1. Easy on your Legs
Swimming is a great way to tone your legs for many reasons. One is that the kick requires use of muscles from your hips and thighs to your ankle so you can get a workout that uses all the muscles of your legs. Another great reason is that the water relieves you of a majority of your body weight so it is a easier initial workout if you are just beginning a workout regimen. This also makes a beginning swimming workout easier on your muscles and joints. Another perk is that swimming is low impact so a swimming workout is easier on your joints than a working that involves something like running.
2. On Board
Just swimming is a great way to tone your legs but if you want to focus the workout on your legs, you can either use a kick board or the use of kick drills. A kick board is a good tool to use since it helps you float in the water and completely removes the need to pull with your arms. If you are new to swimming and the strokes, this is a great way to swim for a workout without worrying about how to swim. The downside of the kick board is that it changes the way that you move in the water and makes it hard to move your hips so it limits the workout that your legs are going to get.
3. Just Kick It
Freestyle and backstroke kick drills are both great alternatives that will let you work only your legs and still give your legs a full workout. You will use the same kick that you use for the stroke so you will get the same benefits of using your whole leg for the kicks. For backstroke, lie on your back in the water with your arms over your head and hands overlapping. Simply kick as you usually would while swimming backstroke. For freestyle, you want to keep your hands over your head in streamline position and kick but since freestyle requires that your face be the water, you will need to use a pull to allow yourself to get a breath whenever you need one.
4. Add On Fins
Once you feel that you have toned your legs as much as you can with just swimming and kick drills you can add to the workout on your legs by using fins. Fins increase the amount of water that your legs have to move in order to kick. This results in more energy and force you need to use in order to kick. This gives your legs a more intense workout using the same drills that you would use for a normal kick. There are both short and long fins available so you can slowly add the resistance that you want to your workout.
Member Comments