Different ways to get fit in the swimming pool

I have been enthusiastic about becoming a better swimmer for 3-4 years now and I’m gonna let you in a bit on what I’ve done since going from a person who could not swim even 25m of the free stroke to someone who can swim that style for an hour without breaks. I’ve partnered up with the swimming brand Speedo, therefor all the items visible in this post are from their newest collection.

Swimming is an awesome way to get fit and my favorite factor about it is that it really is for everyone. Every condition, every size, every “limitation” – the pool is for everyone. The buoyancy of the water (what a beautiful word) is really easy on the joints and therefor it’s a great way to work up the cardio with a very small risk of straining anything.

Personally, I like to be in water once a week. I have often different purposes for my sessions. They differ from hard conditioning workouts to recovery-focused sessions. It’s fun to do a CrossFit workout where you do for example 5 rounds of 50m swimming, 15 push-ups and 20 air squats. I’m definitely gonna do these on my upcoming vacations this year. I’ll post them on instagram for sure.

Below are some ways how you can benefit from your nearest swimming hall.

Different ways of getting fit in the swimming pool

Hard sessions – Free stroke practice, using different equipments. I suggest hiring a swimming coach for at least a few sessions if you need help with your technique. That’s what I did and it helped a lot. I could barely swim 25m of the free stroke when I first started and about a year later I swam with that technique for an hour straight. I started with small goals by aiming to lengthen the distance by 25-100m every time. The main thing for me was to stay very relaxed and kick a bit less with my feet. The breathing part is often the hardest thing to get right, that’s why it’s important to not rush anything.

Medium sessions – It’s fun to mix up different techniques. It’s important to remember to do low intensity workouts, especially if you do a lot of hardcore sessions. I like to do a mix of the breast stroke and the free stroke for an easier session. A heart rate monitor helps me check that I don’t spike my heart rate up too much.

Easy sessions – Water running is great form of relaxed cardio and it’s perfect if you want to take it easy and just chat away with your friend.

Recovery – In almost every swimming hall you can find an ice-cold pool and a sauna. It’s a great way to level up your recovery game by alternating between the ice-cold pool and warm/hot water or a sauna. I like to do this on my rest days and I usually spend 2 minutes in the ice bath and about 5 minutes in the sauna, for 3 rounds in total. I’m lucky to have this opportunity at my gym as well.

I have some thoughts about attending a mini triathlon in summer 2019, so swimming practice will continue on my part. I’ll keep you posted about how I train for it if that’s of interest! Good luck with your swimming sessions!

x Steffi

The post was made in collaboration with Speedo.