Not all swimming must be a straight swim down the lane, staring at the black line or looking for the flags. Zen is one thing, boredom is another. Enhance your swim workouts with some fun that also helps your fitness. Fun swimming exercises meet dual needs: They work you out and keep you engaged in the sport. Some of these exercises will make you laugh as you refine your technique using odd combinations; others will have you giggling as you try and power yourself in circles without using your arms and legs.
Rolling a Ball
You power your swim through your core muscles, using your body roll to propel you through the water, not just your arms and legs. A strong core enables a stronger stroke. One fun exercise that strengthens your core is the ball roll. With the ball roll, swim out to the deep end and tuck a beach ball or pull buoy under your belly as you lie face down. Using just your torso, attempt to roll in a complete circle so that you end up face down again. This forces you to use your obliques, latissimus dorsi and other muscles of the core to power your roll.
Swim in Pike
Another powerful and somewhat difficult core exercise is the pike sit. From the shallow end, lower your hips and extend your legs up so that your body resembles a V. Scull the water with your hands, making small, shallow movements to propel you forward. Keep your toes out of the water, or make it more difficult by holding a pull float between your feet. Propel yourself down the lane keeping your toes above the water line and your core tight. This forces you to control your body, keeping your abdominal muscles taut as well as maintaining short, steady arm movements.
Combine Your Strokes
To fine-tune a stroke, you break it into its component parts -- arms, legs, start, dive, turn, for example. For fun, combine the arm movements of one stroke with the leg movements of another. This helps keep the stroke fresh and avoids burnout with becoming bored and desensitized to your movement in the water. Swim butterfly arms with breaststroke kick and see how many laps you can do. Or swim butterfly kick with freestyle arms to see how it impacts your cardiovascular rate. Try a butterfly on your back, using your backstroke kick. These exercises keep you fresh and will likely make you laugh, as well as appreciate the stroke more once you swim a few laps and then return to normal.
Play With the Equipment
A pull buoy is a simple tool that keeps your legs still as you use stroke drills for the arms. It also helps focus your workout to strengthening your arms and back. However, it can be boring to simply use your arms. Engage your core more by moving your pull buoy up and down your legs. Hold it at the ankles and work to keep your core taut and your hips up, while pressing your chest down during a freestyle pull routine. Move the pull buoy up to your calves to see how it affects your body position and alignment. Moving your equipment into various positions helps you become more aware of your body's natural alignment and may improve your technique during your regular stroke.
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