and you've got the momentum from the overheard bit, but trust me...you'll feel real strain when you really start pulling through the water.

Next time you go for a swim and do freestyle, really push your hand through under the water toward you and then pull it* *backwards. Don't be passive about it and don't allow the momentum from the overheard phase to guide you. You could even do it out of the pool today to test the difference. Do your usual crawl and then try it pushing down and pulling backwards. You'll feel the difference. I know I do when I show my classes the mistakes their making.

I'd also be careful with kickbuoys, too many people don't use them properly and it can cause serious joint issues if used for extended periods in the wrong position as well as pretty painful backache!

That might sound lecturing, and sorry if it does, but I see the push/pull mistake all the time at the pool (and hear people complaining about it in the changing room) and always bite my tongue as I don't want to offend or pipe up!

Swimming is great for toning and muscle strength, but it does require a lot more effort to really see results than a lot of people think. It's one of those things where people will churn out length after length after length with poor stroke technique, but actually 1/4 of the length with better technique will tone you more 😊

I swam for years to no effect. Nowadays I run which does have an effect on my figure.

Interesting that the pp says it makes no difference to weight. They are right. Thing is I still feel exhausted after an hour. I think it's good for keeping my arms toned and helping my neck and back. So I'm going to keep doing it. It's good for my mental state too.