Swimming is an effective exercise that benefits both your cardiovascular system and the muscles of your upper and lower body. Water provides a resistance for your muscles while at the same time protecting you against the jarring effects of gravity. Swimming exercise routines are a good way for any age group to increase their fitness level.
Step 1
Warm up with a light swim to loosen your muscles and get your heart pumping. Swim a few laps of the pool, or try some light jogging or jumping jacks in the shallow end for something different.
Step 2
Hold onto a kickboard or flutterboard and swim lengths of the pool using only your legs. Kick your legs in a continuous pattern to give them an effective workout.
Step 3
Perform interval swims by swimming hard for a set distance, then resting for a brief period. Swim a 50-yard freestyle 10 times, resting for 15 seconds between each 50 yards, or give yourself a set time to swim the 50 yards and get a longer break for swimming it faster.
Step 4
Wear plastic hand paddles to help with the pulling action of your stroke and provide extra tension to your upper-body muscles.
Step 5
Vary your strokes if you are proficient in more than one. Alternate the kickboard and hand paddles to give a more intense, total body workout.
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