What kind of swimming exercises can I do to loose fat, improve my endurance and breath capacity?

Question

I did a lot swimming when I was a kid and I would like to do again. Purpose is to do a bit sport because I don't do a lot (don't do any sport) and I lack a bit of sportive activity. Plus, I would like to loose a bit fat and improve my endurance and breath capacity.

I don't have much time so I think to go to the swimming pool once a week.

What kind of exercises can I do to achieve my goals?

If you want more information about me that can be useful to you, don't hesitate to ask !

Thanks a lot !

(Sorry for my poor English, I'm Belgian and don't practice English a lot)

Answer 1

I cannot comment as I don't have enough reputation just yet.

I agree with the person above.

And yes of course it is great to mix it up ! I would recommend looking up swim sets on the internet for beginners. You are Belgian so jut type something like "session 4 nages débutant" and you'll find plenty of cool sessions. Once more advanced, look up the masters swimming workout :)

Following a set when you go at the pool gives you motivation and makes it less boring. If you just go and do random laps you will get bored quickly. You can do that at first to start with to get your "feeling for the water" back though.

Mixing up the pace, the stroke, rest time, etc is the key to sticking to it once you started.

You might want to join a club again or even try it out once you are confident about your swim, this will provide you extra motivation and they will teach you a lot !

Answer 2

Every swimming stroke can do each of these things, and focus on different muscle groups. My suggestion, just swim laps! If you swam a lot as a kid, just pick it back up.

Start with some of the easier strokes like breast stroke until you see some aerobic improvement. If you feel comfortable with that and are getting bored. Move to the backstroke and freestyle.

Swimming laps does everything you are looking for, and there is a lot of information out there on how to get better at it!

Answer 3

The good news is that since you will be in a fairly cold water (colder than your body temperature), your body will exert energy to keep warm, thus burn fat, even if you only float around. So, being in a swimming pool is definitely one of the best way to start loosing weight.

Now, to on more specifics regarding the actual type of swimming. I'd suggest breaking down your workout into parts: - warm up (slow, easy swimming with an occasional quick burst) - let's say 200-500 meters - drills/kicking (moderate speed, some technique oriented swims) -ex: 8x50 with 20 seconds rest (odd- kicking, even - swim with one arm) - main set (good endurance or speed set to get your heart rate up into the burning zone) 4x200 with 30 seconds rest, 4x50 sprint with 5 minutes rest - long warm down (very easy swimming)

As it was already mentioned before, mix of different strokes, speeds and distances will make your workout fun. Also, if you are up for some water jogging, you can put that in there to get some more fat burning in you.

Have fun

Answer 4

few people can swim consecutive laps when they start, so to get the most out of a thirty minute swim for instance, walk a length of the pool as an 'active rest' between 'traditional' stroke lengths.

Breath capacity naturally improves with swimming, especially with strokes like freestyle, as your breathing rhythm is regimented by periods when your mouth is above the water. I know for myself, when I'm running for example, I'm CONSTANTLY breathing hard, but during freestyle lengths, I have to hold my breath for a short period, and it's the restriction and lack of breath capacity that leads to resting between laps, which is a good time to 'run' to the other side waiting for myself to catch my breath.

Answer 5

Any exercise you do will help you with your goals. My suggestion is to try and swim more frequently than once per week. Especially because when you first start you will not have the endurance to swim for more than a fairly short period of time, so doing it, say, three times per week will help you a lot.