Swimming For Fitness:
Is It A Pleasure Or A Chore?

Do you enjoy swimming for fitness reasons? How many people do you know who just go through the motions, length after length just to burn up the calories. Some people even give themselves a complex puzzle to solve whilst completing their required distance.

But do you really benefit from such activity if you mind is elsewhere? Gliding through the water can be a real pleasure but too many swimmers end up fighting the water in the belief that if effort is good, more effort is better.

When You're In The Water
Less Really Is More

Remember how much fun a trip to the swimming pool was once you felt confident in the water? Is it still that much fun? Children run, jump and swim in the pool and work all the major muscle groups and get a great workout just by having good time. But as adults we lose something from the activity if we approach it purely as swimming for fitness. We start to apply too much effort and end up fighting the water. Yes, water may be 800 times denser than air so it does offer some resistance to our efforts to move through it. However, we humans can learn to move very well if our technique is good.

If you find you are struggling in the water try to take your foot off the gas a little and learn to swim with your body as whole not just with your arm and legs. Don't struggle in the water learn to move with it. Russian Olympic Swimmer Aleksandr Popov says

The water is your friend.....you don't have to fight with water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move


It doesn't have to be hard work just because you are swimming for fitness. You will benefit far more if you can be aware of yourself in the water coordinating your arms, legs, body and your mind. See swimming for fitness technique for how to make swimming easier and therefore more fulfilling. Because we see it as a physical activity we often forget to apply our whole self to the task and leave our minds to do something else. But if you can learn to be fully present in the activity it becomes far more than just swimming for fitness, you will get into The Zone , a place we feel is the ultimate goal for all sports people. Look upon swimming as an opportunity for personal development as well as geting fit. Set yourself goals and apply yourself to how you are going to reach them - intelligently.

So the next time you set off to the pool look upon it as something more than just a physical work out. Enjoy the thrill of the effortless movement through the water. Experiment with your strokes and movement, if its not working, stop and try another way. If you can get out of the pool and honestly say you took great pleasure from the experience, then how much more is that worth to you? You would still have had a good work out, but you also have the satisfaction of applying your whole self to a rewarding activity.

Sports specific swimming exercise
Also known as functional exercises, but do we benefit spending time out of the water training to be in the water?

Fitness programs to develop coordination
My programs do not contain repetitive exercises that have little to do with efficient, natural movements. My procedures are designed to get you into The Zone where your coordination reflexes will work for you to get the most out of your body.

Ever thought about running?
Running and swimming for fitness make a great cross-training combination. Take a look at my guides for beginners, or for the more experienced, advice on running technique.

Try my ultimate fitness test
Its not what you think. Are you moving as efficiently as you could be? Your movement patterns may be letting you down.