Swimming as an endurance sport

5 benefits for the body and your sporting goals

Get fit in the water? This works: When swimming, you protect your joints, train large muscle groups and improve your posture. If you are currently looking for a new endurance sport or want to tackle your first triathlon: Here are five motivating reasons to start swimming training right away.

Swimming through a swimming pool or lake in 30 degree temperatures is the perfect way to spend a beautiful summer day. However, swimming is more than just cooling off and having fun. More and more Germans value it as an effective sport for their health : According to statistics, in 2021, 1.1 million Germans went swimming several times a week, almost 400,000 more than in 2018. What exactly swimming does to your body and how you can achieve your sporting goals , you can find out here.

Benefit 1: Swimming is gentle on the joints and keeps you healthy

Moving in the water challenges your muscles without putting any major strain on your joints, tendons and ligaments. This is because gravity is canceled and the water supports your weight. If you have acute pain, for example due to tendonitis, you can relieve it with flowing movements. The risk of injury when swimming is correspondingly low. The water resistance also massages your connective tissue: This relaxes you and also reduces mental stress.

Swimming also prevents health problems such as heart problems or hardening of the arteries. The best thing about it: You don't even have to work yourself out to do it. Even during a relaxed swim, you train your cardiovascular system and breathing muscles .

In one study , researchers at the University of California found that swimming can even reduce the risk of death . To do this, they evaluated the health data of more than 40,000 people between 1971 and 2003. The mortality risk was around 50 percent lower among the physically active study participants compared to the non-active subjects.

Benefit 2: Swimming trains many large muscle groups

When you do endurance swimming, you have an impressive piece of training equipment with you: your own body . Through coordinated movements in the water, you create enormous resistance that your muscles fight against. You support the development of shoulder, back and arm muscles, core and abdominal muscles as well as leg and foot muscles. Over time, swimming will make you more muscular and improve your mobility.

It is important that you find the swimming style that suits you. These are the four most popular techniques with their advantages and disadvantages:

Breaststroke

This style is considered the simplest swimming technique: the head and neck form a straight line with the spine. This way you don't bend your cervical vertebrae. It's best to wear swimming goggles so that you can dive up and down evenly with your head. Done correctly, you can particularly strengthen your arm, leg and core muscles . Your endurance also benefits from this because breaststroke works over a longer distance. However, this technique is not advisable if you have severe knee problems - the shearing movement puts more strain on the knees than, for example, freestyle swimming.

 

Crawl

When swimming at the front crawl, one arm is dipped forward into the water and pulled backwards in a sweeping movement. The legs move up and down, the knees are almost straight, the ankles relaxed. This technique puts less strain on the neck and neck vertebrae than with breaststroke because the head is not raised. However, the overhead movement can put strain on your shoulder joints and lead to what is known as swimming shoulder. If you are just starting swimming or want to lose weight through it, you should avoid this technique or leave it out completely. It is very important to breathe well so that you don't run out of breath. When you crawl, you target almost all of the muscle groups in your arms and legs, but also the buttocks, stomach and core muscles.

 

Backstroke

This technique can be performed in two variants: On the one hand, there is a form that is similar to breaststroke, but is done while lying on your back. You put particularly strong strain on the knee joints. This technique is therefore not recommended for sensitive knees.
The second variant is the back crawl: your spine and head form a line, you alternately pull your arms backwards through the water, your legs move up and down. This technique wonderfully relaxes your back and neck muscles . However, anyone who has had acute shoulder problems should avoid them. Backstroke swimming improves your arm, shoulder, leg and glute muscles and keeps your spine flexible.

 

Dolphin swimming

In the so-called butterfly you move your body in waves. The face is under water, the arms are simultaneously immersed in the water and pulled backwards. The legs move rhythmically up and down. This technique uses almost all muscle groups, but dolphin swimming also requires a lot of strength and very good breathing techniques.

Tip: Combine at least two techniques in one training session . Ideally, you can vary the length of the route and the intensity of the effort.

