Swimming is a fantastic way to manage or lose weight, build strength, and improve overall health. It offers a full-body workout, supports heart and lung health, and may be appropriate for people with back pain and arthritis. Swimming can also benefit those with neurological disorders, help reduce anxiety, and is generally safe during pregnancy. It's a great activity for kids and can be an affordable exercise option.
Why Choose Swimming for Weight Loss?
When people think about their dream body, a swimmer’s physique often comes to mind. Swimming engages almost every major muscle group, requiring a person to use their arms, legs, torso, and stomach. It increases heart rate without putting stress on the body, improves strength, tones muscles, enhances fitness, and helps manage weight.
Swimming is an activity that you’ll be able to do for months and years without exposing yourself to a high risk of injury. Swimming is a safe and effective method of losing weight. The force of water combined with the movement of the whole body helps the muscular system become fitter, while also helping with blood circulation and, most notably, reducing excess fat.
Full-Body Workout
One of the biggest benefits of swimming is that it works your entire body. No matter what stroke you swim, you’re using most of your muscle groups to move your body through the water. You can use various strokes to add variety to your swimming workout, including:
- Breaststroke
- Backstroke
- Sidestroke
- Butterfly
- Freestyle
Each focuses on different muscle groups, and the water provides a gentle resistance.
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Supports Heart and Lung Health
A 2024 study in adolescents found that swimming improved cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition. In older individuals, swimming may improve cardiovascular endurance. Swimming can help lower blood pressure. One study notes that swimmers had a significantly lower all-cause mortality risk than sedentary individuals, walkers, or runners.
Breathing exercises associated with swimming, like holding your breath, may help you expand your lung capacity and improve respiration. Swimming may also protect your lungs from the harmful effects associated with smoking.
May Be Appropriate for People with Back Pain
A 2023 review of studies found some evidence to support that swimming could have a positive effect on lower back pain, but more research is needed to support these findings. The researchers also noted that certain strokes may worsen back pain. It is important to have a doctor’s approval before beginning or resuming any exercise program.
Beneficial for People with Arthritis
People with arthritis may also find water-based exercises like swimming beneficial compared to land exercises. Water makes the limbs buoyant, helping to support them during exercise. Water also provides a gentle resistance. Warm water may be especially effective in relieving pain.
Benefits for Those with Neurological Disorders
A 2023 study found that moderate-to-high intensity aerobic exercise, like swimming, can benefit people with Alzheimer’s disease. A small 2018 study found that swimming empowers individuals with dementia while relieving their caretakers’ sense of responsibility. Water keeps the limbs buoyant, so people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may benefit from the support and gentle resistance that water provides.
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Helps Reduce Anxiety
A 2022 study found that aquatic exercise can boost mental health by improving mood and reducing anxiety, with even light exercise making a difference. However, the researchers noted that more high-quality studies are needed to verify these findings. Exercise releases endorphins, which improve mood.
Safe During Pregnancy
Keep in mind that while swimming is generally considered safe during pregnancy, some women may have activity restrictions due to complications. Talk with your doctor before starting any new exercise programs during pregnancy, and if you have complications, ask about activities that are safe. Swimming is especially popular with pregnant people because the water can support this weight.
Great for Kids
Kids need a minimum of 60 minutes of aerobic exercise each day. Swimming is a fun activity and doesn’t necessarily feel like formal working out, which may be more palatable for kids. Your child can take structured swimming lessons or join a swim team. Unstructured swim time can also get kids moving and allow you to spend time with them while they do it.
Affordable
Swimming may also be an affordable exercise option compared to some others, like cycling. Many pools offer reasonable rates to join. Some public schools and other centers offer swim hours for free, or for a sliding scale according to your income. If you’re still concerned about the costs of joining a pool, check with your employer or your health insurance. Some offer reimbursements for joining a fitness program.
Calories Burned
Swimming is an excellent way to burn calories. However, the amount of calories burned depends on a person’s weight and how vigorously they swim. A 155-pound person burns approximately 223 calories every 30 minutes spent swimming laps at a moderate pace. That same person may burn up to 372 calories every 30 minutes swimming at a more vigorous pace.
