Swimming Pool Exercises to Build Muscular Strength

As you enjoy splashing around in the pool, your favorite lake, river or go-to ocean destination, swimming exercises several of your body’s major muscles and helps it burn off excess fat.

Did we also mention swimming is fun?! Swimming is one of those healthy yet fun activities that everyone can enjoy for a lifetime.

Let’s take a look at some awesome swimming pool workouts that you can try today.

Six Awesome Swimming Pool Workouts to Try

Whether you love swimming indoors or at the community pool, here are some swimming pool workouts to try to build your muscular strength.

#1. Simple Swimming or Leisure Swimming for Beginners

Relaxed swimming is a great effective first exercise to try out in the pool. This is a good swimming pool workout to burn calories and it is nice for beginners as just a few laps will exercise your muscles. As you get used to the daily relaxed swim, you can then continue to build up to swimming as many laps as possible.

#2. Swimming Pool Bike Exercise

The swimming pool bike exercise is very effective for toning your muscles. As the water exerts pressure and resistance, most of the body muscles will be impacted by the exercise. The pool bikes are designed to feel comfortable even while riding on bare feet. The progressive resistance in the pedal cycle also adds up in giving you toned up muscles. Purchase the best pool bikes manufactured in stainless steel and ensure the bike is chemically treated to prevent corrosion.

If you haven’t installed a pool bike, you can rest your elbows on the pool side and pedal an imaginary bicycle. The exercise lets you burn excess fat while you also strengthen your core, the shoulders and also the leg muscles.

#3. Dolphin Kick Swimming Pool Exercise

To strengthen your core, the back and your legs, you might want to try the dolphin exercise. This is done by grabbing the edge of the swimming pool with one hand and putting the other hand with the fingers pointing down underneath the water line. Hold the legs together and let them float up as do the dolphin kick repeatedly.

To ensure your core muscles are being used for the exercise, flip over to your back and do the dolphin kicks exercise. Start with the arms outstretched and clasp the hands together while holding the kickboard. Other tricks include tightening the core muscles and moving your body in a wave-like motion propelling yourself forward. For the exercise to be effective, push the chest downwards and keep the hips up while pushing the hips down as your upper body moves up. Now, repeat these moves as you pass through the pool length for as long as you can. The exercise should not be continued when you feel fatigued and its unsafe to continue with the exercise.

#4. Swimming Pool Sprint Exercise

The swimming pool sprint is another important exercise that helps you tone the body’s muscles. The sprint can be done for a duration of 20 minutes or even more than an hour depending on the fitness level. You will enjoy a swimming pool sprint if the water is high enough to hit you around the shoulders. While trying out the swimming pool sprint, ensure you have the hands open instead of cupped and run as you normally do on land. Always try to maintain an upright posture while doing this sprint. Avoid hunching forward. In addition, prior to getting into the pool, you need to warm up and after the sprint, cool down at a moderate pace.

To enjoy the swimming pool sprint, bring along some music. The swimming pool sprint builds muscle fitness giving you overall flexibility and it will also increase body strength. However, you will need to access the pool deep enough for an effective challenging run that helps you build the muscles. Therefore, for beginners, this should be done at the shallow end where the water doesn’t get past the shoulders to avoid accidents.

#5. Swimming Pool Kick Drills

Fast swimmers have a powerful kick with the fluidity and flexibility offering them a smooth and effortless performance. The swimming pool kick drills are done using a kick board or you can try them without one. You can try the single leg free kicking, the vertical free kicking or mail-slot kick drill. The single leg free kick emphasizes the up-kick with only a single leg while focusing on both the up and down phase. The vertical free kick is more versatile compared to the other two.

#6. The Rotational Wake

The rotational wake water aerobic is a core strength workout you will want to try out. To get started, stand with the feet hip-width apart and hold a weight with your two hands. Then you need to lower down through a shallow squat and bring the weight straight out in front of you. Then you should rotate the torso to the left keeping the arms straight in front. Rotate the torso to the left side with the arms straight and moving the weight to the left as well. Now, twist your torso to the right side such that the weight comes to the right side of the body. Keep alternating the sides and ensure you continue until you feel the impact.

Key Take Away

Swimming pool exercises are an effective way to get in a great full body workout. However, you need to observe some safety measures to ensure you enjoy the session. You might also want to mix in pool swimming with other cardio exercises as the water soothes your whole body and also aids in active recovery. In addition, the heart gets a great workout as you swim. You also might want to schedule your swimming for at least one hour when you begin and then move at a comfortable pace as you progress. For a soothing effect, it is advised that you swim in warm waters if possible. Swimming can also be a solo adventure or you can make it a group activity. Have fun!

About Shannon Clark

Shannon holds a degree in Exercise Science and is a certified personal trainer and fitness writer with over 10 years of industry experience.