Swimming!!!!!

I'm just on my travels back to London after two weeks at home over the summer. Being at home however didn't mean training stopped, I managed to get a membership for a local gym. Compared to the normal gym I got to this is on a different level, catering more for every kind of individual and their training needs. There were classes that you could attend, badminton courts, a cardio suite and and weights area. However, the main reason I'm writing this blog is because of the swimming pool it offered. 

Now recently I've been picking up a few little injuries, nothing serious just in the over used areas such as shoulders. Before I do any kind of training I always insure that my shoulders are throughly warmed up with particular attention paid to rotator cuff. With the increased volume of heaving pressing movements that I've brought into my routine, this was going to have a impact on my shoulders. I therefore decided when I had this opportunity of using a bit of swimming in my programme I should seize it. 

Swimming is a great all round way to exercise. It's very low impact, cheap and you can train at some many different intensities. Plus some many different workouts to do:

1) Interval Workout - 5x50m max intensity, rest 20 seconds

                               - 5x100m max intensity, rest 40-60 seconds

2) Distance Swims - make sure you record a time for each and try to beat it. I like to aim for 1200m, 1500m and 2400m. All of which can push you hard enough  to get a good workout or post cardio workout completed.

3) Circuits

  - 50m swim, jump out, 10 press ups, 20 squats. 12 rounds.

  - 50m swim, 20 pool muscles ups. (Lower yourself under water, pull up into a dip this counts as one). 12 rounds

  -  100m swim, jump out, 5 pull ups, 10 press ups, 15 squats.  

So there you have it a few swimming workouts you can include in your routine. I personally love swimming. I find it really relaxing and I was using it a lot early morning in a fasted state as I felt I could still push myself, unlike if I was running or another kind of cardio in that state. Even if you just swap in it for a run which you would normally do it will test you in a different way, but more importantly not make your workout routine boring. 

The water is great for anyone coming back from injury and for stretching. If your looking to strengthen an area of weakness, try doing the exercise in the pool before heading back to the weights room, for example lateral raises. These are made difficult by the friction of the water and will allow your body to move on the plane of movement you want it to, not what a machine may dictate. Give it a try and let me know how you get in. 

Jack