How to Swim to Gain Muscle
Swimming is an all-around effective exercise. It's a good cardiovascular workout. In fact, a hard swim can be as strenuous as running and can burn more calories. Because you use both upper and lower body muscles, swimming is a total body workout. Swim in the "sprint" style. This means focusing on swimming a set of laps in a very short time. Sprint style swimming stresses the muscles, which builds more muscle mass and definition than endurance swimming.
Instructions
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Select a distance to swim for your sprint swim. A 25- or 50-meter lap pool or a marker such as a buoy placed at 25 or 50 meters' distance will help you judge your distance.
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Use a different type of stroke on each lap. Vary between the breast stroke, crawl, side stroke, butterfly or backstroke. Each swimming stroke will work a different set of muscles.
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Complete each lap in as short a time as possible. Speed is the key to building stronger muscles.
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Rest for a very short period of time between laps. A rest of 20 to 40 seconds should be sufficient.
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Tips & Warnings
Add weight training to your exercise routine. Swimming will not increase bone density the way weight training will because you swim in a weightless environment.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit swim image by Byron Moore from Fotolia.com
