Types of Swimming Styles

Swimming is an excellent exercise for many reasons. It improves your fitness by forcing your heart to work continuously, burns more calories than most other exercises, exercises the whole body and causes "almost no risk of impact-related injuries," according to "The Complete Guide to Walking." There are several swimming styles that have different specific benefits, can reduce the monotony of doing the same exercise and can provide you more challenges.

Freestyle

The different swimming styles are called strokes. The most common stroke is the freestyle, which is also known as the crawl. The freestyle is the fastest stroke of the four strokes in the individual medley, according to world swimming organizations. The medley's other strokes are the backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Freestylers use their left arm for one stroke, the right arm for the next stroke and continue alternating above-water strokes throughout their swim. Swimming the freestyle stroke causes 155-lb. people to burn 563 to 704 calories per hour, depending on their speed, according to a study by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services.

Backstroke

The backstroke can be the easiest of the four strokes in the individual medley, and it's a great exercise for your shoulders, according to "The Complete Guide to Walking." Backstrokers look up at the ceiling or sky while they are swimming. Like freestylers, they alternate using their right and left arms. The backstroke is the third-fastest and lowest-calorie-burning stroke of the four individual medley strokes. Swimming the backstroke burns 563 calories per hour in 155-lb. people, according to the Wisconsin study.

Breaststroke

The breaststroke is a great exercise for your legs and hips, reports "The Complete Guide to Walking." Breaststrokers resemble frogs when they swim. They poke their head in and out of the water as they move their arms sideways simultaneously from in front of their head to their shoulders. It's the slowest of the four strokes in the individual medley but burns the second-most calories -- 704 calories per hour in 155-lb. people.

Butterfly

The butterfly is the "most difficult and exhausting stroke" and is "mastered by only the best swimmers," according to The Columbia Encyclopedia. The butterfly's difficulty is reflected in the fact that it burns more calories than any other stroke -- 774 calories per hour in 155-lb. people. You burn more calories when you exert more effort. When you swim the butterfly, you have to extend both of your arms simultaneously in front of your head. It's the second-fastest stroke.

Nonracing Strokes

The sidestroke and dog paddle aren't used in competition but are swimming styles usually used for relaxing in the water. The sidestroke is so easy that it is not recommended for improving your fitness, according to the college textbook "An Invitation to Health." It consists of a "forward underwater stroke" while your body is on one side and you are executing a scissors kick, according to The Columbia Encyclopedia. Dog paddlers emulate how dogs swim, moving their arms forward while they are under the water.