Regarding weight loss, there are several techniques and diets that can help you gain the desired fitness level. Most people are content with running, squats, or hitting the gym to pull a few weights. However, not everyone has a schedule that allows them to follow a strict meal plan or work out several hours a day. If you’re one of them, it helps to consider alternatives that stress your body for a shorter duration while delivering exceptional results.
Swimming for weight loss is an excellent alternative to running or yoga. It’s a fun activity you can indulge in regularly, as it doesn’t require much time. One look at any competitive swimmer, and you know that you can get yourself in physical peak shape too. Throughout this guide, you’ll learn everything about the benefits of swimming and how a professional coach can help you gain the most out of the exercise.
Is Swimming Good For Weight Loss?
The short answer is Yes, swimming is a great form of exercise for weight loss. Swimming can burn a significant number of calories, which can help you lose weight when combined with a healthy diet.
The number of calories you burn while swimming will depend on factors such as your weight, the intensity of your swim, and the duration of your swim.
On average, swimming can burn between 400-700 calories per hour, making it an effective form of exercise for weight loss.
In addition to burning calories, swimming can also help to tone and strengthen your muscles, including your legs, core, and upper body. This can help to improve your overall body composition and further support your weight loss efforts.
It's important to note that weight loss is ultimately determined by the balance between the calories you consume and the calories you burn through physical activity. To achieve weight loss through swimming, it's important to combine regular swimming workouts with a healthy, balanced diet that supports weight loss.
Benefits of Swimming for Weight Loss
Adopting swimming for weight loss can yield several advantages. A few of the most significant ones are as follows.
- Swimming is an intensive physical activity requiring all body limbs to function harmoniously. Thus, it increases your muscle coordination and trains you to remain aware of your surroundings.
- Learning how to swim is a practical skill that can help you in several emergencies.
- Swimming increases the metabolism of your body. So much so that you experience the effects of fat and calorie burn hours after completing your session.
- Regular swimming improves your skin tone and helps develop a lean muscle profile. As such, you develop the strength to pull your body weight without going stiff.
- Underwater swimming activities help maintain healthy lungs. It’s pretty beneficial for those recovering from a severe illness or who just quit smoking.
Muscle movement involved with swimming
Swimming affects several muscles throughout your body, making it one of the most comprehensive exercises to remain fit. Although most of them depend upon the specific drill, you can find a few examples in the list below.
- Core abdominal and lower back muscles: Those are the pivotal muscles to focus on when you desire substantial weight loss. They also help improve your posture and stay more agile. You can work on those muscles using freestyle, butterfly, and backstrokes.
- Shoulder and deltoid muscles: Almost every swimming exercise focuses on developing your shoulder and deltoid muscles, as those are the ones that assist with your balance and orientation during each session.
- Forearm muscles: You work on your forearm muscles as you push the water out of your way. They are also critical in developing your arm strength. Swimming techniques such as breaststroke and butterfly let you keep your forearm fitness great.
- Upper back muscles: Your upper back might not have much fat, but keeping it strong helps you conduct more strenuous cardio exercises, such as backstrokes and deep water dips. It also supports the integrity of other physical body parts, like the shoulders and neck muscles, so you perfect your form and attain better endurance.
- Glutes and hamstrings: The two of these constitute the significant muscles in your legs. You can ensure their fitness throughout most swimming exercises, as keeping your legs moving increases your heart rate and burns calories at a rapid pace.
- Biceps, triceps, and thenars: Moving your arms through a wide area consistently builds up your upper arm muscles. Biceps, triceps, and thenars may have fat deposits, so keeping them lean improves your BMI while simultaneously increasing your carrying strength and attaining better form for other drills.
- Pecs and trunk muscles: Swimming is a light-form exercise, but it can have massive advantages on your body’s metabolism. That means it gets more efficient at burning fat, enabling you to develop pecs and trunk muscles quickly. That also makes your body more aerodynamic, making it increasingly more comfortable to swim for longer durations.
Swimming Weight Loss Exercises To Achieve Your Fitness Goals
While there are several cardio exercises that you can adopt within a week, and each one suits different individuals, swimming for weight loss can include a few drills with proven results. Depending on your lifestyle, you can choose from the following exercises to keep yourself in a desirable shape.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
A HIIT workout is where you start with an intense rep and keep that going for the rest of the session. It’s one of the fastest methods to lose body fat, letting you develop abs and lean cuts in only a few weeks.
The trick is to cover multiple lengths of the pool as quickly as possible. You can start the first week by doing a freestyle for 4 lengths, with a 15-second rest between each rep. After that, try to change your swimming style to breaststroke or butterfly, alternating between them or 8 lengths. Finish the exercise with a backstroke for another 4 lengths.
