Let’s get ready to dive into the refreshing world of swim workouts! Whether you’re a complete beginner when it comes to swimming and just getting your feet wet or you’re a fish out of water, swimming is a great total body workout that caters to a wide variety of fitness goals and levels. The low-impact environment of swimming in a pool or beach is gentle on joints while still providing a great aerobic workout. So what are you waiting for? Put on your best workout accessories and let’s take the plunge to find out the best beginning swim workouts for every goal and every level. BENEFITS OF SWIMMING FOR ALL FITNESS GOALS AND LEVELS According to Swimming.org, there are plenty of benefits of swimming for swimmers of all levels, such as increasing your energy level, lowering the risk of heart disease, de-stressing and relaxing your mind and body. The physical benefits include improved flexibility with the water’s resistance to promote flexibility and reduce muscle stiffness, supporting a healthy metabolism by burning calories, and improving posture to alleviate back and neck pain. If you’re looking for an activity that will also have a positive impact on your mental health, swimming is great for reducing stress and anxiety levels, thanks to the calming effect of the water. HOW TO GET STARTED As you progress in your swimming goals, you’ll reap the physical and mental benefits of the sport, but when you first decide to take the plunge, you might not be sure how to get started. First, you’ll want to choose the right pool or open water location where you’ll be swimming. Then, you’ll get your essential swim gear and equipment. We have tips to help you accessorize for swimming too! 1. Choosing the Right Pool or Open Water Location Deciding to swim in the pool, ocean or lake has its pros and cons. Here are some things to keep in mind: Pool Pros — You’ll have more safety and control when you swim in a pool since it’s typically well-maintained. A public pool usually has lifeguards, which is especially helpful for beginner swimmers. They’re easily accessible, and you don’t have to worry about waves or currents. Pool Cons — If you have sensitive skin, the chlorine in the water can lead to skin and eye irritation. While swimming in a pool is a great option for building up confidence for a beginner to experience, you’ll lack the experience of swimming in natural open water with different elements like the wind and the waves to think about. Ocean and Lake Pros — Swimming in the ocean offers scenic views and an enjoyable swimming experience as you try exploring additional swimming activities like snorkeling or potentially diving for more experienced swimmers. If you’re working your way up to becoming a more experienced swimmer, swimming in the ocean will give you the experience you need to try surfing, diving or snorkeling. Saltwater in the ocean may provide additional skin and respiratory benefits. Ocean and Lake Cons — Swimming in the ocean can pose extra safety risks like rip currents and unpredictable weather. The changing depths and wave conditions can be challenging for inexperienced swimmers, not to mention marine life or vegetation in both lakes and oceans that can be potentially hazardous. 2. Getting Essential Swim Gear and Equipment Here are some essentials that every beginner swimmer needs to enhance their swimming experience and build confidence. Swimsuit — Pick a swimsuit that will provide ample support and freedom of movement. Swim Goggles — If you’re swimming in the pool, you’ll want swim goggles to protect your eyes from chlorine. Swim Cap — Help keep your hair out of your face when you’re swimming, with a silicone or latex swim cap. Swim Fins — Also known as flippers, swim fins can help improve your leg strength and technique. Kickboard — For a tool that can help you improve leg strength and technique while swimming, try a buoyant foam or plastic kickboard for isolating leg workouts. Pull Buoy — A pull buoy is a buoyant device that can be worn between your legs while swimming to focus on upper body strength. Swim Paddles — Swimmers wear swim paddles on their hands to increase arm and shoulder strength to help improve stroke mechanics. Nose Clip and Ear Plugs — For a more comfortable swim, wear ear plugs and a nose clip to prevent water from entering your ears and nostrils. Towel — Always remember to bring a towel with you to dry off after your swim. Water Bottle — You may be in the water all that time, but you need to stay hydrated by drinking fresh water before and after your swim! Mesh Bag — To help prevent mold and mildew from growing in your swim equipment bag, get a washable and reusable mesh bag. Sunscreen — Whenever you’re swimming outdoors, protect yourself by applying waterproof sunscreen. 3. How to Accessorize for Swimming When choosing accessories for swimming, remember the most important thing is that you’re choosing accessories that add comfort and functionality. Some people decide to keep their wedding rings on while going for a swim. While you may want to wear your wedding ring, there’s a high probability — especially while swimming — your engagement ring or wedding band could easily slip off. As an alternative, get a metallic silicone ring to wear while swimming. You can even have them engraved to make them extra special for you and your partner. To find the right ring for you, check out our ring size guide. Find Your Ring Size 4. Understanding Safety Precautions and Swim Etiquette Depending on where you decide to swim, there are general safety precautions and swim etiquette guidelines you should follow. When swimming in the pool, follow the pool rules and know your limits. Avoid any horseplay around the water, and be aware of the pool’s emergency procedures. When you’re swimming in the ocean, especially as a beginner swimmer, you’ll want to stay in the areas that are supervised by lifeguards. As for general swimming etiquette, be courteous around other swimmers by respecting their space. BEGINNER SWIM WORKOUTS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS To help promote a healthy cardiovascular lifestyle, there are different swim workouts you can do. These low-impact exercises also offer full-body workouts. The aerobic exercises raise your heart rate and keep them elevated