Turn swimming into a killer workout with these tips
Efficient swimming training burns around 900 calories per hour. However, efficiency requires the right technique. We know how, so you will soon be swimming up and away from everyone! Swimming trains our bodies like no other sport. The crawl, breaststroke, backstroke, and dolphin swimming are highly efficient full-body workouts that are easy on the joints.
Swimming shapes beautiful, strong muscles in the legs and tightens the tissue thanks to the water resistance – we swim away the orange peel skin, so to speak. It defines the arms and shoulders and strengthens the often damaged back. Strength endurance training is also ideal for really boosting fat burning. A brisk swimming style burns around 430 calories per hour. Up to 900 are possible! However, an efficient swimming and breathing technique is necessary for maximum calorie consumption. On the following pages, we will show you step by step how you can improve your breaststroke, crawl, and backstroke technique. Plus, 7 tips on how you can further improve your performance.
These 7 tips will help you improve your physical performance:
Warm-up. Start every training session with a relaxed ten-minute warm-up in the water. Do a few lengths in a relaxed manner and then briefly stretch your shoulder muscles (30 seconds per stretch).
Set goals. To achieve the best possible results with swimming, you should be able to swim at least 500 meters freestyle (note: you are free to choose your swimming style). Ergo, this is our first major goal.
Train correctly. To achieve the 500-meter goal, we recommend the following: 1. Swim non-stop for as long as possible and count the meters. 2. Take a 3- minute break. 3. Then swim 50 meters, followed by a 30-second break. Maintain this rhythm until the total distance is twice as far as the original non-stop distance and always try to beat your best performance.
Breathe correctly. It is important that you breathe in quickly. Depending on your swimming style, you inhale sideways (crawl) or frontally (breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly). In order for the inhalation to be as effective as possible, all the air in the lungs must be exhaled first. The exhalation takes longer and is coordinated with the arm and leg movements. Exhale through the nose, as the nasal openings are small, and this prevents unwanted intermittent exhalation.
Regularity. A certain amount of training diligence is important. You should train three times a week. In this way, the technique is quickly internalized and you will soon see the first successes!
Tools to aid you Use a variety of training equipment. This brings variety into the pool and helps to train certain muscle groups more efficiently. Tip: Swim with fins and practice the small movements of the ankles and hips. Use paddles for your hands to increase the water resistance. A ‘pull buoy’ is clamped between your legs to provide buoyancy. This allows you to focus exclusively on your arm technique.
Eat properly You should not eat anything three hours before training – only small snacks. Replenish your stores after training! Walnuts are a great protein snack. A banana replenishes your carbohydrate stores. Tip: A nut-banana smoothie.
Herbert Bauernebel
Herbert Bauernebel has been reporting from New York since 1999 and currently works for Bild.de, OE24 TV, and US Live. He also runs the news portal AmerikaReport.de. Bauernebel has covered nearly all major US events of the past quarter-century, including 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Barack Obama’s election, Donald Trump’s surprise victory, the pandemic, last year’s election showdown, as well as natural disasters such as hurricanes and oil spills. He has also reported firsthand on international events, including the Asian tsunami, the Haiti earthquake, and the Fukushima disaster. He lives in Brooklyn with his family and holds degrees in communication and political science from the University of Vienna. Bauernebel is the author of a book about his experiences on 9/11, And the Air Was Full of Ash: 9/11 – The Day That Changed My Life.