Full Body Workouts For Swimmers

Swimming exercises every muscle group in the body, and to gain swimming strength and speed you also must work out every muscle group. Competitive swimmers of all ages combine pool time with land exercise to improve strength and flexibility. Swimming also is good for losing weight and toning bodies.

Strokes

If you are just starting a swimming program, master the strokes first. Freestyle or crawl is the basic, pulling with alternate arms while kicking the legs in a flutter motion. Butterfly is hardest, pulling the head and chest out of the water to sweep down and back with both arms while kicking from the knees with both feet together. Breaststroke combines arm sweeps with frog kicks. Backstroke is like freestyle but done on the back.

Swim Laps

Start by swimming one length or lap and resting. Increase the number of laps between rests as your strength increases, but don't increase your distance from week to week by more than 10 percent. Swim every other day, at least three days a week. Vary strokes during swims to work all the muscle groups. Concentrate on technique; push your chest into the water to force your hips up and concentrate on pushing as hard as you can against the water. Work out with a multifunction exercise machine on off days to increase muscle strength, especially in arms, shoulders, hips and thighs.

Strength Training

Do strength or weight training on non-swim days. Use resistance bands, dumbbells or multifunction machines for bicep curls, arm raises, squats, leg lifts and other exercises to build basic arm and leg strength. Use leg presses and similar exercises to build abdominal and core strength. Do some rowing motions with bands or dumbbells to strengthen shoulders.

Calisthenics

Work in calisthenics. Lie on your stomach with arms outstretched; lift your arms and legs to look like Superman in flight, then vary by alternating arms and legs. Do planks for your back and abdomen. Lie on your stomach with your elbows under your shoulders and lift your body into a plank position. Vary this by doing planks from a side position. Use stomach crunches; on your back lift your head and shoulders with your stomach muscles. Lie on your back, arms at your sides, raise your shoulders and legs and flutter kick with your feet.

Pulls and Kicks

Train with pulls and kicks. Support your legs with a buoy between your ankles and pull a lap with your arms. Use arm paddles to increase resistance. Use a kickboard to kick laps, then add fins to boost the resistance. Eliminate the kickboard and kick laps pushing down with your chest to raise your hips and keeping your arms outstretched for streamlining.