{"id":31979,"date":"2017-07-08T09:15:05","date_gmt":"2017-07-08T13:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=31979"},"modified":"2021-04-30T08:56:31","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T12:56:31","slug":"swimming-workouts-every-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/swimming-workouts-every-level\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Swimming Workouts for Every Skill Level"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whether you stumble upon it trying to get over a fear of the water, or you decided to try it after being sidelined by an injury, swimming<\/a> is an incredible sport that can be enjoyed by men and women of all shapes and sizes. \u201cIt\u2019s comparable in calorie burn<\/a> and energy exertion to all other high-impact aerobic activity, like running<\/a>, biking<\/a> or Zumba dancing,\u201d says Diana Freedman, Aquatics Department Head at Lifetime Athletics<\/a> in Syosset, NCAA Division II Swim Coach and former Division I swimmer at Towson. \u201cHowever, because it\u2019s low-impact<\/a> on the body thanks to the buoyancy of the water, it\u2019s great for individuals with or recovering from an injury<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Depending on your stroke and intensity, swimming can burn anywhere from 500 to 800<\/a> calories per hour, equivalent to hitting the pavement for the same amount of time.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>Why You Should Move Your HIIT Workout to the Pool<\/a><\/p>\n

Underwater Fitness<\/h2>\n

For beginners, swimming can be a whole new animal. It adds the element of oxygen restriction to a workout that already has a large focus on form and technique. And for intermediate to advanced swimmers, the choice is yours. Pool workouts can come in the form of high-intensity intervals<\/a> or a more mellow experience. Ignore the clock, and those laps can feel similar to \u201ca yoga meditation, going back and forth, staying parallel to the black line, losing yourself in your thoughts,\u201d Freedman says.<\/p>\n

Though many swimmers will focus on freestyle, the three other competitive strokes \u2014 butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke \u2014 have their benefits, too. Butterfly is the most difficult and amps up the intensity. On the other hand, backstroke removes the breathing element and focuses on working the back (as its name suggests). When it\u2019s time for recovery, the breaststroke is a great option, though it\u2019s still a competitive stroke (just ask Brendan Hansen<\/a>).<\/p>\n

While hopping in the pool for a few laps is never a bad thing, here are three new ways to spice up your pool routine. Decide your skill level and dive into one of these workouts from Freedman.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>6 Pool Workouts Worth Diving Into This Summer<\/a><\/p>\n

Beginner Swimming Workout<\/h3>\n

Similar to running, swimming is a relatively inexpensive sport \u2014 all you need are a swimsuit, swim cap and goggles. But it can also help to have a few other pieces of equipment on hand. \u201cIf you get one tool, I recommend a kickboard as you can use it for so many different drills,\u201d says Freedman. Try this workout, which kicks things off with the kickboard.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>How to Swim Like an Olympian (Plus, An All-Levels Workout)<\/a><\/p>\n

Intermediate Swimming Workout<\/h3>\n

In some race, participants use all four strokes \u2014 butterfly, back, breast, free \u2014 in that order, which is known as Individual Medley or IM (think 200 IM or 400 IM in the Olympics). \u201cIn a relay, it\u2019s a little different,\u201d says Freedman. \u201cThe order of the strokes is different \u2014 back, breast, butterfly, freestyle \u2014 and each person has a specialty and only swims one type of stroke.\u201d Perfect your IM with the workout below.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>How to Conquer Your Fear of Open Water Swimming<\/a><\/p>\n

Advanced Swimming Workout<\/h3>\n

For those well versed in IM and looking to improve their distance per stroke ratio, get ready to work. Using a kickboard, buoy, paddles and fins you\u2019ll be able to isolate and focus on specific elements in your overall stroke \u2014 whether it be your pull, your kick, or your body roll \u2014 to make you a more efficient, faster fish. Give this swim a try.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For more workouts you can do on dry land, visit DailyBurn.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally published September 2014. Updated on July 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Swimming is a sport that all can enjoy \u2014 so long as you have a program suited to your ability. Try our beginner, intermediate or advanced swimming workouts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":31994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,24,6],"tags":[288,289,90,128,341,353,100],"class_list":["post-31979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardio","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-cardio","tag-exercise","tag-summer","tag-swimming","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2weight-training","tag-workout"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}