Having a swimmer’s body is a goal for many fitness swimmers. Most agree that elite swimmers have one of the most desirable body shapes of all athletic types.
Swimming provides an excellent cardio workout and tones your body by strengthening muscles all over. Swimming can help you tone muscle groups and improve your overall physical fitness with just a few hours of practice each week.
There is no doubt that swimming is a great way to get fit and stay in shape.
However, as a recreational swimmer, or simply one who does not swim 6 hours per day like professional athletes, does swimming really tone our bodies?
In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of swimming for toning your body, how long it takes to see results, and what type of swim strokes are best for toning different areas of the body, answering the most commonly asked questions about swimmer bodies such as:
- Does swimming tone your body?
- How many times a week should I swim to tone up?
- What to do if you are not seeing toned muscle?
- Does swimming tone your stomach?
- Which swimming stroke is best for toning?
Does Swimming Tone Your Body?
Swimming is a great way to get a full-body workout and tone your muscles. It increases muscle strength and endurance, as well as cardiovascular health, making it an excellent choice for people of all fitness levels. [source]
When you swim, you use all the major muscle groups in your body, from your legs and abs to your back, shoulders and arms. This makes it different from other forms of exercise since you are using so many muscles simultaneously.
Swimming tones your body by engaging several muscle groups throughout your body, including those in the arms, shoulders, legs, and core. Each stroke helps to strengthen and tone these muscles, helping you achieve a well-rounded physique. Swimming also increases endurance and flexibility, making sure that an individual can keep up with their workout goals.
Swimming is also a low-impact exercise, meaning it puts less strain on your joints than running or other high-impact activities. This makes it ideal for people who may have joint issues or are looking for an exercise that’s easier on the body.
There is no doubt that swimming is an excellent way to get in shape, tone your body and improve your health. If you’re looking for a low-impact exercise that provides an effective full-body workout, swimming is a perfect choice.
How Many Times A Week Should I Swim To Tone Up?
How long it takes to see results from swimming will depend on an individual’s commitment and consistency in the pool, as well as their fitness level.
Generally speaking, most people will start to see results after 6-8 weeks of swimming 30 minutes, twice per week. [source]
The more you swim, the better your body will be toned and the more muscle definition you will have.
What To Do If You Are Not Seeing Toned Muscle?
I want to share my personal experience here, as I can see why swimming may not be the great muscle toner that everyone claims it is in reality.
There is no doubt that swimming tones muscles. As you swim, the water offers resistance to your muscles, which causes them to work hard and tone up with time.
I swim one mile nearly every day. However, I do not have a fantastically toned body. I have strong core and back muscles, however, these muscles are hidden beneath the fat. I certainly do not look lean.
So what is going on here? Why are my daily one-mile swims not turning me into a ripped miss universe?
If you are swimming regularly, but do not see any physical differences in your body shape, then consider some of the following points that could be hindering your progress towards a toned body.
1. Eating Too Many Calories.
Swimming is a calorie burner, and as a result, we can often feel very hungry after a swim.
In the past, I have fallen into the trap of overeating after my swims. You may think you have burned more calories than you actually did and treat yourself to some post-swim high-sugar snacks.
Eating more calories than you are actually burning in the pool is a very common mistake made by recreational or fitness swimmers. This is something I have tripped up on in the past.
You may have heard people say that “swimming makes them fat”, when in fact, their post-swim appetite causes them to consume more calories than their swim burned, and as a result, they gain weight.
2. Swimming Without Intensity
When fitness gurus hold up pictures of Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky, as examples of how amazingly toned swimming can make us, they are failing to point out that elite swimmers such as Phelps and Ledecky swim for much longer and with greater intensity than your average everyday swimmer.
Yes, we can all look like Phelps and Ledecky if we have the time to train for hours every day in the pool and have a coach who can gradually turn up the intensity of our swims so we are always toning our muscles.
However, most of us get an hour a day in a busy pool if we are lucky. So how do we make the most of our swimming time to get the best-toned results?
In order to tone our muscles as we swim, we have to increase the intensity with which we swim and the resistance our body faces in the water.
For example, I swim one mile every day at the same pace. I am not currently trying to increase my swimming intensity or using any training aids to increase the load on my muscles.
