So, you have probably set a few goals for yourself in the past few months. But how are you going to achieve those goals? If you’re looking to lose weight or improve your fitness in any way, I have something that will help you. Go swimming and rowing! These are my two favorite ways to work out because there are so many challenges built in to each sport, and because they’re fun! Not to mention the tremendous amount of calories burned in a single session of either exercise. They are an excellent complement to any training regimen no matter your fitness goals.
So many of us spend hours each day sitting at a desk and then unwind with physical activity like tennis or running. Each of these everyday activities are slowly hurting your posture and pulling your shoulders forward. Rowing is a great way to counteract those everyday forces. When you row you’re engaging the largest muscles in your legs and everything up to your shoulders, including every muscle in your back. Since you’re using so many muscles at once, you’re burning a ton of calories and enhancing the effects you’re already getting from weightlifting.
Swimming can be a simple way to complement your normal routine. It gives your body a break from high-impact activities while developing upper body strength and working your core at the same time. Plus, we’ve all heard how many calories you can burn while swimming—a lot! Swimming will tone nearly every muscle in your body, leaving you feeling great and looking good.
Your challenge: Swim 500 yards while getting out of the pool for pushups every 25 yards. If you add a pushup for every lap (3 pushups on the 3rd lap, 20 pushups for the 20th lap) you’ll have done 210 pushups and swam 500 yards!
To learn more about rowing or swimming, or really anything fitness-related, feel free to contact me at the club. I am always happy to teach the many joys of rowing or swimming faster!
Get Started! Tell us about your goals!Written by Joseph Janzen, Personal Trainer & Swim Coach at Elite Sports Clubs-Mequon