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Swimming is one of the best workouts out there because it uses all of your major muscle groups from head to toe. If you missed upper-body day at the gym, you can pull a ton and feel the burn tomorrow when you try to lift your arms; The same goes for the lower body and a kick-focused workout. But for a full-body blast, try this swim workout that combines kicks, pulls, a variety of strokes, and strength work on the pool deck or shore. Yes, this workout has it all – and you’ll be stronger for it.
Choose a set below that matches your current fitness level and schedule, then dive in!
Key:
Pull: Using a pull buoy to isolate movement to the arms.
Kick: Using a kickboard to isolate movement to the legs.
IM: Individual Medley, or back-to-back lengths of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.
A:
5×75 swim/25 kick on your back
12×50 on 1:30 (25 easy, climb out, 5 squats, dive in, 25 fast)
400 pull with 30 sec rest
300 IM with 20 sec rest
200 kick with 10 sec rest
10×50 on 1:30 (25 easy, climb out, 5 push-ups, dive in, 25 fast)
300 pull with 30 sec rest
200 IM with 20 sec rest
100 kick with 10 sec rest
8×50 on 1:30 (25 easy, climb out, 5 sit-ups, dive in, 25 fast)
500 swim (no walls) with 30 sec rest
100 non-free cool-down
Total: 4100
B:
4×75 swim/25 kick on your back
8×50 on 2:00 (25 easy, climb out, 5 squats, dive in, 25 fast)
300 pull with 30 sec rest
200 IM with 20 sec rest
100 kick with 10 sec rest
6×50 on 2:00 (25 easy, climb out, 5 push-ups, dive in, 25 fast)
300 pull with 30 sec rest
200 IM with 20 sec rest
100 kick with 10 sec rest
8×50 on 2:00 (25 easy, climb out, 5 sit-ups, dive in, 25 fast)
400 swim (no walls) with 30 sec rest
100 non-free cool-down
Total: 3200
C:
3×75 swim/25 kick on your back
6×50 with 20 sec rest (25 easy, climb out, 5 squats, dive in, 25 fast)
300 pull with 30 sec rest
6×50 with 20 sec rest (25 easy, climb out, 5 push-ups, dive in, 25 fast)
300 pull with 30 sec rest
6×50 with 20 sec rest (25 easy, climb out, 5 sit-ups, dive in, 25 fast)
300 swim (no walls) with 30 sec rest
100 non-free cool-down
Total: 2200
Looking for more swim-spiration? Check out our complete archive of Weekend Swim Workouts from Coach Sara McLarty.