How to Start Swimming for Fitness
Did you take a dip in the pool to complete this month’s swimming challenge? If not, it may be because you are not quite sure where to start.
First, even if you can’t swim at all, there is still hope. Plenty of pools, YMCA and Red Cross organizations offer beginner classes for adults. (In our video, How to Learn to Swim Like an Adult, we watched two students in this class.)
But maybe you can swim and just need a little nudge to start your first water workout. I love looking for swimming workouts for triathletes. Triathlon includes swimming, cycling and running, so about a third of people who train for one are new to swimming. These are people who want to practice well and improve their basic skills so that they can get started more easily than with workouts written for swimmers. For example, here are three good beginner workouts that can keep you busy in your first week or until you get bored with them.
If you want something a little simpler, look for beginner exercise videos. If you feel like your legs are constantly dropping and you are trying to stay afloat, look specifically for “balance exercises.” They will help you learn to think about pressing the front of your body down to keep your legs up . This idea was a game changer for me when I first started out. Here isone such exercise :
After watching a few videos, write yourself a note about the exercises you would like to do and place that note in a plastic bag. (I promise you won’t be the only botanist in the pool with a bag full of notes.) Try the exercise, try some swimming and play in the water, and have fun!