Fitness Regime


{via kikareichert}




Warning: I'm not giving professional advise on a good fitness regimen. I'm talking about my own experience, specifically with swimming and comparing it with any other form of workout. Wow, this sounds surprisingly like one of my essays for college. Don't worry, this should be a lot more fun and definitely much clearer than my papers. If I may digress, isn't the 50's swimsuit in the second picture just amazing? A classic little black swimsuit. Should I try calling it an LBS? Maybe not. 

Right, first things first. Its important to have a fitness regime, and I will say it at the outset, I don't think gym-ing constitutes a good fitness regime. Yes, you're working out, but the results you get from sport are long term and the ones from a gym are short term. Mostly, because your muscles are actually resisting the environment around it to work out. Unlike, say using a treadmill or a stationary cycle. So while the effects of sport will last you for years, the gym only a couple months. 

Which is why I will now come to my sport of choice: swimming. If your workout routine is swimming then these are the things to bear in mind. These are the results of experimenting with my regime for a few months. Note before though: I swim in the mornings (early or late) and I swim laps (2 lengths in a lap).

  1. Eat before you swim (Not immediately before silly).

    Eat a small meal two hours prior to swimming. By 'swimming', I mean you are swimming lengths in the pool and not waddling.

    I tried this out in three different weeks:

    Week 1: Went for a swim without breakfast. Result - no energy, lethargic swimming, got tired quickly, felt tired through the day.

    Week 2: 
    Went for a swim 1 hour after breakfast. Historically speaking, it is said one must swim at least after half an hour of eating, so I decided to make it an hour, just to be on the safe side. Guess what. Cramps and knots in my tummy.

    Week 3: Went for a swim 2 hours after breakfast. Result: A whole lot of energy, I was swimming faster, more lengths, had more stamina and strength, fewer breaks. It also keeps you going for the rest of the day and no cramps!

    Reasoning: It takes the body two hours to digest the food in the stomach. Which is also why you start feeling a little hungry after two hours of eating a meal. Nutritionists will tell you and so will doctors that in order to loose or maintain weight, one must eat 5-6 small meals every two hours in a day.
  2. Warm up before you swim

    They all say it, warm up, warm up, warm up before you exercise! Its extremely important, because you're basically using a warm up to prepare your muscles for the attack - the workout. If you look at boxers, they kinda jump around a little bit before they go in for the punch right? They're prepping themselves to figure out a line of attack. Same way, a warm up or a little stretching is prepping your muscles, or telling them to wake up so that they can be ready to attack your workout. If you start straight away, its like jolting your muscles from a deep sleep and they'll be groggy throughout the workout. You know I'm making sense.
  3. Hydrate

    I keep a plastic cup filled water at the shallow end of the pool. Even though you're in the water at all times, it doesn't mean that you're hydrated. When you start feeling the dryness, sip some water.
  4. Alternative Exercises and Stretching

    If you really want to work your entire body, just the breast-stroke or the freestyle isn't going to help. You need to mix it up a little. There are plenty of water exercises that you can do. Egg beater and cycling (or trying to) in the deep end are excellent additions to your swim. My favorite is the toe touch. Or a version of it.

    Toe Touch: At the deep end face the wall and stay afloat by rotating your arms in the water (as in waddling to keep your head above the water. Try to stand straight in the water (all the while moving your arms!), bring your knees up to your chest and push your toes out to touch the top of the wall. Try to see your feet outside the water. Bring them back in to your chest and push them straight down into the water. Repeat 8-10 times.

    Tip: While pushing your toes down rotate your arms anti-clockwise (towards yourself) and while pushing your toes up rotate them in a clockwise motion (away from yourself). This will help you stay in the same place in the pool.

    Stretching: It is extremely important to stretch, if you want the effects of the workout to last. Stretch any which way you can and whichever way you like, but make sure you stretch your entire body, arms, legs, your sides and your torso, because you use your entire body to swim and do the alternative exercises.
  5. Rest

    Right, so you (1) ate properly, (2) you've warmed up, (3) started swimming and hydrating, (4) did the alternative exercises and stretched and now (5) you need some rest/relaxation.

    This is the best part of my 45 minutes to an hour of swimming. I just let my body go and float on my back as if lying on a water bed. I do that for about 5-10 minutes. It allows the body and your muscles to relax so that they can start the reconstruction process. Yes, your muscles actually break down during your workout and a good rest lets them build themselves up again.

Oh, and don't forget to enjoy yourself! 

2 comments:

  1. Good advice! Super like :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. These tips are great! I also prefer swimming because it's the only form of exercise that my mind and body will agree to doing. I always feel fantastic after a good swim.

    Have a good one!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for your comment! I look forward to it :)

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