The best part about HIIT is that it only takes 30 minutes for each session. It allows you to maintain your schedule while remaining physically engaged all days of the week. Additionally, you’re doing fine if you take around 4 minutes to complete each set. So, there isn’t a lot of stress, and your body can sustain the calorie burn for up to 24 hours.
Swim-Kick Aerobic Combo
If you prefer to remain in the best shape within the shortest duration, then it helps to join an aerobic swimming club. Those are the go-to choice for the best athletes in the world, as they focus on increasing overall stamina and burning any excess calories in the most efficient way possible. Even if you can’t, there are a few cardio exercises that you can perform at your nearest swimming pool.
Depending on your capability, you can start with a butterfly or freestyle drill for anywhere between 50 seconds to 75 seconds. Take a 20-second rest between reps and keep your legs working. Switch to backstroke or deep water bobs while shaking your limbs. The critical part is maintaining a high heart rate. It helps to burn the fat and distribute the fatigue to every limb. Over time, you can extend the duration to 100 seconds.
The aerobic cardio combo is challenging to sustain, as switching exercises with only intermittent breaks can tire you for an extended period. Therefore, practicing the aerobic combo later in the day when you’ve cleared most of the crucial tasks is best. You’ll also be starving by the end, which can tempt you to intake more than your required calorie count. So, it helps to plan your meals in advance, consuming only the healthiest available options.
Low-Intensity Steady State (LISS) Workout
If you don’t want to stress your heart too much or want a more relaxed training schedule, you can go for something most long-distance swimmers prefer. The LISS workout stabilizes your heart rate (60-70% of the maximum) while helping you gradually lose weight. It also doesn’t numb your muscles, which is common in other high-intensity workouts and one of the reasons people find it frustrating to stick to their exercise schedules.
LISS involves doing the same drill over long durations. You are free to use laps, lengths, or time as your reference. It doesn’t matter if you don’t yet have the endurance of Pablo Fernandez. Just remember to take a 5-minute break if your muscles start to hurt, and start again. It might take longer than a HIIT workout but can yield almost similar results without stressing your body out too much. LISS is ideal for amateur swimmers who want to perfect their form.
Motivational Tips On Swimming For Weight loss
The exercises mentioned above can help anyone lose weight through swimming. However, there is always room for improvement. If you want to make the process as efficient as possible, experts recommend a few tips for additional benefits.
- Use weights and arm paddles to add resistance: The fat loss rate slows once you get used to swimming. It’s always most complicated to reduce the last few spots. An excellent method is to use equipment like weights and arm paddles that add resistance to your drills. Those are designed explicitly for aqua-based activities and trick your muscles as if they’re encountering a denser fluid.
- Plan your sessions early in the day: Swimming exercises for weight loss keep your metabolism going for longer durations. Thus, it’s best to plan your sessions early in the day. Try swimming before breakfast, as it can yield excellent results for a fat burner that cycles the process throughout the day. It also helps maintain your diet since it would most likely include a light dinner which you can achieve as you won’t need excess energy before bed.
- Keep your progress gradual: You can’t expect Olympic-level results with a few weeks of training. Swimming exercises take their toll over time, so you should focus on a gradual increase instead of ramping up rapidly. It doesn’t matter if you only add one lap to your session after a month. The key focus should be to remain consistent.
- Utilize a float or pool noodle: Those new to swimming can find it challenging to stay afloat, particularly after their muscles tire out. There is no shame in using equipment assists like a float, pool noodle, or even a life vest so you can focus on the exercise. You’ll find that you won’t need those after a 3-week period, as your body fat reduces and you’re more comfortable going to the deep end without fearing to drown.
- Create an efficient diet plan: You’ll lose substantial progress with swimming if you have plenty of junk food throughout the rest of your day. As such, you must follow an efficient diet plan that provides you with all the essential nutrition for your body. You must limit your fat intake, although it doesn’t hurt to include unsaturated fat-rich foods, such as olives, sunflower seeds, and cornstarch.
Train with A Swimming Instructor For The Best Results
Establishing a regular swimming schedule by yourself requires plenty of effort and rugged determination. That may be a tough choice for those just initiating a swimming fitness schedule. Therefore, it helps to hire a professional to keep you motivated and provide the best equipment tips on improving your techniques and setting a comfortable diet.
Superprof is the ideal platform that helps you find the right coach. You can consult with swimming coaches worldwide and choose a schedule that best suits your needs. If you find yourself asking ‘how to find swimming pools,’ they can help you with it for a reasonable budget. So, what are you waiting for? Register yourself at Superprof and make your weight loss dreams come true today!
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