Swimming is not just an excellent accessory to a good lifting routine, it can also be done as a self-contained full body exercise, one that works as a great replacement for the treadmill and other cardio activity. A swim workout also has recovery and rehabilitation advantages, which makes it a really good addition to any fitness regimen. Strictly speaking, you can’t compare a pool to a gym, but the fact is that swimming forces one to be creative. As a result, you can mimic some of your favourite exercises during a regular lifting session in the pool.
For those who want to make swimming a part of their pre-existing routine, there are many tips on how to do that in a story I wrote for Lounge last year, titled Making a splash: How to make swimming part of your fitness and workout routine. But if you’d like to use a pool exclusively, then there are some great exercises you can use. Even though weights might not be used in most of them, the added layer of challenge will come in the form of water resistance.
“Because it is denser than air, water provides 12% to 14% more resistance. Even when you’re doing cardio exercises like jogging in water, you’re working against more resistance than if you were on land. Because of the resistance factor, water exercise is a double-duty workout — cardio and strength training. This may be why many studies have found increases in lean body mass in people participating in an aqua exercise program,” states a Harvard Health article titled, Advantages of water-based exercise.
Jumping Jacks: While jogging is an obvious swimming workout starter-pack exercise, jumping jacks feel way more difficult due to the resistance acting on both sides of the body and while jumping up and down as well. I often complain how boring it is to do jumping jacks out in the open but it just feels so much tougher in water.
Leg lifts: Leg raises on the floor, off a bar, or using a dip machine can all seem very daunting at first. But it’s much better to try them in the pool, because the technique is simpler and you can tweak the resistance depending on the depth of the water. Hanging and dip leg raises often fail because of the time it takes to get the core strong enough to not let the legs collapse at the end of every rep. In water though, you can do the legs one by one, while using the support of the walls and/or the steps. It is also easier in water to keep the leg fully extended.
Muscle-ups: Always thought you wanted to try a muscle-up on the pull-ups bar but couldn’t? Then the pool can help. While not fully a muscle-up, pulling yourself in and out of the pool from the edge using the right technique feels exactly like a muscle-up. The only thing is, you won’t fully come out, but dip yourself back into the water and keep repeating for a few reps. The progression of this exercise is also easy: the deeper the pool, the tougher the muscle-up. The most challenging version would be to be in water deep enough for the feet to not touch the bottom and launch yourself towards the edge of the bar to muscle-up. Take this a step ahead by releasing the hands after the end of every rep.
Pool planks: Once again, different form, but the same concept. Pool planks need to be done with the hands on the edge of the pool or on a railing so that the body can be lengthened outwards, the key being to hold the body up using legs and core strength. This is way more challenging than taking the weight of the body on the palms and toes/knees. Eventually you would want to replace the stairs with a pool noodle, a fitness prop that can be held under and over the water as a support for exercises.
Knee tucks: Knee tucks or knees to chest is a really good explosive exercise but it can be taxing on the knees and ankles if done too often on the floor. But because water cushions the joints get which make it easier on the body but as tough because it is expending the same kind of energy.
Step-ups: I have written before how step-ups are one of the most underrated exercises for glute development. There’s more on that in a Lounge piece titled Great for glutes and extremely flexible, here’s why you should practice the step-up. If the pool you’re using has steps leading out, then this is a great place to do this exercise as well. The pool will slow down the movements required to add a higher eccentric load on the muscles, while being equipment free as well.
Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator and writer.