for an extended period, helping to build cardiovascular endurance. There’s a low risk of overheating as you exercise, since you’ll be in the nice, cool water as you swim. 1. Freestyle Intervals Freestyle intervals involve alternating between high-intensity swimming and periods of resting or slower swimming. Interval training can improve speed, endurance and overall performance. Remember to perform a warm-up before you start your freestyle intervals. You can warm up with easy swimming or gentle stretching to get you ready. After you’ve completed your freestyle interval workout, you’ll need to cool down with more easy swimming or gentle stretching to gradually bring your heart rate back down. 2. Incorporate Different Swim Strokes For a well-rounded workout, try incorporating different swim strokes. The freestyle or front crawl stroke is the most commonly used stroke known for speed and efficiency. A backstroke is swum on your back and can develop core strength while improving balance in the water. Breastrokes are ideal for toning your chest, shoulders and inner thighs. The most challenging of the strokes is the butterfly stroke since it requires upper body strength and coordination, working your chest, shoulder and core muscles. 3. Using Kickboards and Pull Buoys For a comprehensive workout, try combining pull buoys and kickboards. Alternate between kick sets and pull sets to keep your heart rate elevated. Kickboards target your leg muscles to improve your kicking technique and length strength, while pull buoys enhance your arm and shoulder strength, allowing you to concentrate on your pull technique. POST-SWIM REST AND RECOVERY Swimmers of all levels should practice a post-swim rest and recovery routine, and it’s especially important if you’re a new swimmer and not used to all the muscles you’re using for swimming. To help you maintain your overall health and optimize performance, here are a few tips that can aid with preventing injury after every swim session: 1. Gentle Water Aerobics Try water walking, where you walk back and forth in the shallow end of the pool to loosen up stiff muscles. Doing arm circles and knee lifts in the water will help with gentle mobility, flexibility and relaxation. Hold onto the edge of the pool and bicycle your legs in the water to work gently on your leg muscles and promote joint mobility. You may even want to just try floating and relaxing on your back or stomach. While floating, relax and focus on your breathing. 2. Water Jogging Slow jogging in the water will provide a low-impact workout on your legs. You’ll loosen up muscles while improving leg strength and flexibility. The water’s buoyancy can reduce the impact on your joints while still providing an easy cardiovascular workout. 3. Learning How to Tread Water If you don’t know how to tread water, this essential swimming technique is also a great tool for post-swim recovery. To tread water, you keep yourself afloat by standing in water that’s deeper than your height and bringing your knees up toward your chest. Then, you’ll start scissor-kicking your legs and can use your arms to help you stay afloat with basic arm circles or alternating arm lifts. Remember to breathe, keep your head above water with your chin up and stay relaxed as possible. 4. Enjoying Leisurely Swims Sometimes, the best post-swim recovery activity is just a nice and slow leisurely swim. If you’re enjoying a leisurely swim, you can look the part while wearing any of our sustainable rings. Instead of wearing your diamond engagement ring or wedding bands in the water where they can easily slip off and float off into the sea, wear these earth-friendly wedding bands that are easy on the earth and much more practical to wear when swimming. Browse all of our stackable ring options that can substitute your engagement ring and wedding bands when working out. Shop Our Stackable Wedding Ring Options MODIFYING YOUR SWIM WORKOUTS As you develop your experience as a swimmer, you’ll want to tailor the difficulty and intensity level of your swim workouts. Sometimes you’ll want easier workouts. Other times, you’ll want to make it more challenging to make gains in your workouts. To modify your workouts to make them easier or less intense, try reducing distance, increasing your rest intervals and choosing easier strokes. If you’re looking for more challenging modifications, try increasing your distance, reducing your rest intervals, mixing different strokes and incorporating more challenging ones. 1. Modifying Workouts for Limited Mobility For individuals with limited mobility, swimming offers low-impact exercise that’s gentle on the joints and beneficial for anyone with mobility challenges. To help modify your swim workouts where traditional swimming may be more challenging, try water walking and doing gentle exercises on the shallow end of the pool. Use flotation devices like pool noodles for extra support and stability. 2. Modifying Workouts for Weight Loss If one of your goals with swimming is to lose weight, you can modify your swim workouts to help you with your weight loss goal. To help you burn more calories, pump up your swim intensity with interval training and high-intensity intervals. Swim longer distances and mix strokes for variety. You’ll want to aim for regular swimming sessions to see results. Remember to set realistic goals and monitor your progress to stay motivated and see improvements over time. We’ve explored different swim workouts that are a great place to start for beginners but also great options regardless of your current fitness level, swimming abilities or goals. Any of these workouts can be used to improve cardiovascular fitness while building strength and endurance. Even if your overall goal is to just be able to enjoy a leisurely swim every now and then, you can combine any of these workouts to build up the confidence to become a leisurely swimmer anytime, anywhere. Look great while doing it with our wide selection of functional jewelry. QALO’s waterproof silicone jewelry is meant for enjoying whether you’re relaxing in the jacuzzi, swimming a few laps or enjoying a post-workout brunch. Image Credits Personal Belongings/Shutterstock.com korkeng/Shutterstock.com oleksboiko/Shutterstock.com Willyam Bradberry/Shutterstock.com