The Student Room Group

Swimming?

I'm female, 5ft 4, pear-shaped size 8-10 and weigh just under 8 1/2 stone. I do pretty much no exercise other than walking because I've never really liked sports. However I don't mind swimming and have just joined my local swimming pool. I'm hoping to tone my legs, arms and bum a bit, I was just wondering how ofen and for how long I should swim in order to achieve this?

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Reply 1
1 hour a day
3 times a week
Reply 2
its best at around 6pm after your evening meal
Reply 3
Anonymous
I'm female, 5ft 4, pear-shaped size 8-10 and weigh just under 8 1/2 stone. I do pretty much no exercise other than walking because I've never really liked sports. However I don't mind swimming and have just joined my local swimming pool. I'm hoping to tone my legs, arms and bum a bit, I was just wondering how ofen and for how long I should swim in order to achieve this?


well.....i swam for an extremely long time. and the year that I really became toned enough that my arms actually looked respectable (naturally theyre quite thin) was the year that I swam perhaps three hours a day of the most intense swimming i've ever done in my life.

that being said, your body may be different, and your body will tone up if you start doing excercise at all.

however id reccomend more than three times a week. and most likely on intervals.

the best thing to tone your legs and bum are going to be butterfly kick with short fins (they're called zoomers) and breastroke kick. do about 700m of each of those a night and you'll see a difference in your lower half and quick.

now, if you've only just begun to swim you should probably start a pushup regimen, to help your arms adjust better from the strain of fly and free. i reccomend starting at about 20 a night and going up to about a 100. (not all at once, in intervals of 10 or 15 and over 2-3 hours)

anyway, cheers!!! and good luck :smile:

if you need any swim tips feel free to IM me because i may well know more than your coaches. (and that isn't a joke)
Reply 4
I don't have any coaches... And sorry to break it to you but I really won't be doing any pushups
If you go fairly regularly, even just once or twice a week for an hour or so, it'll have an effect. Just mix up your strokes for max effect.
Reply 6
curryADD
. i reccomend starting at about 20 a night and going up to about a 100. (not all at once, in intervals of 10 or 15 and over 2-3 hours)


Eh? Muscles need time to rest.
Reply 7
Christo
Eh? Muscles need time to rest.


its not like he suggested 1000 though is it =p if you're new to swimming, starting at 20 is good and just gradually raise it to what you feel capable of doing. within a few months you'll have no problem doing 100.
Reply 8
OP, When I get to Uni, I'll be joining the 'swimfit' at our pool. It's a led lane swimming session and all they ask is that you can swim 200m before you join. See if your local pool does something similar :smile:
Reply 9
theflcgal
its not like he suggested 1000 though is it =p if you're new to swimming, starting at 20 is good and just gradually raise it to what you feel capable of doing. within a few months you'll have no problem doing 100.


She's talking about pushups.

Here's something from wikipedia. :smile:

There are many theories as to why weight training creates muscle growth. One such theory is that this training causes microtrauma to the muscles. Muscles grow during the rest period following a workout by repairs to these areas of muscle, making them stronger than before. Weight training programs should therefore allow the muscles time to repair and grow, otherwise overtraining can occur. Therefore the individual should exercise caution in increasing the level of exertion. Muscle growth is normally completed within 36 to 96 hours, depending upon the intensity of the workout
Reply 10
oops hehe. ok yeah maybe not 100 then!
hi there, i use to be a competitive swimmer and swum for 13 years so i have a lot of experience in this field. As you are not use to too much exercise i would suggest starting out nice and gently for the first few weeks and do an hour ish a few times a week like suggested already. Take your swimming at a steady pace and mayb inject a few quick bursts such as the odd length... remember to drink plenty. After a few weeks you may want to increase the length that you swim for mayb 90mins and aim at increasing the distance that you swim. When your fitness is improving there is not much point in just slowly plodding up and down. It will be more to your advantage if you speed things up and mayb aim to complete 4 x 100m and time each one. Then try and beat th previous time this will help you tone up. As you become better keep increasing the distance that you swim at a steady speed and record it so you can see how much you have progressed. Remember you may not see results for a week or two but you will with time so keep at it. Also make sure you drink lots of fluids so you dont become dehydrated as that will lessen your progress. Keep mixing up your strokes i would advise missing out on the fly untill a few months down the line... also a quick pointer i was a flyer and my shoulders are very broad which i hate so unless u want huge shoulders limit the amount you do!! Good luck with it all!!

