Swimming is an ever-exhaustive exercise performed by an individual. The execution of each swimming stroke involves the rhythmic and coordinated movements of almost every individual body part. These body parts include arms, feet, legs, torso, head, and hands. Each stroke performed amongst the several strokes ensures an intense use of your muscular strength so that you can enjoy a full-body workout. However, a swimmer's most significant advantage is the availability of essential swimming pool products and training equipment that allow him/her to mix up the training while improving technique, efficiency, and increasing swimming strength.
We already know that the relentless repetition of each stroke may result in improved muscular development. Let's now gain deeper insight about each stroke and the other health benefits associated with it.
Different swimming strokes and their benefits:
1) Freestyle/Front Crawl
Freestyle is the most common and prevalent swimming stroke when you talk of freestyle swimming events. During freestyle swimming the body is kept parallel to the surface of the water. The alternative arm movements work like a windmill motion (pulling and pushing underwater and then recovering the arms over it to let you propel along the surface of the water swiftly. The legs perform a flutter kick with pointed feet as they move up and down in alternation.
Health Benefits
Being the fastest of all strokes, this particular stroke comes with the maximum calorie-burning potential. Swimming freestyle tones your stomach, buttocks, and shoulders. Freestyle is that specific stroke that also has a significant impact on the toning of back muscles. Here, essential swimming pool products help you work on your technique, efficiency, and output apart from the skills you bring to the table.
2) Backstroke
With the involvement of similar movements as the front crawl, the backstroke, as the name suggests, focuses on the body's backside. The upper body posture must be kept parallel and straight to the water's surface with the head high up. The arms will perform the same windmill-like motion, but in reverse to Freestyle, and will help you propel through the water. Again, the legs will engage in a flutter kick with the lower body slightly underwater for better control while propelling.
Health Benefits
This swimming stroke comes as a solution to people with back problems or those who have trouble putting their face in the water. Backstroke works to tone the stomach, legs, arms, shoulders, and buttocks. Consistent execution of the backstroke will balance your muscle gains of freestyle by working a wider range of your shoulders, chest, and back muscles.
3) Breaststroke
This is the slowest competitive swimming stroke, but also one that generates more power. If the Freestyle is a sports car, Breaststroke is a semi truck - not as fast, but incredibly powerful. Being considered as the most fundamental stroke, breaststroke is often taught as a survival technique first. Again the stomach faces downwards, and the hands perform a simultaneous motion beneath the water's surface in a half circular pattern in front of the face. The legs are engaged in a whip kick that has to coordinate with the arms for effective propulsion. Your breathing movements have to gel well with the execution of the stroke.
Health Benefits
Breaststroke is the best swimming form of muscle-building workout. Known as a “short axis” stroke, the stroke movement relies on compressing and extending the body through the hips and torso. The majority of this strokes energy comes from the legs, thus the largest muscles in your body are activated throughout every stroke repetition. With so much energy being activated from the swimmer’s legs, having swim training equipment can allow the user to prolong their training, and even focus on key techniques to improve their performance and endurance. Therefore, swim training equipment has to be in each swimmers bag
4) Butterfly stroke
A butterfly stroke is the perfect, and challenging, source of an excellent workout regime. This stroke can prove to be the most gruelling and a very tiring exercise at the same time. Nevertheless, learning this stroke is a lot of fun since the body position that the swimmer has to be in is often the closest we can get to swimming like a dolphin. The body has to be placed horizontally, with the stomach facing the bottom of the pool. The arms have to be pushed from over the head and then simultaneously made to go underneath the surface to let you propel through. The legs here perform a dolphin kick, which requires them to stay together and straight as you kick them, similar to how a dolphin's lower body and tail move. The wave-like propagation has to be performed to swim in this position.
Health Benefits
This stroke can only be performed with the perfect synchronization of the entire body. It is undoubtedly one of the most challenging strokes that a swimmer can perform. Involving the upper body's core, overhead arm movements, and constant dolphin kicking of both legs at the same time all the moving parts engaged via Butterfly tone the arms, chest, stomach, and back muscles. Again, utilizing swim training equipment can not only prolong your training, but allow you to focus on the specific arm, core, or leg motions to improve technique, efficiency, and endurance.
A glimpse of all the benefits the different swimming strokes gift you with:
- Swimming strokes are the best cardiovascular exercise that keeps the heart rate up and reduces the body's overall stress impact.
- Swimming strokes build the core upper body strength, endurance and enhance the overall fitness regime.
- Performing each of the swimming strokes ensures that you maintain a healthy body, a healthy heart, and a lifelong activity with limited joint stress.
- Swimming is the best source of an everyday workout that marks the perfect balance of muscle toning and cardio fitness.