It has always been said that swimming is the most complete sport of all, and that is not a lie: swimming works all the muscles of the body, which leads to weight loss. In this hot season we recommend putting on your swimsuit and daring with a HIIT routine to do in the pool and burn fat. Discover it.
HIIT routine to do in the pool
Why include HIIT exercises?
Swimming, as we already anticipated, is one of the most complete sports. Not only does it help exercise and tone the body, as well as burn fat, but it is sometimes recommended as a rehabilitation for injuries. If what you are looking for right now is to get rid of those extra kilos, then we recommend that you include the trendy HIIT exercises to do in the pool.
With this underwater routine you can considerably increase the body’s potential to burn fat. Remember that the HIIT routine consists of high intensity interval training, therefore, the traditional swimming routine becomes a kind of revolutionary training in which you will take your body to the maximum of its capacity. Also, did you know that exercising underwater is less stressful on your muscles?
What are HIIT exercises?
Short intervals of maximum effort exercises with recovery periods that require minimum effort. In fact, this type of exercise burns more calories than traditional cardio. Now imagine taking this routine to the water. And it is that swimming is a type of cardio that, when combined with HIIT, causes fat cells to be released into the bloodstream; these cells stop being fat cells and become fatty acids. HIIT is the key to releasing fat and transforming it, while cardio, in the form of swimming, burns it.
What is the HIIT routine to do in the pool?
There are actually two types of HIIT routines that you can do in the pool. Depending on your swimming skills we recommend you do one or the other. Even if you feel like being always submerged in the water due to the high temperatures, then you can alternate between both routines.
For expert swimmers
Okay, you don’t have to be Michael Phelps to do this routine, but you do need to master one of the 4 swimming strokes: front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. Start the HIIT routine like any other type of training: warming up. Take a couple of laps in the pool in the style that you master the most and without getting tired; the strongest is yet to come.
Take a lap of the pool, preferably 25 meters, with all the speed and intensity you can and freestyle. When you finish the lap, then swim 1-2 more laps at a slow pace to recover. If you master more than one style, then we recommend that you alternate between one and the other. For example, the butterfly is more difficult than the front crawl, so you could take a high intensity lap of the pool in this style and recover with 2 laps of front crawl. Remember, the recovery swimmer must perfectly fulfill its function because after those 2 laps you have to swim one lap at high intensity again.
We already told you that you don’t need to be a master of this sport, just be able to control it and execute it efficiently. It also depends on the physical condition you are in when you start this HIIT routine to do in the pool . You may only be able to last two or three reps, but that’s okay: you’re just starting out. If you incorporate these exercises progressively you will be able to execute them for a longer time. The ideal is that you manage to endure between 15 and 20 minutes of HIIT laps, with their respective recovery laps.
We advise you not to stop short after the high intensity lap. Your body may tell you to do this if you are very tired. Do not do it, you will lose what you have achieved during that brief execution in which you put all your effort. If you need more than two laps to recover, you can also do them: 3, maximum 4. The recovery period can be up to 2 minutes and it is recommended not to extend more than 45 minutes in total.
If you are not an expert in the water
There is this other type of HIIT routine to do in the pool that you can practice if you do not master the swimming styles or in case you want to alternate between routines. The exercises are quite simple and are the ideal type of training to start with HIIT. This routine that we propose is similar to a water aerobics class and it is enough to stand in the pool.
Start with a stretch like you would do out of the water (bringing your knees behind your back to stretch, for example). Then we suggest you do a short jog on your spot for a couple of minutes and then switch from jogging to a short run bringing your knees to your chest. You can help yourself by holding the edge of the pool and, instead of moving, stay in place by raising your legs with all the strength and intensity you can. Practice this exercise for 45 seconds and rest for another 45 seconds to catch your breath.
Jumps are another exercise that you can practice in the water. We invite you to repeat jumps by opening and closing your legs and raising and lowering your arms at the same time. Remember, the most important thing is to do it with speed and intensity. To recover, we suggest that you jog lightly in place, bringing your knees forward and at a good pace, to recover your pulse.
Do you know what else you can do in the pool as part of your HIIT routine? Squats . As if you were on land, the process is the same. Spread your legs slightly apart, hip-width apart, and try to jump as high and as fast as you can. Recover, again, with a light jog on your spot.
