Does this sound familiar?
It’s 10 minutes before swim lessons. Your kids are dancing, singing and skipping around with excitement.
swim lessons are a lot of fun, but did you know that they’re actually an excellent activity for building muscle? And, unlike other common after-school activities like soccer and baseball, a swimming workout is a great total body workout, strengthening everything from the core to the legs to the arms.
When you think about it, it makes sense. In swimming, a whole lot of muscles are working together as your kids are pushing, pulling and kicking their way through the water.
If you’re curious exactly which muscle groups are being worked, you’re in luck—we just happened to compile a list for each of the four swimming strokes:
Freestyle & Backstroke
- Triceps
- Biceps
- Deltoids
- Abdominals
- Gluteals
- Ribcage intercostals
- Chest pectorals
- Hip stabilizers
- Calves
- Feet
- Quadriceps (freestyle only)
- Hamstrings (backstroke only)
Breaststroke
- Pectorals
- Biceps
- Deltoids
- Triceps
- Gluteals
- Quads
- Hamstrings
- Calves
Butterfly
- Abdominals
- Back muscles
- Lumbar
- Hip
- Gluteals
To learn exactly how each of these muscle groups are worked within each stroke, we encourage you to check out this article on the LIVESTRONG website.
Still not sold on swimming? How about this? It’s also a fantastic cardiovascular alternative to running, and is much easier on your children’s joints because there isn’t that constant foot-to-cement impact. Think about it this way: in running, there is only the air to contend with, which we all can agree is pretty light. But in the pool, the body has to face all of the resistance created by the water. Basically, muscles have to work harder to perform the same type of aerobic activity; as a result, they get stronger, lengthen and gain flexibility (Source: Human Kinetics)!
So, the next time your kids hoot and holler about going to swim lessons, smile to yourself because they might not know it, but they’re really doing something healthy for themselves.
Can’t wait to get them started? Visit our registration page to get them enrolled today.
