Swimming Workouts To Get You Fit

swimming workouts

The Benefits Of Swimming Workouts

Swimming has so many benefits. It increases cardiovascular fitness without putting much stress on your joints.

I found out just how beneficial swimming workouts are when I developed plantar fasciitis (inflammation of the soft tissue of the heel) in my right foot after my third child was born and the pain got so bad at one point I couldn't even enjoy a walk on the beach let alone a run - both of which I loved doing. To keep my cardiovascular fitness I began following swimming workouts, which had zero impact on my feet.

The pool was a five minute drive from work so on my lunch hour I would go off and swim laps, or do drills with the flutter board, or aqua jog. These workouts were meditative and relaxing when I wanted them to be and demanding for the heart and lungs when I pushed myself. I always felt great afterwards.

Many of the regulars I met had been given swimming as a green prescription by their doctors for high blood pressure and heart disease and others found swimming eased their arthritic aches and pains.

One Potential Downside

The only downside for me was the way my skin dried out. Also my breathing became aggravated so that before I hopped into the pool I had to use my inhaler for the first time in along time. This surprised me because I knew that research supports swimming as a very effective means of exercise for overcoming asthma and breathing difficulties.

I found out that the chlorine in pools has been shown to cause skin and breathing reactions as happened to me. So if you have sensitive skin and breathing difficulties and you are putting your own pool in your back yard you might like to investigate ozone or saline water treatment solutions for keeping your pool hygienic as well as swimmer friendly.

Two Workouts

As for the swimming programs themselves, below are two my daughter used to great effect to prepare for a triathlon.

The idea with this program is to increase the intensity each workout session by completing the exercises in a faster time. A week out from the competition, taper off the intensity.

swimming workouts