Since people have been offering advice on weight lifting and getting in shape, I thought I'd ask how to get in shape by using the pool. I'm about 6'0-6'1 and 190, so I'm not fat, but still consider myself to be well, a little soft At any rate, I've taken up swimming this past week by doing do so on a daily basis with the pool in the backyard. It's length is about 30 feet. I haven't been doing laps everyday. I've been more or less going out swimming to supervise my nieces when they've been dropping by the house, and making sure everyone is safe. At any rate, I was wondering exactly how many laps any former swimmers here recommend to get the most of my workout, and what kind in what order? I'm aware of freestyle swimming which is what I usually do, butterflies which I flat out hate, but I know are good for the chest, and I forget the third kind, but pretty much swimming on my back and extending my arms over my head and pushing myself across the pool that way. The pool isn't olympic size or anything, so I'm pretty much open for any recommendations towards toning up and possibly even bulking up if that's possible by swimming. So any advice?
I'm currently on a weight-gain fest myself. If you're just trying to put on pounds, eat and work out. Do less reps of heavier weights, about 3-5 reps. That's all I can say. If you're trying to tone, just swim laps like you've been doing. And when you work out, do more reps of less weight. About 7-9 reps. And that's it for now I guess, I'm sure others will be adding.
Sounds like backstroke. The fourth stroke is breaststroke. This sounds kind of goofy but with a pool that "short" you might just try swimming back and forth underwater. You will get more resistance by swimming underwater continuously. Attach a barrel like in Jaws and you are really in for a workout!!
lol I do swim underwater a lot actually. Assuming the pool is about 30 feet at it's longest length, I can swim underwater 90 feet 60 feet is pretty easy for me, and the 90 feet attempt, I almost feel like I'm gonna faint if I don't come up for air, but I swear it's like an added boost of adrenaline when I do come up for air that keeps me going at full pace on laps without exhaustion for a good 5 minutes. During the shallow part, I act like a dork, and imagine I'm doing those matrix fight scene bullet time stuff. Probably hilarious to watch outside the pool, but it's a private pool so I'm the only one that actually gets humor from it. Other then that, I usually am the one that has to heave the kids in the pool as high in the air as possible to their hearts content, meanwhile my arms feel like they're about to fall off afterwards, so I bet that's a good workout. I was actually kind of hoping for tips on how to get the most out of the workout by say doing 10 laps freestyle, then 10 butterflies, 10 backstrokes, etc to see if there's a method that'll burn the most calories. At any rate, swimming is fun, and refreshing and one of the few exercises that won't leave my feet sore, or give me recurring troubles with shin splints.
Keep swimming until you feel like your muscles are tired. Or, swim 10 laps one day. 12 the next. Then 14, etc... You want to be sore the next day. Otherwise, your workout wasnt effective. Once you do it regularly, all soreness will fade and you will be doing about 25-30 laps.
