Swimming For Fitness

Swimming is a fantastic way to get fit. If you can set aside one hour two or three times per week along with other alternative exercises on off days, you will be in excellent shape.

To start your exercises in the swimming pool, stretch. You can do ten leg lifts each to the front, side and back. Once you complete this, you can do arm circles. Start out with ten small arm circles, ten medium arm circles and ten large arm circles. Next if the swimming pool you are in has too many people and there is a lap pool available, go to the lap pool. Swim one or two laps in the swimming pool. Now you are ready for swimming pool boot camp exercises.

If you are new to swimming start out slow. The exercises below are for beginners. Once you have been swimming and exercising for a few days you can slowly add more time to your workout routines. Of course, check with your family doctor before starting any fitness exercises.

First you will jog in place for one minute. Next you will kick your legs ten times to the front. Boot camp exercises continue with ten leg kicks to the side. Now for one minute mimic the actions you would make if you were cross country skiing. You will take a break from boot camp to get fit and swim one lap. If you are in a regulated lap pool you realize that one swimming lap is quite long. Once you complete your swimming lap it is back to boot camp fitness.

You will start by doing bunny hops in the water for one minute. Switch over to the rocking horse. With the rocking horse in the water you will simply rock back and forth from left to right for one minute. Now it is time for some self-defense in the water with twenty karate kicks with each leg. For an added bonus of fitness use your arms, too. Pretend you are a karate master.

Now lift the left leg up and slowly put it back down. Raise the right leg up and slowly put it down as if you were a pendulum. The next swimming exercise for fitness is a step side, side and down, down. Repeat these steps five times.

It's time to get your heart rate back up and swim another lap. When you return from your lap swimming you will do ten frog kicks while you float on your back. If you cannot float on your back in the water it is fine to grab a hold of the side of the pool and do your frog kicks while hanging on.

Back to exercising the arms. Do twenty arm circles of your choice. When completed you can jump and twist in the water ten times. Time for some jumping jacks. Complete ten jumping jacks in the water.

Once you have finished boot camp you can swim one last lap in the swimming pool. This entire workout will take you about 50 minutes to one hour.

An added bonus: If the swimming pool company you belong to has a hot tub, enjoy five or ten minutes of relaxation after you complete your fitness routine. Enjoy.