Cardio is an essential part of any workout, especially if you want to focus on burning calories. It keeps you agile and allows your muscles to relax after heavy lifts. It’s also an essential part of any workout that many people miss, as your body takes a toll, preventing you from doing pull-ups or bench press training between multi-mile runs. It's much more tempting to take some rest afterward.
Swimming is an excellent alternative that you can take up, whether you regularly exercise for several minutes or not. In most cases, it can prove more beneficial for you than simply running several miles. Throughout this guide, you’ll learn whether swimming can replace running as a viable cardio exercise and how to make the most of it.
What does ‘cardio’ actually mean?
Cardio (short for ‘cardiovascular exercises’) is a type of workout that focuses on your body’s circulatory system. It keeps your heart rate up and your blood flowing, consuming excess fat from your body during the process. Experts also reviewed that the limited stress on the heart decreases the likelihood of strokes and diseases while helping you build more stamina.
There are various exercises that you can consider under this category. Running, burpees, aerobics, cycling, and even training with pogo sticks all amount to cardio exercises. You might notice the common theme to kick in most of them. Yet, swimming for weight loss is often left off, which is an exercise that can get you more within fewer minutes and a brief rest between reps that spans a few seconds. Part of that depends on how easy it is to locate swimming pools in your area. More on that later.
Instead of working on singular parts, swimmers can attain great benefits with repeat sessions. They can develop great strength in their arms, while the freestyle technique is excellent for the abdomen. Those who like to squat can also do repeat back stroke sessions to work their legs.
Best Swimming Technique For Cardio
Swimming is an excellent form of cardio exercise that can improve cardiovascular fitness and overall health. The best swimming technique for cardio will depend on your skill level and fitness goals, but freestyle (also known as a front crawl) is generally considered to be the most effective technique for improving cardio.
Freestyle involves alternating arm strokes and kicking with your legs while keeping your face in the water. It engages your major muscle groups, including your legs, core, and upper body, and increases your heart rate to provide an effective cardiovascular workout.
To maximize the cardio benefits of freestyle swimming, focus on maintaining a steady pace and breathing rhythm. Try to swim continuously for at least 20–30 minutes without stopping to rest, gradually increasing your speed and distance over time. You can also incorporate interval training by alternating periods of high-intensity swimming with periods of rest.
How Many Calories Does Swimming Burn?
It depends upon which swimming techniques you utilize in your workouts. Even if you’re freestyling, you can expect to burn around 500 calories every hour, including the rest times. For more strenuous swimming exercises, like the butterfly, you can expect to spend up to 1000 calories per hour. They also help with building your legs, arms and upper body strength in the workout.
Regardless of the level of your interest, burn time is far more than what you burn through running or jogging, both of which burn between 80-150 calories per mile. And it’s highly unlikely that you might kick up 10-mile workouts for most days of the week. Whereas, if you swim, you can go to your local public pool every morning, kick a few fast strokes, and be ready for work within 60 minutes.
Specific cardio exercises for swimming focus on different muscle groups, including your legs and back. Thus, you can’t expect to gain all the benefits if you repeat the same fast stroke set every day. It’s best to mix and match various swimming techniques, such as doing freestyle and backstroke for a few laps one day and switching over to breaststroke and side stroke the next. Ensure that you cover all the muscle types within your body, or you can end up with a terrible posture should you take a break for a few days.
Health Benefits of Swimming
In addition to burning high calories, a swim that spans 30 minutes or a few hundred yards each day can also provide you with additional health benefits. A few of the most reviewed ones are listed below.
- With only a few training sessions, you can reach a level to extend your core workout to several hundred yards. Swimming exercise to reduce thigh fat and fat from other critical parts grants a metabolism boost that remains active for up to 24 hours.
- Remaining in clean water for a while adds fitness to your body and removes any pollutants that can cause long-term harm. You are also less likely to deal with body odor that tends to emit after a cardio-based workout.
- Swimming assists with building a lean muscle profile, which means you don’t have much fat but are still strong enough for lifting weights or other strenuous tasks.
- Swimming focuses on almost every part of your body. So, you don’t need to combine other forms of exercise to stay fit. A 30-minute session per day is usually enough to maintain your fitness schedule.
- Swimming helps your body build a stamina reserve without expending sweat. The water regulates the heat around your body, making it ideal for people with heart complications.
- Swimming workouts for long stretches reduces the likelihood of several diseases, from heart strokes to diabetes. In fact, the chlorine in most swimming pools clears your system of harmful microbes, so you’re ready to attend a formal event after a light shower of 30 seconds.
- Swimming increases your overall mental health. As you swim, the water regulates the flow of blood in your brain, which reduces stress and makes you more relaxed. Moreover, lateral movement and muscle fitness is set to improve your posture.
Is Swimming A Better Cardio Exercise Than Running?
Running is often the go-to for most cardio workouts, as you can run pretty much anywhere, more so in a suburb with dedicated cycling or jogging tracks. Yet, visiting a swimming pool regularly is much more beneficial for your fitness training. You have to fight through the fluid resistance and work your core muscles, even as you're learning with other swimmers.
As mentioned before, swimming burns more calories than running. You can manage it even with a tight schedule, and it is often the only exercise you need if you’re trying to keep your muscles fit as well. Knowing how to find swimming pools near you is an excellent idea. While you can perform your research online, consulting with a professional is often more beneficial. There are several types of swimming pools, with some available any time of the day, and others having varying depth levels for freestyle practitioners.
Is Learning How To Swim From A Swimming Coach A Good Decision?
The short answer is: yes. Professionals can help you learn more about the particulars of various swimming techniques, especially if you’re just out of basic swim training. Those who didn’t take up swimming before might find it challenging to adopt it as a regular hobby. That’s where Superprof can prove a valuable asset to trim the learning curve.
Superprof is an online platform that allows you to learn from the best swimming coaches from around the world. All of them get reviewed before they create a profile on the website. They can set perfection to your technique and buy the necessary equipment that adds resistance to your core parts. You can also consult them regarding your health updates at a reasonable budget. The website also allows for trial sessions, so you can find the teacher that suits your schedule before you can confirm going forward.
If you’re facing obstacles finding a swimming pool 50 yards long near your location, your Superprof teacher can also help make that easy. They can outline the essential features, such as depth and water quality so that you can be comfortable throughout each training session. Parents looking to find a safe area for their children to swim can also consult with the teachers, so they know precisely all the necessary details. A professional allows you to remain motivated and helps you stick to your desired schedule as well.
Swimming exercise for cardio is ideal for those who can’t take hours off their school or work to hit the gym. If you want to get in the best shape quickly without investing too many hours of the week, swimming is the way to go.
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