Swimming creates a strong core, and a stronger core improves your swimming. Both water and land exercises can be used to strengthen your abdominal muscles for your water workouts. The added benefit of swim exercise is that the calories burned can help reduce the fat in your midsection so you can enjoy having a beautiful belly.
Swimming
When you swim, your body uses your abdominal muscles as the support for your arms and legs. Every time you reach your arm forward to pull yourself through the water, you slightly rotate your torso, which contracts your stomach muscles. The water provides resistance 360 degrees around your body, so regardless of which way you swim, your abdominal muscles are working against this resistance and respond with improved strength.
Water Workout
If you are new to swimming, begin with short swim segments and include rest intervals as well as a variety of strokes. Swimming uses almost every muscle in your body to keep you from sinking, especially your abs. Aim to swim four lengths of the pool and then rest for 30 seconds before repeating five to 10 times. If the freestyle stroke is too challenging, try the breast stroke, in which you reach both arms overhead and pull your arms out to your sides as if you were separating the water in front of you.
Abdominals
Your transverse abdominis muscles, which runs along the inside of your abdomen, is the deepest layer of abdominal muscle, and it acts like a girdle to hold your stomach in place. Your internal and external obliques are along the sides of your stomach and contract when you rotate your torso as you do during swimming. Your rectus abdominis is the highest layer of muscle. It runs down the center of your stomach and is what can be developed into a six-pack.
Land Workout
A successful land abdominal workout targets all your abdominal muscles. Control the tightening of your transverse abdominis by consciously pulling your navel toward your spine and maintaining that contraction throughout your exercises. "Stack" magazine suggests hanging knee raises to prepare your abdominal muscles for swimming. Use a captain's chair, which has a padded back and arm rests, but no seat, or simply hang by your hands from a pullup bar. Begin with your legs straight, and then bend your knees as you raise your legs toward your chest. Slowly lower your legs and repeat 10 to 12 times for one to three sets.
Member Comments