Make a splash: How to make swimming a part of your fitness and workout routine

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. You see athletes relaxing in swimming pools all the time. Sometimes entire teams do fitness pool sessions, with some top level footballers even installing bikes in pools.

Swimming is clearly one of the best full body workouts, but it’s not the only thing one can do in a pool when it comes to fitness. There is a long-standing relationship between water and workouts. But while getting into pools is mostly seen as a leisure activity, one can turn it into a full-fledged gym if used cleverly.

It’s also not just about exercising. Getting into a pool after a workout too has many benefits. Acting as a great cooling down process, light pool work promotes muscle recovery and helps reduce soreness.

But it’s more than just about feeling good. There is a chemistry behind this. “Focusing the majority of your energy on making improvements in the weight room will result in better strength gains.

After all the glycogen is depleted in the gym, you’ll burn more fat during your swim workout," states an article on MySwimPro.com titled, Should I Lift Weights Before Or After I Swim? The article adds that swimming before a workout is not a bad idea, but it might not be your best bet to lift heavy with fatigued muscles afterwards. But what it might do is get you into lifting mode with an already elevated heart-rate. Choose wisely depending on what your goals are.

Then again, it could depend on what muscles you are working. You might not want to swim after a heavy shoulder day, but it could be a gamechanger after leg day. “Treading water for 5-10 minutes before trying a few gentle lengths should allow muscles to relax and core temperatures to come down gradually.