4 Tips To Build a Motivating Swim Workout

Tired of plain old lap swimming? Create a more exciting swim workout with these beginner water workout tips.

1. Warm-Up.Get your cardio up and prepare yourself for the speed and strengthening section.

Swimming Teacher Institute / Via aquamobileswim.com

Choose 1 of the following for your warm-up:

100 Freestyle
2 x 100 Freestyle
2 x 50 Freestyle / 2 x 50 Backcrawl
200 Breaststroke
100 Freestyle / 100 Back Crawl

2. Speed & Strength. Work on your speed in the water, or your strength in certain aspects of your stroke.

active.com / Via aquamobileswim.com

Choose 2-3 of the following to work on speed and strength:

4 x 50 Freestyle sprint on the minute
50 Legs only flutter kick/ 50 arms only Freestyle / 100 combined
100 Legs only choice / 100 arms only choice
4 x 25 pace + 25 sprint Freestyle / 4 x 25 pace + 25 sprint Back Crawl
2 x 50 Freestyle sprint on the minute / 2 x 50 Backcrawl Sprint on the minute

3. Endurance. Work on long-term cardio and lower intensity distance swimming.

Belpark Tri / Via aquamobileswim.com

Choose 1 of the following to work on endurance:

3 x 100 Freestyle
100 Freestyle / 100 Backcrawl / 100 Breaststroke / 100 choice
50 Choice/ 50 Back / 50 Choice / 50 Freestyle / 50 Choice / 50 Breaststroke
50 Breaststroke / 100 Freestyle / 100 Backcrawl / 50 Breaststroke
300 Choice

4. Cool-Down. Bring your heart rate down, and conclude your workout.

Shutterstock / Via aquamobileswim.com

Choose 1 of the following for your cool-down:

100 Freestyle
100 Choice
25 Freestyle/ 25 Back Crawl / 25 Choice / 25 Freestyle
50 Breaststroke / 50 Choice
100 Elementary Backstroke

5. Here’s a handy glossary to explain some of these terms:

Via aquamobileswim.com

Freestyle – Another term used for Front Crawl

Pace – This means to swim at a comfortable pace at which you can swim endurance.

Sprint – Swimming as fast as you can for short bursts of time.

Choice – Your choice of stroke.

“On-the-Minute” – Completing a set number of laps or meters within a specified time period, such as a minute. Pace clocks at competitive training venues make it easy to note your times, and can be easily substituted with a regular clock as long as you can see the second hand. You can also use a stop-watch or waterproof wearable fitness tracker.