Taking the PLUNGE (1)

This two-part article will give you some tips on how to maximise your swimming fitness.

Benefits of swimming

Those of you that exercise regularly and that can swim, have you considered swimming as part of your exercise routine? Swimming is an amazing all-round form of exercise. It makes the cardiovascular and breathing systems fully workout and strengthens and tones many muscle groups within the body. Regular swimmers have lower blood pressure and lower resting heart rates. The more that your body gets used to swimming against the constant resistance of the water the more efficient your heart will pump the blood around your body. A study at the University of Texas in Dallas, U.S.A., showed that inactive adults improved their heart function significantly within three months of beginning a swim training programme. Swimming for one mile is almost equivalent to running a few miles. Many very fit runners and cyclists find swimming more demanding as it requires good breathing control and use of many muscle groups all at the same time.

It also encourages muscles to stay flexible, keep our joints mobile and helps our co-ordination. The water also helps to support the body, so it is possible to use the water to rehabilitate an injury; many athletes do water running as part of their training and especially to help strengthen leg muscles after a severe injury. Some conditions such as arthritis or recovery from a stroke may benefit from gentle swimming or hydro-therapy. The resistance of the water will help the muscles to function and become stronger but without the impact that can be imposed on the joints when running or taking a dry-land exercise class. The mind can also take a rest as swimming encourages our bodies to feel relaxed and the rhythmic nature of the strokes helps us focus on these actions rather than the stresses of our lives.

Swim technique

Swimming is not just about getting into the pool and pulling your body from one end to the other, although some days it may feel more of an effort than others. Technique does play a big role in how easy it will feel to swim lap after lap and poor technique will hinder this as your body position can drop down in the water making it feel almost like swimming through syrup!
Although it is really best to have an experienced swim teacher or coach on hand to give you concise verbal and visual instructions that give you a clear understanding of what you need to feel and look like in the water I will give some advice on simple training elements that could be incorporated into any swim practice. It is important to prepare our bodies for any exercise that we do and then also follow a process of a training programme which can give us an improvement in our fitness levels. Whatever your standard of swimming you could consider some of the following pointers.

Flexibility and mobility , land based warm-up

What would you consider is important for your body for it to be able to perform as well as it can in the water? Take a tip from the competitive side of swimming. When competitive swimmers train they always do a dry-land mobility warm-up for the arm and leg muscles to promote the blood flow to these areas and to ensure that their muscles are not stiff and tight. They spend up to 10-15 minutes preparing their bodies before they start their two and a half hour training sessions. To scale this down if you are swimming for half an hour or so then really a few minutes spent on the following mobility exercises will maximise your bodies response to your workout.

Stand with enough space so that you can circle your right arm backwards, about ten times and then circle the arm forwards ten times. Make sure it is only the arm moving and that it is a full circle. Notice if you feel any muscle tightness around the shoulders or chest area. Repeat this with your other arm and compare how each side feels in comparison to one another.
Next is to circle both arms forwards together ten times and then both arms backwards. It is a stronger movement with both arms moving together so you may really feel many upper body muscles working!
Start one arm circling forwards and then the other arm backwards, spin for a few circles and then reverse the movements each side.
For the leg warm up, stand side on, place hand on the wall, swing your outside leg forwards and backwards ten times. Turn around and repeat with the other leg.
Lastly face the wall, hands on it at shoulder level and gently swing your leg inwards across, in front of the other leg and out to the side away from you. Repeat on the other leg.

Well done ,now you are ready to enter the water for the swim workout.
My next article will cover the swimming programme.