Oohhh and remember to warm up first with a few stretches etc otherwise your muscles may ache and u could strain them!!
Reply 12
Christo
She's talking about pushups.

Here's something from wikipedia. :smile:


oh my.

i meant. 20 a night for a few weeks.

30 a night for a few more weeks.

40 for a few weeks.

and so on.

:rolleyes:
Reply 13
hannasmith22
hi there, i use to be a competitive swimmer and swum for 13 years so i have a lot of experience in this field. As you are not use to too much exercise i would suggest starting out nice and gently for the first few weeks and do an hour ish a few times a week like suggested already. Take your swimming at a steady pace and mayb inject a few quick bursts such as the odd length... remember to drink plenty. After a few weeks you may want to increase the length that you swim for mayb 90mins and aim at increasing the distance that you swim. When your fitness is improving there is not much point in just slowly plodding up and down. It will be more to your advantage if you speed things up and mayb aim to complete 4 x 100m and time each one. Then try and beat th previous time this will help you tone up. As you become better keep increasing the distance that you swim at a steady speed and record it so you can see how much you have progressed. Remember you may not see results for a week or two but you will with time so keep at it. Also make sure you drink lots of fluids so you dont become dehydrated as that will lessen your progress. Keep mixing up your strokes i would advise missing out on the fly untill a few months down the line... also a quick pointer i was a flyer and my shoulders are very broad which i hate so unless u want huge shoulders limit the amount you do!! Good luck with it all!!

Oohhh and remember to warm up first with a few stretches etc otherwise your muscles may ache and u could strain them!!


same here. competitive for fourteen years.

made it to state (one of the big three in the US)

tendonitis.
byebye swimming.
Reply 14
Bugger!

I was a competitive swimmer when i was a little younger, county champion 4 years in a row :biggrin: woo! Then GCSEs, A Levels and could not do my training regime anymore!

Anyways, yeh swimming is a good way to tone up, but don't jump in the deep end to quick (sorry, excuse the pun!), you want to build up gradually. I completely agree with everything Hannah Smith said, you have to start slow and build up.

Make sure you warm up your muscles first or you will get cramp, which trust me is horrible when you are swimming! You need to stretch your arms and legs especially, i trust you know how to do this from school. Kinda hard to explain in words!

'Fly is gay, i never could get fully into it due to the co-ordination and just the gayness of the stroke so tbh i would give that one a miss! Front stroke and Back stroke are good for arms and breast stroke is good for legs.

Best of luck, i love swimming i hope you enjoy it as much as i!

Graham
Reply 15
just dont stop till you cant see an ass
Reply 16
curryADD
oh my.

i meant. 20 a night for a few weeks.

30 a night for a few more weeks.

40 for a few weeks.

and so on.

:rolleyes:


Regardless, doing 100 over 2-3 hours is a waste of time. :rolleyes:
Reply 17
Christo
Regardless, doing 100 over 2-3 hours is a waste of time. :rolleyes:


please.

its like ok

TV show, commercial break, 10 pushups. before you brush your teeth 10 pushups.

only takes about 5 minutes total time.
gbduo
Bugger!

I was a competitive swimmer when i was a little younger, county champion 4 years in a row :biggrin: woo! Then GCSEs, A Levels and could not do my training regime anymore!

me too! i was county champion or top three in the county from 11 thru to 16 i was an all rounder but by the end of it i was a long distance freestyler. I had to give up due to way too much school work and i had serious problems with my ankle which caused it too dislocate when i was swimming if i kicked awkwardly or something. I loved swimming soooooo much but i think i will probably start up again when im settled in at uni as im going to sheffield so pondsforge is nearby!
I think I'll start swimming again this year... since giving up judo, horse riding once a week's the only exercise I get, so I probably should. :rolleyes: Thing is, my neck and the small of my back always ache when I do breaststroke... I'm probably doing something incredibly wrong, lol - it's ages since I last swam under supervision. Any ideas? :p: