11 Swim Workouts That Target Your Belly

Staying fit and maintaining a good body is a dream for many. People are very health conscious these days, and they are willing to do the hard work for building up their bodies and having good stamina. Looking slim and being free from fat and flabby body is not just a societal trend but an urge from within, in people, which keeps them motivated to continue the hard work they put in and working out and exhausting themselves for their bodies.

When people watch our TVs, who participate in any swimming competition, their instant observation is towards how fit the swimmers are. They have an excellent physique. The well-named and renowned Michael Phelps is known to be not only in the top men’s health magazine top 100 fittest man ever, but if you observe him, people will find how fit he is.

This article explores the reasons why people struggle to lose belly fat, swimming exercises for a strong core, and more.

Why Is It So Difficult to Have Abs?

People with six-pack abs are very celebrated in our society, and they are looked upon as business as fitness idols for aspiring bodybuilders. They provide the criteria and set an example of how an ideally fit body should look like. Athletes and sportspersons are still able to achieve abs in their bodies, but common people have a struggle to develop chiseled abs.

Hindrance and resistance of factors like alcohol, dehydration, sleep cycle decoration, smoking, and windy thing can help in achieving abs but the intrinsic motivation to work for once body and maintaining the discipline and keeping the self-check of following the set diet rules and working out patterns can only help in achieving the difficult target of having abs. 

How Can Swimming Help in Overcoming the Obstacles in Staying Fit and Lowering Belly Fat?

Like other sports, swimming is also very beneficial for our body, as it works upon the entire body by having its effects on the muscles. Along with strengthening the body posture and working upon hips, legs, and glutes, swimming can also bring strength to our body. It helps in strengthening the limbs, which is an issue that many people face.

It strengthens the chest, back, and muscles, where fat accommodation happens in most cases. Swimming helps in belly fat loss and chessling the muscles. Swimming not only helps in promoting stamina building and endurance of the body but at the same time saves the time of working out separately to reduce belly fat.

It causes the core bodies rotation up and down movement of lens and rotation of the fronts. These techniques are used in backstroke and freestyles. Other strokes also help in having leverage-like movement to have well-built abs. 

People get tired of working out for long hours and having minimal results. Swimming, on the other hand, is a very good activity which many people enjoy. In summers people prefer to go swimming on a regular basis and for people who are looking for a schedule for swimming can preferably go for swimming in summers as it will become a mutual and also disciplined activity to have great abdominal abs.

Water reduces the impact of the gravitational pull on the body, and a person feels more buoyant in water. This is why movements in water are less demanding for the body.(1) Thus, people who have chronic pain or injuries and have a difficult time working out in the gym, or pregnant women, are recommended to do water exercises to maintain optimum health.

Apart from being fun, swimming can work a person’s muscles without causing excessive fatigue to the joints and bones. Swimming or aquatic exercises can also be beneficial for the elderly and improve their mobility. Age and other factors can contribute to making the body stiff and causing aches in all kinds of places; swimming can help build muscles, lose fat, and improve overall health.

Although water reduces the effect of gravitation on the body, it is denser than air and provides resistance from multi-directions. When a person moves inside water, they have to fight the resistance of the water all around them. Thus, walking in a swimming pool takes more effort than walking on dry land surrounded by air.

How To Warm Up Before Swimming?

Warming up before swimming exercises is important for avoiding injuries and swimming more efficiently. It also helps in grounding the mind and focusing on swimming. Although you may be doing regular warmup exercises, there are certain specifications or modifications to the warmup exercises for swimming. Some of the warmup exercises for swimming exercises are listed below:

• Chest stretches by doing a wall press
• Goal post squeeze
• Goal post rotation
• Straight arm swings
• Hamstring stretches
• Cat-cow pose
• Child’s pose
• Quad stretches

Top 11 Swimming Exercises to Lose Belly Fat

Here is a list of some good and easy-to-do swimming workouts to transform your body.

1. Kickboard kicks

This swimming exercise for abs is suitable for beginners who are seeking their swimming lessons also other than the people who are already masters in swimming. 

People need to have their arms straight and hold a kickboard in front of them.

They should start kicking off the words and focus on pulling their body upwards at the water surface level. The navel should be contracted to be fine and relaxed in a spontaneous manner. In this way, when they cover the full length of the pool many times while they get exhausted, they will be able to burn a lot of calories and work upon their bellies.

2. Pikes

This swimming exercise for core targets the abs and arms. After standing in the pool, people should be up to their chest. After that, they should extend and strengthen both their legs forward into a pike position. It will form a V. Hold the position as long as possible in a continual manner to tone your Belly.

3. Tic-Toc

 Tic toc focuses upon your obliques, are side muscles, and gets you the abs you desire. Go to the shallow end of the pool. Stand with your feet apart. Lean down short so that you are submerged completely into the water until the elbow level. After this, come back to the original position. Repeat the same process on the other side and do it on a side-to-side basis 8 to 10 times. 

4. Flutter kicks

 This exercise focuses on reducing your hips and buttocks area fat along with the Belly. It is an exercise every beginner does. You have to just hold on to the sidewall of the pool or support at the shallow end and keep your body straight and above the surface level of water. Now start kicking so that your body automatically becomes afloat. Repeat the process till the time you get exhausted. 

5. Dolphin kicks

 This exercise not just looks beautiful when you are performing it but also focuses on the muscles of the core and makes you are Belly and body fat gone. Start by keeping your arms stretched and in a straight manner in front of you. Clasp your hands and hold a kickboard. Keep your core muscles tightened and try to move your body in a wave-like manner just as we encounter the dolphins in a dynamic motion. In the first step, push your chest downwards and try to keep your buttocks up, and then keep your hips should be down while the upper body should be kept up. Keep this continued as long as possible until you feel tired and cannot do more. 

6. Swimming with bands around ankles

 A pull buoy or bands between the ankles can help you in doing this exercise. To do this exercise, start swimming in a freestyle manner. The bands between uncle just and sure that you are doing the challenging workouts and do not compromise upon the satisfaction you have by doing the heavy workout sessions in the gym.

7. Running in the water

Running in shallow water from one side of the pool to the other is another type of swimming exercise for the core. The deeper the water, the heavier it will make a person feel while running. This is a good exercise whose intensity can be altered as per the person’s stamina.

Running in water will be different than running on land. One will require some adjustments in their running technique to fight resistance from the water. A person can run inside water by leaning forward from the ankles, bringing the legs into a high-knee position, before kicking back down to plunge forward. One can wear a heavy object on their chest or add weights to their body while running to quickly build muscle strength.

8. Push ups at the edge of the pool

This exercise for strengthening the body is as simple as it sounds. To perform this, one needs to place their hands on the edge of the pool (about shoulder width apart), engage the core, and lift the body weight using upper arm strength until the arms are fully extended and the toes are not touching the ground. Hold this pose for a few seconds, then lower the body slowly and repeat.

Not everyone has the upper body strength required to do this exercise; such people can jump slightly at the beginning to raise their body to lower the intensity and gradually decrease the force of the jump to nil by building strength over time.

9. Squat jumps

Although people usually don’t relate squats with a pool, doing this exercise regularly can build strength and improve balance. To practise this exercise, one has to place their feet hip-width apart in the shallow end of the pool and start squat jumping with an engaged core.

Squat jumping involves sitting back into the hips and heels with a flat foot and jumping while getting in the upright position, then sitting back again as soon as the person lands on the ground. While doing squat jumps in the pool, one has to make sure that their heads does not get underwater while performing this exercise.

People who are comfortable doing squat jumps can go all the way down while squatting and dunk their head underwater. Doing repetitions of this exercise (at a quick pace to increase the intensity) can create more resistance and get the heart pumping. One can also practise jumping lunges instead of squat jumps as a variation.

10. Jumping jacks

One can also perform jumping jacks in the pool at the deep end of the pool, wherever they feel comfortable. To do jumping jacks in the pool, one has to start by standing straight with their feet together and arms by the hips. Then, start jumping to stick out their feet a little more than hip-width apart and throw their arms up in the air simultaneously. One has to jump back to the starting position and repeat this for a while.

Lifting the hands up in the air may be a little distracting to the person due to the splashing it will cause. Thus, people can also lift their arms up to the water level. Adding weights to the ankles and wrists is a good way of increasing the intensity.

11. Wall grab

This exercise engages the core and may help burn belly fat. One can stand at the edge of the pool, facing the pool, and hold themselves using their elbows. Holding oneself up in a seated position with crossed legs engages the core. Maintaining this position for about 10 seconds or more, relaxing for the same amount of time, and repeating this as many times as one can is helpful in building a strong core.

How To Cool Down After Swimming?

As important as a warm up, a cool down after an intense swimming session can reset the mind in addition to relaxing the muscles. By performing cool down activities, a person can return their body and mind to a state of rest and promote quick recovery from the exercise. One can conclude their swimming session by doing the following:

• Lower the pace at the end of the swimming circuit
• Stretching the body, especially quads, hamstrings, arms, and chest
• Body massage
• Sleep and/or meditation

Takeaway

By adding these water exercises for belly fat to your swimming routine, you can easily have your belly fat gone within a very short span after starting these exercises. It is important to do these in a regular and disciplined manner and keep a check on your diet.

Losing belly fat can be difficult for many people, and they may find swimming exercises to be quite effective. Picking out a challenging stroke, even if one doesn’t want to exercise, is also a good way of getting the body to work. Additionally, pausing for a few seconds or up to a minute in between different exercises in a workout circuit can be beneficial. Using swimming tools to increase total body mass may improve the metabolic rate.

With swimming exercises to lose belly fat, it is also important to exercise caution as there is a possible risk of drowning. A trained swimmer may have a seizure while swimming that may cause them to drown if no one else is around to help. Additionally, people who have chronic conditions or other health problems are advised to consult their doctor before starting to swim.