Right now, my body has adapted to this swim duration. If I continue swimming one mile a day for the next year at my current level, it is highly unlikely that I will look any more toned one year from today.
Yes, underneath my current fat layer I will have strong and tight muscles, but without changing my diet, increasing the load on my muscles, or turning up the intensity to push my muscles to the max, I will not progress any further from where I am today in the toned muscle department.
In order to build muscle, you need to lift weights more than your muscles are used to. [source]
When we swim, we are just pulling our body weight. Therefore, as we adjust to our current swimming intensity, our muscles will tone up and tighten, but they will not “grow”.
If you want to build muscle, then you need to introduce resistance training (weights) and gradually increase the intensity of your swims so that you are continually pushing your muscles beyond their comfort zone.
Using training aids such as hand paddles is a great way to add a resistive load to your muscles.
If you find that you have hit a plateau in the pool and your muscle toning progress has stopped, try turning up the intensity of your swims by swimming faster or introducing training aids such as hand paddles.
To learn more about how to tone your muscles while swimming, check out this article which covers the topic in greater detail:
Does Swimming Tone Your Stomach?
Swimming can be an effective way to tone your stomach, as it engages most of the major muscles in your core. By regularly performing a range of swimming strokes, such as freestyle and breaststroke, you can help strengthen your abdominal muscles and achieve a toned stomach.
It is important to point out that stomach toning is a side effect of swimming. It is not possible to target belly fat directly. With regular swimming, you will lose fat from all over your body, including the stomach, and as a result, will eventually achieve a toned stomach. [source]
Swimming also helps to engage more stabilising muscles, such as the obliques and transverse abdominous. This, in turn, helps to improve balance, posture and stability.
It is important to remember that swimming alone cannot give you a toned stomach; it needs to be combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise to be successful.
Additionally, how long it takes to tone your stomach depends on how often you swim, the intensity of your workouts and other elements such as nutrition.
Generally, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to notice results if you are consistent with your swimming routine.
To learn more about using swimming to tone your stomach, I have covered this in greater detail in this article, Does Swimming Burn Belly Fat? (How to swim for weight loss)
Which Swim Stroke Is Best For Toning?
Swimming is a total body workout, with each stroke helping to tone and strengthen different muscles. Of the four main swim strokes – breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle – the butterfly is the most effective for toning.
1. The Butterfly
The reason the butterfly is the most effective for toning muscles is that it requires the most energy. The butterfly stroke is an explosive movement, utilising both your arms and legs in a simultaneous motion that creates more resistance than other strokes. This extra resistance helps build strength and tone muscles faster because it engages more muscle groups simultaneously with high intensity.
2. The Freestyle (Front Crawl)
Swimming freestyle is good for toning, but not as effective as the butterfly.
The freestyle stroke requires you to move your arms and legs in opposite directions, which helps strengthen your core and back muscles. It also keeps your heart rate up for an extended period, helping to burn more calories and tone faster.
3. The Backstroke
The backstroke is an ideal stroke for toning the arms. It helps to build strength in the triceps and biceps and works them both simultaneously.
It also works the back, abdominal, and leg muscles due to the interplay between pushing off with your legs and pulling with your arms as you move through the water.
4. The Breaststroke
The breaststroke is a slower, more gentle stroke that works the muscles of the chest, back and core. It is an effective way to tone your upper body muscles and increase endurance.
The breaststroke requires you to move both arms simultaneously in a circular motion along with keeping your legs together in a frog-like kick.
It is important to remember that swimming alone will not give you toned muscles; it is just one part of an overall fitness routine.
Weight training, cardio exercises, and a healthy diet are all necessary for achieving the best results. However, if you want to tone your body by swimming, the butterfly is the best stroke, followed by the front crawl.
To learn more about the different muscle groups used in swimming, check out this article which shows the specific muscles each swim stroke uses.
Final Thoughts
Swimming tones your body over time. However, it is important to swim regularly and train effectively using resistant training and training aids in order to see results.
Swimming is an excellent form of exercise to help tone your body, burn fat and improve overall health. With dedication and consistency, swimming can help you achieve your toning and fitness goals.
Incorporating different strokes into your workout routine and using training aids can help increase the resistive load seen by your muscles, which will help them tone faster.
Happy swimming!