Benefit 3: Swimming improves your posture

“Wow, you’re sitting so beautifully upright!” You’re guaranteed to hear that more often if you do your laps regularly. Even if you feel light as a feather in the water: If you perform your favorite technique cleanly, you will effectively train your chest, abdominal, back and core muscles. This will help you optimize your posture and avoid or alleviate back pain.

For more fitness, endurance or triathlon: You can quickly achieve training success when swimming.

If training with your body alone isn't enough for you, you can go a step further and use equipment : With a swimming board you can focus on your footwork. Paddles increase the water resistance when pulling your arms underwater and activate the muscles in the middle of the body. If, on the other hand, you are an inexperienced swimmer, you should first increase the number of laps in every training session instead of expecting too much.

Benefit 4: Swimming gives you quick training progress

Are you looking for a new sport to strengthen your endurance? Maybe you're thinking about combining swimming with your marathon preparation or with cardio and strength training ? Class! Because you can easily compensate for tension or one-sided strain on certain muscles in the water. An additional advantage: When swimming , you burn between 350 and 900 calories per hour, depending on your technique and pace . You stimulate fat metabolism, which in turn supports muscle building. Swimming is a real figure shaper.

For lasting effects, experts recommend one-hour swimming training three to four times a week. You can support effective muscle work with isotonic drinks such as Iso Fast Red Orange . Isotonic drink powder replenishes glycogen stores in the muscles and provides carbohydrates for your endurance while swimming ¹ .

Did you know that you also sweat when swimming as soon as you master longer distances ? Because of the cold water, many people often notice this too late and then stop training exhausted. You can effectively counteract the loss of minerals with the Energy* Gums Cherry + Sodium . The carbohydrate cubes quickly compensate for the sodium lost through sweating. Your magnesium stores can also tolerate a supply before or after endurance swimming: The Dextro Energy* cubes of magnesium quickly replenish your depot and support your muscles². For this you should take at least four tablets.

Benefit 5: Swimming prepares you for your triathlon

For some triathletes, swimming is like a doctor's checkup: necessary, but not exactly their favorite activity. Are you planning your first triathlon and worried about whether you need to learn a certain swimming technique? No, you don't have to. The German Triathlon Union does not specify a specific style. You can complete the triathlon discipline by crawling, backstroke or dolphin swimming .

Triathlon professionals still like to recommend the front crawl variant because you can progress quickly and with little effort. And you can put the energy you save to good use when running or cycling. If you still need to practice the front crawl, we recommend a few hours with a r:m swimming coach or with an experienced triathlete . The right technique is the be-all and end-all: For example, if you breathe incorrectly, you might miss out on the great flow experience that usually comes with competition.

During your triathlon training, functional foods are useful so that you don't run out of strength in the middle: The Liquid Gel in the Blackcurrant + Sodium variety is particularly practical during sports due to its liquid consistency. It contains quickly available carbohydrates and replenishes your storage in no time.

Increase your fitness level by swimming: Here's how

Are you already super motivated and would like to get started straight away? One thing you should keep in mind: Endurance swimming makes you fitter, but it is not a natural form of exercise. This means that your body doesn't train everyday moves like climbing stairs or bending over. To ensure that you practice these movement patterns, it is also useful to do functional training or yoga . Through two complementary sports, you can carry out everyday movements more and more economically. Another plus point: You improve your shoulder mobility for front crawl, the supreme discipline of swimming!

 

*Contains carbohydrates

¹ Carbohydrate-electrolyte solutions help maintain endurance performance during prolonged endurance training and improve water absorption during physical activity.

² Magnesium contributes to normal muscle function.

A varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are important.

SOURCES

Chase, N.L., Sui, X., & Blair, S.N. (2008). The effectsSwimming and All-Cause Mortality Risk Compared With Running, Walking, and Sedentary Habits in Men of a calisthenics training intervention on posture, strength and body composition. International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, 2(3), Article 3.

Pawlik, V. (2022). Number of people in Germany who go swimming recreationally, by frequency from 2013 to 2021. Retrieved on March 25, 2022, from https://de.statista.com/statistics/data/studie/1109328/umfrage/haeufigkeit- of-swimming-as-a-leisure-activity

PHOTO CREDITS

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