Arh1387

Hello! I'm looking to begin swimming as my primary form of exercise, and I could really use some advice/tips.

First, some brief information. I'm 22-years-old, and I am "average" in body; not athletically built, but not overweight either. I have not recently engaged in rigorous exercise (I had surgery and an incredibly heavy course load), but I used to exercise much more frequently. While I haven't swum competitively in a while, I used to swim on a team (but not for many years), so I have a basic knowledge of different stroke techniques.

Ideally, I would like to build a swimming regimen that would enable me to burn away lingering body fat and develop muscle tone. I'm not overly concerned with building a lot of muscle mass; my main goal is just to get fit.

If anyone could help me by suggesting some sort of training plan, one that I could reasonably expect to see some kind of results with by April, I would appreciate it. I'm willing to swim as many days a week as it takes, and for whatever lap distance you suggest.

Thanks for all of your help!

texasaggies

Hey, welcome to the forums!

Well, having not been in the pool in a while, the first few days are going to be pretty rough. To get a baseline, go get in the pool ASAP, and swim for 20 minutes straight freestyle. Try and go the whole time without stopping if possible (even if you need to go slow). Count how many laps you can finish, and report back. That'll give us a better idea of exactly how out of shape you are/how proficient you are and we can go from there.

Good luck!

Typhoons Coach

Swimming for health and general wellness is a great choice! I would agree with Tex, and get a good baseline for what you can do right now. At that point I would also set goals as to where you want to be. I can probably locate a calculator that shows how many calories (on average) you would burn if you swam "x" number of yards/meters of freestyle if needed.

Arh1387

Just got back from the pool. After twenty minutes, I swam a total of 14 laps, most of which (about 11) were breaststroke. Two were freestyle and one backstroke. I think I could probably have done more, but I had a hard time pacing myself and get over-tired, forcing me to take a short break.

So where should I go from here? How many days and for how many laps should I attempt to swim? My goal is, ultimately, to gain muscle mass and definition, as well as burn fat (which, I know, is most people's goal). I understand what may be realistic, but I'd like to get the max results I can because I'm only in school for another semester, and then I won't have regular access to a pool.

Thanks!

Captain Pugwash

Make your mind up


Good advice if Arh- had undergone recent surgery on shoulder/back/knee/ankle/hip/just given birth-Take your pick Tex-No good offering advice IF you dont read the post properly.

Arh1387

I'm sorry, but I didn't realize that I can't gave more than one ultimate goal for swimming exercise.


I guess this is partially my fault. I should have clarified that the surgery was minor and would not at all affect my ability to swim/exercise. I still appreciate Tex's advice, and I still think it was valid, even if he/she failed to consider something (minor) in my post.

Do you have any advice, Captain, or only criticisms of other's advice? Because I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions you could give me.

Typhoons Coach

Captain, while I definitely like having you back, let's try to play nice in here! Criticize the posts, not the poster...

texasaggies

Uhh I don't get it. He's obviously ready to get back in the pool and exercise. If whatever surgery he had prevents him from swimming for 20 minutes, then what is the point of having a training regimine? And how would that be only good advice if he DID just have surgery? Nothing I've seen you post on these boards has made sense, or been in any way productive.

And come on, he's a dude, of course he wants muscle definition and mass.

Anyways, I think a good starting point would be an hour, 3 times a week. Swim a warmup for about 5 minutes, and a cool down for about 5 minutes. In between, look for some good drills to work on technique for about 20 minutes, and then 30 minutes of swimming. Based on 14 laps (assuming a lap is 50 yards), here's a good example of a good, basic, fitness set, to give you an example, that will take up about the remaining 30 minutes. This is a good place to start, and you can be creative to ramp up your intensity as you get more and more comfortable.

7x50's with 30 seconds rest in between.
7x25's with 15 seconds rest in between.
2x100's with 30 seconds rest in between.

Try it out, and let us know how it goes!

Captain Pugwash

Maybe you should check all of my posts-there are one or two usefull ones.

MY point was- you were giving someone"with basic swimmimg skills" and who has undergone surgery (before you knew the facts) And you give them a "baseline" to work on according to your way of thinking.My first Q before offering advice to someone that had mentioned surgery in a post would be to ask WHERE(was the op) & WHEN(was it done).Then take it from there.

Typhoons Coach

You're right, Captain...only one or two ARE useful. Just kidding, of course.

I think both of you have valid points, and the overall goal is to help the swimmer...carry on.