Adding a Boost to Your Water Workout

After watching the Olympics and seeing how well the United States did, did you want to get into the water and try swimming?

Or have you tried swimming and got bored following the little black line down the pool? Maybe you need to make some simple changes in your workout that can keep your interest as well as increase your fitness levels.

Swimming is a fantastic way to tone your body and increase cardiovascular endurance. Most of the time though we think of swimming as spending time going up and down the pool swimming freestyle (crawl stroke). Well, there are lots of ways to add changes and updates to your water workout, not only making it more challenging but also making it more interesting.

A great way to add to your workout is using a kickboard. Most aquatic centers have them for swimmers to use, or you can find them at sporting good stores. When using the kickboard hang onto the top of the board and keep your head out of the water. This is great way to check out what else is going on in the pool. Kicking is not only a great way to change your workout but is fantastic for working the gluts and thighs. If you haven't ever tried using a kickboard before, start out with the flutter kick. It is the easiest one to master. Keep the kick small and controlled with a slight splash. Make sure that you keep those toes pointed when kicking. If your feet are flexed you will find yourself going backwards or nowhere at all. Also, you will need to keep your knees slightly bent and find the balance between using your hips and bending your knees for power. It is a bit different for all people, so you will need to experiment to find out what works best for you.

Don't get frustrated if you have difficulty at first. It may take a bit of time to get the hang of it, but it is worth it in the end. Until you get the hang of it just do some nice and easy laps. When it gets easier and you are starting to have fun with it, try some variations. Kick hard for half the pool and easy for the rest. The interval training will boost your cardiovascular conditioning and add some fun to your pool time.

When you get kicking on your stomach, try switching to your back. You can leave your hands down at your sides or you can put them over your head. There are some definite pros and cons to each of these. Some people find more stability with their hands at their sides. The only thing is you have to be careful and know where the end of the pool is so you don't bump your head. Keeping your hands over your head eliminates the end of the pool problem, but some people have more trouble with their hands up. If you try the later, make sure that you put one hand on top of the other, making yourself more streamlined and faster. Kicking on your back is also a great way to work the abs as well as the bum and thighs.

If you have already added kicking to your workout, the next step is to add interval training. This type of training has you swimming a certain length of the pool, taking a rest and going again for a predetermined number of times. An example would be 2 lengths of the pool, 10 times with 10 seconds rest in between. This helps to break up the monotony of just swimming laps. Also, this helps to increase your cardiovascular conditioning. If you are already in good shape, don't be afraid to try longer sets. 10 time 100 yards followed by 10 time 50 yards. You can also shorten the rest times or lengthen them as needed.

When you become better and know how many seconds or minutes it takes to swim a distance you can set up times to swim your sets in. This would be like doing 10 X 50's on the minute. To do these kinds of workouts you would need to have pace clock. One of those large clocks that hang from the wall of most swimming pools and aquatic centers. So if you were going to do the above set you would start when the red sweep hand hits the 60 and swim your 2 laps (of a 25 yard pool). You would need to swim your laps and get your rest before the red hand comes back to the 60 again.

By trying this interval training or set work, you add a boost to your swimming program, challenge your cardiovascular system as well as yourself. By doing set work you burn more calories then swimming at a steady state. Adding in the kicking - and you can do set work with the kickboard, you have jazzed up what can be a potentially boring workout.

If you are an average swimmer or new to set work a good way to get started is the following workout. The goal is to swim 1,600 yards - or about a mile.

300 yards - warm up
200 yards kicking - flutter
100 yards easy
8 x 50 with 10 seconds rest
4 x 100 with 15 seconds rest
200 easy - cool down

Another workout:

200 yards - warm up
6 x 50 with 10 seconds rest
6 x 50 flutter kick with 10 seconds rest
100 yards easy
3 x 100 with 15 seconds rest
200 yards kick easy down fast back
100 yards - cool down

When you become better, or the rest times are too long, you can shorten the times, increase the number of repetitions you do within the set, add a set time instead of a rest period. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself, to mix it up and try something new. Our bodies adapt to exercise and without changes you won't see the results that you want. When you become more comfortable in the water, you can start learning new skills like the whipkick which is fantastic for toning the legs, the dolphin kick which can provide a great ab workout, and using a pull buoy for working the upper body. Also, learning the different strokes, adds a variety to your workout, making the water one of the most versatile mediums to exercise in.

Just a quick note on swimming pool etiquette. If you have to share a lane with a group of people, make sure that you circle swim. That means staying to the right of lane - much like you would if you were driving a car. If you need to pass someone, gently tap the person on the foot. That person should let you pass when they get to the wall. Don't be a pest though and continue to tap them on the foot. Most swimmers follow that cue and will let you by. Sometimes you may just have to share a lane with one other person. If this is the case you can chose to swim sides. This means you stay on one side of the black line and just swim back and forth.

Swimming can be a great way to workout, and is one of the best total body exercises, but it can also be a bit boring at times. By knowing how vary your workouts, add some different intensity changes you can make your time in the pool enjoyable and fun.