Three gentle learning to swim exercises

Learning to swim exercises aren’t about Body Pump sessions or high intensity fitness training, but more about steadily and gently building strength in ways that benefit your learn to swim journey.

With this in mind we have listed three learning to swim exercises that complement your swimming lessons.  You can choose to do these at the pool as part of your swimming routine or at home.

Three Learning to Swim Exercises

1. Stretching

Swimming works all of the muscles in the body, so any exercise needs to ensure all your muscles are warmed up and ready for swimming.

You should also stretch off after your swim, which you might choose to do in a warm shower. You can choose do stretches on days you are not swimming. This will help you remain supple.

When stretching remember these three things:

1. Stretch each body part in order. Hold stretches for about a count of 10 and run through the routine three times.
2. Stretching cold muscles may relieve tension but will have very little effect on flexibility. Move gently in the water for a few minutes before your lesson.
3. If you’re stretching in the water, your body will cool down quickly. Maintain your temperature by jogging on the spot or swinging your arms or legs for 20 seconds between each stretch.

I need help with stretches

• If you are seeking stretching routines head over to the swimming.org stretching muscles article on the Masters Hub here. There are a range of stretches and videos to help you grasp them.

2. Core exercises

Other learning to swim exercises are core exercises. This is because swimming relies on the strength and stamina of your core muscles.

When you first start out, you can just do a few exercises at home when you wake up or before bed, which will help to develop your core muscles.

I need help with core exercises

• If you need help with these learn to swim exercises head over the swimming.org Masters Hub for a handy guide to building your core strength. Here you will find a great collection of exercises put together by Olympian Fran Halsall.

3. Yoga

Yoga ranks highly in a list of learning to swim exercises. It can improve your technique, coordination and movement in the water.

Five top benefits of doing yoga when learning to swim are:

1. Becoming more mobile
2. Developing strength
3. Understanding your body better to help learn new swimming moves
4. Improving your breathing and coordination
5. Recovering after a swimming lesson.

I need help with yoga

• If you need help with Yoga then head over to the Find a Yoga Class website here and track down your nearest class.