Swimming is an excellent form of exercise because it gets your heart pumping as much as a more vigorous workout, such as running, but is still a low impact form of exercise, meaning it puts less strain on your skeleton. Swimming exercises all of your body, but you can follow a few tips to make sure you target your lower back muscles in a healthy way during your swimming routine.
Preventing Pain
The Spine-Health website recommends swimming with a sidestroke or backstroke during your workout to prevent causing back pain while you swim. The Stretching Institute suggests switching between your strokes during your swimming workout to work all of your muscles without overdoing it on one particular muscle group. Prevent back injury during your swimming routine by making sure your positioning is correct. Engage your abdominal muscles as you swim in a front style, and keep your head in a straight line with your body, not cranked up to look toward the sky or ceiling.
Backstroke
To swim the backstroke, move backward through the pool gliding on your back, propelling your body by making large, circular backward motions with your arms. Start with your right arm, bringing it up and back to come into the water next to your head, then follow in the same way with your left arm. Kick your feet lightly with your knees slightly bent to keep your body moving in a straight line.
Sidestroke
Work your lower back gently with a sidestroke. Get in a relaxed position in the water on either side of your body with your lower arm extended underneath your head and your upper arm alongside your upper thigh. Draw your knees in toward your body and move your lower hand in toward your shoulder and your upper hand in toward your chin. Propel your body through the water by kicking your legs out and digging into the water with your upper hand.
Considerations
Always warm up with a few stretching exercises to protect your lower back during your swimming routine. Consider working with a swimming coach who can make sure you are performing your strokes correctly and help you target the muscles you are looking to work. When you start a swimming routine, begin slowly, swimming for just 30 seconds, then resting for 30 seconds, and repeating until you build your stamina.
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