It is a well-known fact that swimming is good for health. Swimming regularly helps you to keep fit. It is a good exercise that gives you a workout for all your muscles. This offers the best benefits as an exercise. If you are keen on losing weight, then swimming is one of the best activities for you. When you swim, you are getting a good workout that helps you lose calories and burn fat. If you have a pool at home, then you don’t need to go to a gym. Spend time in the pool daily and you can burn fat to aid your weight loss efforts.
How can swimming maximise fat burn?
Swimming is a cardiovascular exercise, also known as aerobic exercise. It increases the heart rate and breathing rate. It helps improve the performance of the heart and lungs. When the heart rate is increased in the target heart rate zone, then it becomes easier to burn more calories. This helps to reduce weight and keep it under control. An advantage that swimming has over other forms of exercise like running and jogging is that it offers resistance. When you swim through the water, there is extra resistance that makes you use your muscles more.
When you swim, it tones both your upper body as well as the lower body. It also works on your core muscles that can help you in your effort to lose belly fat. Your muscles get a workout and at the same time, the physical activity helps you lose calories. This makes it the best way to burn fat to lose weight. If you swim using the breaststroke for 30 minutes, you can burn 367 calories. In case, you swim freestyle, the calorie loss for 30 minutes can go up to 404 calories.
In case you take up any other activity like running or walking, the weight loss is lesser. If you run or brisk walk at the rate of 6 miles per hour for 30 minutes, then you will end up losing 300 calories. Walking or running requires you to travel a long distance. The problem with running is that it puts pressure on your knees. If you have knee problems, then running can be a problem. Swimming is a low-impact exercise that does not harm your body
Tips to maximise fat burn
Now that you are clear about how effective swimming is for fat burn, it is time to get started. We give you give tips that will help you swim in such an effective way that you maximise the benefits from swimming.
1.Swim fast and hard
If you want to lose weight by walking, you need to walk very briskly, a stroll won’t do. Similarly, if you want to lose fat through swimming, you need to swim fast and swim hard. This makes your heart pump faster and starts burning calories. The freestyle swimming stroke is the simplest to learn and you can swim hard. So, you can start with freestyle and swim fast. If you want to lose more weight, then the butterfly stroke is the best. It is also tough but can help you lose up to 150 calories in 10 minutes. Recommended only if you are a good swimmer.
2. Swim on an empty stomach
You can swim even after having a meal; it helps digest food well. However, if you are swimming as an exercise, then it is best to swim on an empty stomach. Strenuous swimming after a meal can cause stomach cramps. If you swim first thing in the morning before breakfast, it produces the best results. When you swim on an empty stomach, it puts your body in a state of fasting. This helps in utilizing the fat in your body to get the energy needed by your body. This can help you burn fat in a more efficient way. In case you can’t swim first thing in the morning, make sure you swim two hours after a meal. This ensures you can be comfortable while swimming and also get the best possible results.
3. Get into your fat-burning zone
To maximise fat burn, you need to get into your fat-burning zone. For this, you need to know your maximum heart rate. You can calculate this by subtracting your age from 220. 65% of this is your fat-burning zone. If you are 25 years, then 220-25 gives 195. So, your maximum heart rate is around 120. Your heart must beat at this rate to get the best results from swimming. You can wear a fitness tracker (a water-proof one) to keep track if you wish.
4. Try interval training
Interval training is a great way to maximise fat burn. This involves alternating between slow and fast workouts. This is more comfortable since you need not swim fast for a very long time. You should put around 85% effort during the fast rounds, while the slow rounds require around 25% of your effort. You should ideally spend around 90 seconds for each cycle.
5. Swim for longer periods
If you exercise for an hour, your body would burn fat. Apart from this, it would continue to burn fat after three hours. This is a major benefit of any form of exercising, where fat burning continues for a longer duration. To get the best results and to lose more fat, you need to swim for a longer time. Don’t try to do this on day 1. Start by swimming for 10 or 15 minutes and ensure you are comfortable doing this. Once you are comfortable, then every week start adding 5 more minutes to your routine. When you do this gradually, you can swim for up to an hour and it would be comfortable. Get a pool installed in top locations like Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth Pool Builders.
The five tips given above are easy to follow. Start following them from today and you can get the best benefits from swimming. Lose weight and watch fat burn away by following these simple tips.
