Swimming is one of the best all-body developer exercises. Be it cardio or aerobics; swimming covers everything. It has been shown that swimming for fitness burns up to 40% more calories in an hour than cycling. Given its many benefits, it is a good sign that you’ve decided to improve your swimming capabilities and landed here.

While watching videos of professional athletes may give you an adrenaline rush, amateur swimmers often lose confidence when their initial efforts to improve don’t deliver instant results. Similar to learning any new skill, getting better at swimming will require constant effort and dedication. Your favorite athlete also went through the same learning stages. So buckle up as we immerse headfirst into this fitness skill.

·      Fitness

1.    Swimming Plan

Record and repeat are probably the two best R’s to guide you through your learning journey. It is imperative that you keep a realistic plan with daily or weekly goals. To ensure you’re reaching your set threshold, you need to record your progress. Before each swim session, you should have a noted purpose for the session to drive yourself. In addition, you need a small milestone and an arbitrary timetable to guide your way to the milestone. This will help you keep track of your progress as well.

2.    Exercise

Setting a threshold is followed by increasing the threshold. Consider some posture exercises to avoid having stiff joints or tight muscles. You will also need to improve your stamina and endurance to hit your swim target. Jazz Carlin revealed some of her fitness secrets when she talked about improving stamina through repetition. For example, after every 50 or 100 m, take a 5-10 seconds rest. It is generally recommended to swim 100 m repeats for 20-30 minutes and rest in each set for a quarter of the total time you spent during the set. To follow this routine, a plunge pool in your backyard will not be the most suitable. An experienced pool contractor can help you extract the most space for building a backyard pool that will meet your needs.

3.    Improve your Diet

Once you’ve made your list of swimming goals, you’ll have to work on a to-do list that will help you propel forward in the water. Diet is an important factor that will impact your swimming progress. A balanced, healthy diet is crucial for improving fitness and stamina. Improve your water intake as sufficient hydration will go a long way in keeping you fit.

·      Swimming Techniques

Now that you have completed your checklist, it is time to focus on some swimming techniques and how to improve them. A general rule of thumb for swimming practice is to keep your body as parallel to the streamlined water surface as possible. Any angle will make you expend more energy to reach your desired swimming speed. You need a high distance per stroke target as lesser strokes are better. Some notable methods to help you achieve this include:

4.    Head Movement

Keep your head down. It may be tempting to look ahead to see what’s in store for you as you swim further. However, raising your head will also mean lowering your hips and legs. You would want to reduce this angle to perform an effortless glide in the water.

5.    Floating

Learn to float and follow it with a simple kick drill. Floating is the first stage of swimming. Once you can float without sinking, you can practice extending one of your arms ahead while the other is by your side. Perform a 45-60° rotation sidewise and repeat.

6.    Breathing

Learn to breathe. As easy as breathing is on land, it might not be that convenient while you’re on the water. You will have to learn to make each breath count. Gasping for breath every time your head is out of the pool surface is not recommended. Exhale all the air from your lungs and take a quick, full breath. Beginners will have to breathe after each stroke. With an improvement in endurance, you will be able to retain your breath for three strokes.

7.    Body Movement

Rotation is a key component in swimming. Learn to rotate from your hips, not your arms. The torque produced from this rotation will rotate your arms too and propel you forward. It is also important to note here that your body rotation should be driven from your hip, not your knees.

8.    Four Swimming Techniques

Front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly stroke are the four swimming techniques you can employ in your learning. While tips for improving each technique may vary, the aforementioned general rules apply to all. Keep your head as aligned as possible with your body. Your neck and shoulders should be relaxed, and your fingers open and parallel to the water surface.

While these bookish tips can help you create a method to improve your swimming, your motivation will drive your improvement. You mustn’t give up. Use these summers to achieve your fitness goals. If you have an outdoor pool and need renovation services, consult an experienced pool contractor to get timely and quality services.

Remember that swimming and a good diet can grant you a healthier and happier lifestyle that can add ten years to your lifespan. If you need this uplift in your life quality, consider hiring a professional pool designer to get yourself an aesthetic backyard pool. Perfect Pools, with their expert landscape architects and the best pool contractors, provides quality services in Sterling. You can get expert pool designers’ advice as well as get the latest pool designs for your Sterling home through their experienced team of pool builders. They have been working on restoring outdoor spaces through expert landscape architecture. You can consult them about trending ideas to upgrade your outdoor living space design.