Swim Your Way To Great Health

This fitness and training article shares with you how swimming can be a great way to improve stamina, increase energy and fight workplace fatigue.

Swimming is a great all round activity for increasing your endurance and fitness. It is also non-impact which makes it an ideal activity for people of all ages and abilities. The fitter your body becomes the more tolerant you are against fatigue and illness. You are able to work better and focus more intently in your day to day activities,

With any exercise program, one must always consult their doctor or health practitioner before even commencing any movements or new routines, The following is provided for educational purposes only and does not take into account anyone's individual circumstances or levels of ability. It is best to seek a coach or a health professional for your own specific program.

Consider the type of equipment that you may want to use when going to swimming training. There are various aids used that will help identify technical problems and will self correct some technique issues.

Essential equipment that Coach Cameron Roberts would recommend include the following:
Swim Fins for your feet - used for drills and sprints to develop technique and power
Swim Paddles - used for drills and upper body work to develop skills and upper body strength
Goggles - keeps the water out of your eyes allowing you to be more comfortable
Swim Cap - helps keep a little bit of water out of your ears, and also helps your goggles stay on
Towel - obviously for drying your body down when you are finished your session.
Kickboard - used for kicking drills to develop and condition the muscles in your legs. Great for toning the butt muscles.
Pull-Bouy to go between your legs and allow you to focus on arm strokes only, used in conjunction with your hand paddles

Also consider the type of environment that you train in, the water temperature for swimming training should ideally be around 24 to 26 degrees. If the water is ideal you won't have to worry about being too cold or becoming overheated from the water being too hot.

The following "educational" swim program and workout would suit a beginner to intermediate level.

Week 1: swim 3 times per week for 30mins to 45mins
Week 2: swim 4 times per week for 30mins to 45mins
Week 3: swim 4 times per week. 2 times for 30mins, 1 time for 45mins and 1 time for 60min
Week 4: swim 2 times for 45mins and 2 times for 60mins.

Sample Swim workout 1:
warmup with 200m as 1 lap kick and 1 lap swim
pre-set: 8x50m FREE as 20m fast 30m easy rest 15sec after each
main: 4x100 FREE rest 30sec + 2 x 200 Breast or Back with Fins rest 45sec
drills: 8x25 kick on side
cooldown: 200m walk/swim

Sample Swim workout 2:
warmup with 200m as 1 lap backstroke kick and 1 lap swim breast
pre-set: 8x50m FREE as 1=50m Easy, 2=25m easy, 25m fast, 3=25m fast 25m easy, 4=50m Fast
main: 2x 400m as 300m Free + 100m backstroke or breaststroke
drills: 16x25 kick on board rest 10 secs
cooldown: 200m walk/swim

For more detailed coaching and programs join a local swim training program and seek a good coach to help you with your swimming technique.