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The calories burned during your swimming session depend on the intensity of your workout routine.
How to Get Started
To get started with swimming, you’ll need to find a pool near you. Many gyms and community centers offer lap swimming times as well as water aerobics and aqua-jogging classes. You may want to consider making a list of the facilities in your area that have pools and visiting to see which one works for your lifestyle and budget.
People totally new to swimming may benefit from taking swimming lessons, which are offered in private or group settings. In lessons, you’ll learn different strokes, breathing techniques, and other handy tips for getting the most from your workout.
Once you’re in the water, be sure to observe pool etiquette. There are slow, medium, and fast lanes. Ask the lifeguard or pool attendant to find the lane that matches your pace.
Swim Safety Tips
The following swim safety tips can help reduce related risks:
- Swim in areas designated for swimming, such as pools and roped-off sections of lakes and other bodies of water.
- Swim in areas that are supervised by lifeguards.
- If you aren’t swimming with lifeguard supervision, bring a buddy.
- Wear sunscreen of at least SPF 15 or higher to protect your skin when the sun is highest in the sky.
- Drink water, even if you aren’t thirsty. Although you may feel cool in the water, you can become dehydrated while swimming.
- Children should always be supervised when near water. Never let children swim alone to avoid the risk of drowning.
Swimming Techniques
Swimming is a method of exercising underwater and it is an ideal way to lose weight and increase height. Using proper swimming technique, one can balance and float on the water surface instead of sinking, while the cooperative movements of the limbs smoothly push the swimmer forward.
Currently, there are many swimming styles suitable for different purposes. Here are some of the most common swimming styles: Freestyle swimming, or front crawl, is the fastest swimming style. When swimming this style, people can swim in their preferred way without following any specific rules.
- Butterfly: The butterfly stroke is the best swimming stroke for weight loss, but, it's also the hardest to master. The average calories burned swimming the butterfly stroke is roughly 450 calories in a 30-minute swimming session. The butterfly stroke also increases your flexibility, tones your chest, stomach and arms and helps to build upper body strength.
- Freestyle: Freestyle is the fastest stroke, which can help you burn roughly 300 calories in a 30-minute swimming session. Freestyle also helps to tone your stomach, bum and shoulders. Freestyle is a great stroke to start out with while you work your way towards a high-intensity session.
- Backstroke: Backstroke is one the best swimming strokes to help improve posture, but the second last at burning calories. On average, you can burn around 250 calories in a 30-minute swimming session. Backstroke helps to tone different parts of the body including the stomach, legs, arms and shoulders.
- Breaststroke: For a 30-minute swimming session, breaststroke will help you burn 200 calories but it's great for cardiovascular health, helping to strengthen the heart and lungs.
Creating a Calorie Deficit with Swimming
According to The Cleveland Clinic, you should aim for a 500 calorie deficit to start. This should allow you to lose about a pound a week. If weight loss is your goal, try to swim two to three times per week, or more if you can. Follow a structured training plan that will help you progress in distance and intensity over time. And if it feels ok for you, maybe try to add in walks or light strength training on your off days as well.
Sample Swimming Routine for Weight Loss
- Warm-up: The first part of any swimming workout is the warm-up. The warm-up will get your blood pumping and your muscles ready for action.
- Main Set: Your main set will be the meat and potatoes of your swimming workout. By the end of your main set, you should be breathing hard and feeling warm.
Tips for Sustainable Weight Loss
- Be consistent: Try to be consistent and stick to your weekly plan.
- Eat right: Whatever your calorie goals are, make sure you’re eating enough protein, carbs and fat to fuel your body and help your muscles recover after exercise. Prepping your meals ahead of time can help make sure you’re covering all your bases and keeping your portion sizes in check.
- Don’t crash diet: Don’t try to crash diet or ramp up your workout routine to something that’s not sustainable. The key is making small, incremental lifestyle changes that build on each other week by week.
- Get enough sleep: Proper sleep will give your body the chance to recover after hard training in the pool.
- Consider resistance training: Resistance training is a fantastic addition to any swimming weight loss plan. Training with weights signals to your body to retain muscle mass when you’re in a calorie deficit.