Fitness: Swimming is a fabulous choice for summer workouts

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When the heat of summer sets in, there’s no better place to work up a sweat than in the pool. But for people more at home on land than in the water, pool workouts can be intimidating.

Swimmers train differently than most runners, walkers and cyclists, opting for intervals versus steady-state workouts. They alternate between strokes and throw a few drills and short periods of rest into the mix, which makes swimming workouts more varied than your average training run or bike ride.

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It’s not just the chance to get in a strenuous workout during the dog days of summer that makes swimming such a fab choice. Easy on the joints, it rivals most land-based sports when it comes to whipping the heart and lungs into shape, not to mention building impressive upper-body strength and endurance. That’s not to say the legs stay idle during swim workouts. But except for breaststroke, a swimmer’s lower half is more of a ballast than a motor, which results in arms and shoulders that look great in a T-shirt and even better in a tank top.

Most elite swimmers cover 3,000 to 5,000 metres per practice, focusing on the strokes and distances they specialize in, with sprinters (50 and 100 metres specialists) and middle- and long-distance swimmers each unique in their training regimen. Sprinters do multiple repeats of shorter distances with plenty of rest between sets. They also hone their technique, which over a short distance can be the difference between making the podium or touching the wall just out of the medals. In contrast, distance swimmers put in more mileage and work on perfecting an efficient stroke that delays fatigue.

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The debate about whether sprinters or distance specialists have the toughest workouts is ongoing, but for most recreational swimmers, combining the short quick sets of a sprinter with the endurance of a long-distance specialist is the best option. As for whether you should swim most of your laps front crawl (freestyle) or mix up the strokes as part of a more varied workout, it depends on your goals. It’s a rare swimmer who feels comfortable in all four competitive strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly), with the natural tendency to lean into the strokes you do well and avoid those that are more challenging.

Physiologically, breaststroke and butterfly are the most physically demanding, with freestyle and backstroke requiring less effort per stroke. Hence the tendency for most recreational swimmers to stick with freestyle for the bulk of the workout. But a good workout isn’t always measured by swimming the most lengths in the least amount of time.

Mastering all four strokes is the mark of a good swimmer, so don’t shy away from butterfly even if you run out of steam before the end of a length. Try one-arm drills (extend one arm overhead and swim the butterfly motion with the other arm) switching arms every two or three strokes, or do a couple lengths butterfly kick, both of which will get your heart racing and work on perfecting the final product. Do the same for any other unfamiliar strokes, opting for drills or kick sets when necessary.

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Feeling ready to jump in the pool? Make sure you have the right gear. Goggles are absolutely necessary (buy from a sports store, not the pharmacy). So is a bathing cap, provided your hair is long enough to get in your eyes. And while a Speedo isn’t required, you’ll want a bathing suit that is form fitting and without pockets (which fill with water).

All that’s left to pack in your pool bag is a towel and your workout plan, provided below. If you’re a veteran swimmer who wants a quick, effective workout, swim all 1,000 metres without a break either as a main set or as a standalone workout. If it has been a while since your last pool session or you struggle to do more than a few lengths at a time, try any of the suggested workout variations accordant with your swim fitness and experience.

1,000 Metre Workout

Swim all 1,000 metres with or without rest periods with the bulk of your laps freestyle, mixing up strokes as you see fit (see workout variations below). The fast intervals should feel like you’re pushing the pace through the full distance while keeping the slow intervals loose and easy.

200 metres warm up

25 metres fast / 25 metres slow

50 metres fast / 50 metres slow

75 metres fast / 75 metres slow

100 metres fast / 100 metres slow

75 metres fast / 75 metres slow

50 metres fast / 50 metres slow

25 metres fast / 25 metres slow

Variations

Rest for 30 seconds between each fast/slow interval.

Do a stroke other than freestyle for the first and last length of the 75-metre and 100-metre sets.

If 1,000 metres is too ambitious, cut the warmup to 100 metres and ignore working your way back down from the two middle 100-metres swims. Slowly add distance as you feel more comfortable in the pool.

Do the 100-metre intervals in IM order (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle) to add variety and intensity.

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