Swimming increases your oxygen intake more than any other form of exercise
In swimming, you use almost all your muscles. Also the very large muscle groups such as the thigh, back, chest and arms. When these muscles are trained and used, they need a whole lot of oxygen to keep going. A lot. When you then repeatedly expose your body to this pressure after oxygen, your lung and heart capacity is expanded and thus your condition and shape are improved with Lifeguard Class. And it happens much faster in the water than any other form of exercise.
If, for example, one has to compare swimming with running, the oxygen consumption is much greater in swimming. Where at rest you use between 0.15 and 0.25 liters of oxygen per. min, you use in moderate running approx. 8 times as much, while in swimming you use up to 12 times as much oxygen with lifeguard class. That’s something I learned in school 🙂
Against this background, it is therefore extremely effective to swim. You get in shape very quickly and thus lose a lot of calories – fat right?
Swimming is just back and forth, right? That’s not funny, is it?
Yes, usually you just swim back and forth. Continually. For several hours. Turn after turn. But it does NOT have to be. There are plenty of opportunities to make the workout a little more varied and fun. Because after 8 years as a swimmer, where I have swum more lanes than many others, it is still just fun. That has not changed. It’s just about making some variation in the workout.
You can, for example, make a small competition with the one next to it. “Shall we see who comes down to the other end first?” Then you get your heart rate up, and it gives a little variation in the otherwise streamlined training. Another option is to make use of the tools provided by the swimming pools. You can swim a little leg with the plates lying on the edge, take a pull buoy between the legs and swim arm or buy your own snorkel and flippers.
One could also try swimming disciplines other than just crawl or breaststroke. Try some backstroke (good advice: look straight over the shoulder so you do not bump into anyone) or what about some butterfly (Good advice: Try to lie down on your own course where you do not bother so many, especially not the older ladies, who usually get a little angry when others squirt;-)). It provides some good and fun variation to the workout, which at the same time helps to strengthen all muscles. You do not use the same muscles in all 4 styles, it is different muscles that are working. In breaststroke, you use e.g. most thigh muscles, in planes, it is mostly the pectoral muscles while in back crawl and crawl it is the core and arms. Therefore, it is a good idea to try in all four kinds of styles for lifeguard class.
You can also swim at different speeds. Eg. swim two lanes at a moderate pace and then 1 lane quickly, and you could do that a couple of times. Then you really get your heart rate up and your body used – and that’s why you swim, right?
What if you can not swim?
If you can not swim, it is a little difficult to use swimming as an exercise in the beginning. But of course you can learn that. In virtually every swimming pool / swimming club there are teams for adults who want to learn to swim. Then you are with other adults who also want to learn to swim. Also, you have a teacher to teach you that. Super nice. Otherwise you can use my 10 week swimming guide here, where you get programs, tips and motivation – then I promise you that you can swim!
But before you start, I just want to point out that it takes time to learn. It is technically difficult to swim, as you have to combine both arms and legs. A little harder than running or cycling for a ride. But it is not difficult either. It’s just getting started, right?
This is how you really burn a lot of energy!
We’ve probably all seen the older grandmothers in the swimming pool. With their heads above the water, they take it all in stride. They have plenty of time.
But if you do not want to spend more hours in the swimming pool, you need something more time in it. Especially if you really want to burn a large amount of energy, and thus lose weight.
Then there is no point in Grandma swimming, as we call it.
Therefore, one should make sure to keep a high intensity and high heart rate over a long period of time. Because as they say: You burn just as much by swimming 30 min. with relatively high intensity as in 1.5 hours of grandmother swimming. Then the bar is like laid. So speed up a bit and push yourself. Then the kilos will probably smoke off.
To increase the combustion even more, you can press a little more on the water every time you take an arm grip with lifeguard class. The more power you put in, the more you burn. It also really puts the muscles to work, and that’s not bad.