Bored by swimming? How to get the most from your strokes

On hot sticky summer days, there are few better ways to burn off some calories and bust stress than a long cool dip in the pool. Whether you’re an avid fan of wild swimming, the seaside, your local lido or you favour the gym to get some laps in, there’s one issue most swimmers have to overcome in their training; the solitude (and, dare I say it, boredom).

While most of us know that swimming is one of the most comprehensive total body workouts out there, the mind can certainly find it tough going. The reasons are obvious. Most of us swim with no music to spur us on. It’s a solitary sport, where you’re alone with your thoughts in the water. It can also feel repetitive – runners at least have the option of sometimes taking their discipline outside, where there are sights to take in, smells and people watching to divert their attention.

But it is worth persevering. There’s no doubt that powering from end to end vastly improves your cardiovascular fitness, core strength, muscle definition and posture, with relatively little strain or stress on the joints.

Swim performance specialist Tom Puntis of Bodyism believes that there are ways to train the mind as well as the body when you’re hammering up and down a pool. As well as giving us his top tips, he’s put together a programme to help anyone stuck in a rut start seeing real results from their time in the water.

“A lot of people do find it hard to train effectively in the pool because it’s a solo discipline,” says Tom. “I don’t think of it as a lonely sport at all, more as a great opportunity to de-stress from the rigours of modern life. The pool is a phone- and email-free zone – there aren’t many places you can say that about now.”

Preparation is all

“A long warm-up is key,” says Tom. “Although there is less stress on the muscles and joints when we work out in the water, it’s still important that you spend a good five to ten minutes gently warming up – doing lengths of different strokes, for example – to open the body and prepare it for working out.”

Know the strokes

Decide what you want your workout to achieve and work out accordingly, says Tom. “Backstroke is good for improving posture, crawl is effective at improving cardiovascular fitness and stamina. Breaststroke is the most effective style of swimming to improve the tone and definition of your legs, especially inner thighs and lastly the butterfly is perfect for strengthening the core.”

Keep the pace

“The most common problem I see with the swimmers I train is that they find it difficult to set and stick to a pace,” says Tom. “Consistency can also be a problem. For example, many people end up going off too fast or not pushing themselves hard enough. It sounds simple, but if you’re swimming indoors, always try and swim in a pool with a pace clock. Knowing how long you are taking to do each length is key. If you want to up your cardiovascular fitness and start burning fat, don’t swim as fast as you can, but train at 70% and ensure you only give yourself short rest periods between laps.”

Know your discipline

“Are you aiming to improve your stamina with some distance swimming, or are you looking to improve your cardiovascular fitness with some interval training?” asks Tom. “Distance swimming is a pretty self-explanatory discipline, but pacing (as noted above) is key. Should you choose to do interval training, you’ll want to be swimming sprints of around 100 metres with a 30-second rest.”

Get the toys out

OK, they’re not toys, but Tom recommends using floats, hand paddles and pool buoys (the figure-of-eight shaped float) between your legs to add some variety to your workout. As well as breaking up the monotony of lane swimming, floats and paddles enable you to isolate different parts of the body and work on any elements of your stroke that are less strong. He also recommends investing in a “swim parachute” (Finis have a good one for £19) which is worn around the waist to create drag in the water, increasing your resistance, speed and stamina.

Tom’s swimming programme

Burn calories and beat boredom with this training programme to put the zing back into your swim.

Warm up:

200m split into 4x50m attempting all the strokes. If you have big difficulties with the butterfly, you can substitute it for another.

Drills:

For a flat tummy: Lay on your back with your arms above your head hands clasped together (the torpedo position). From here, you want to aim for 200m of backstroke using your legs only.

For toned arms: 150m of breaststroke pulls (this means using the arms only), using a pull buoy between your legs.

Main set

100m front crawl breathing on the third stroke
Short rest
100m front crawl breathing on the third stroke, with a Finis swim parachute
Short rest
50m front crawl breathing on the third stroke
Short rest
50m front crawl breathing on the third stroke, with a Finis swim parachute
Short rest
25m front crawl breathing on the third stroke
Short rest
25m front crawl breathing on the third stroke, with a Finis swim parachute
Slightly longer rest period
2×25 m sprints front crawl – recording your time. Aim to beat this time next time you train.

Cool down

100m breaststroke – focus on really stretching your arms in this section. Instead of rushing the stroke, try and take long glides.

Out of the water, ensure you stretch your shoulders, lats and neck.

Interested in finding out more about how you can live better? Take a look at this month’s Live Better Challenge here.

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