If you’re wondering whether swimming builds muscle, the short answer is yes, but you may need to include other types of exercise if you want to get “toned.”
Swimming is essentially a type of resistance training in which the water offers “resistance” as you try to move forward. As with all resistance exercise, performing this exercise repeatedly will eventually lead to positive muscular adaptations (read: you get stronger). However, if you want to get bigger muscles, you may need to add some larger forms of resistance.
We spoke to a physical therapist to find out exactly how swimming builds muscle, which muscles different strokes target, and how to increase the intensity for faster gains.
Tracy Ward is a qualified Physical Therapist with years of experience working with clinical patients and sports groups. She is also a Pilates teacher and the founder of Freshly Centered (opens in new tab).
Does Swimming Build Muscle?
As described above, swimming has a positive effect on muscles if it is carried out for a sufficiently long period of time.
Physiotherapist Tracy Ward from Freshly Centered (opens in new tab)He says: “Swimming is movement against water resistance, and any form of movement against external resistance builds muscle.”
“When you swim, muscles are built by the resistance of the water and the effort required to propel yourself through the water. However, swimming alone would only build muscle to a limited extent.”
This means that it’s possible to plateau with your muscle growth if swimming is your primary form of exercise. To counteract this, Ward suggests increasing the amount of exercise, which would mean swimming more often or longer.
Alternatively, you could grab a pair of the best adjustable dumbbells (opens in new tab) and start doing some specific weightlifting sessions alongside your swimming routine.
Which muscles are used when swimming?
As a total body workout, swimming works almost every muscle in the body and can give you a more balanced, athletic physique than weight training.
It’s also low-impact – putting less stress on joints and bones.
Ward says, “The major muscle groups involved in swimming are the glutes, which are responsible for the leg movement in all strokes. The gluteus maximus – the largest of the glutes – is the primary engine for hip extension and power generation. The latissimus dorsi (back) muscle drives upper arm movements and most of the pulling.
“The deltoids (shoulders), biceps (front of arms), triceps (back of arms) all assist in upper body movements. The pecs (chest), quadriceps (front of thigh), hamstrings (back of thigh) function in all leg movements, while calves (lower legs) point toward the ankles.”
Do different punches target different muscles?
All of the strokes give a good workout to the body’s major muscle groups, from the abs, back, forearms, shoulders, hamstrings and glutes. But mixing your punches will continue to target specific muscle groups, Tracy says.
“The latissimus dorsi (a muscle at the back of the body) drives upper limb pulls and overhead movements and supports the pectorals and deltoids. The glutes are heavily involved in all strokes, as are the quadriceps and hamstrings.
breaststroke: “The more dominant muscles are the hip and leg muscles, specifically the hip abductors, which pull the legs away from the body, and the hip adductors bring them back together. The chest muscles help the swimmer initiate the stroke.”
Butterfly: “This pull has more of an upper body emphasis—that is, the lats, deltoids, and upper traps (around the neck and upper shoulder)—when the arms extend through such a wide range of motion overhead. The pecs are dominant when it comes to bringing your arms up towards your body. The hip flexors and quadriceps perform the movement of hip flexion (flexion), while the glutes and hamstrings counteract this movement with hip extension (opening).
backstroke: “This punch again relies heavily on the latissimus dorsi, as well as the deltoids and triceps (back of the arms) which support the upper body. The quadriceps (front thighs) and pecs (chest) work extra hard to keep the swimmer afloat.”
crawl forward: “The forward crawl uses a mix of all muscles, but the body relies more on the long arm and leg levers to generate power. A strong core is essential for this stroke, and like most strokes, the lats, pecs, glutes and hamstrings are heavily involved.”
How much swimming do you have to do to build muscle?
This depends on your base fitness level, says Ward.
“If you’re new to swimming or a sport, this activity builds muscle faster because the body is overloaded with a greater resistance than it’s used to,” explains Ward.
“Regardless of the fitness level, the muscles are quickly subjected to resistance due to the high number of repetitions of the swimming strokes and build muscle.
“But regular swimmers would have to improve their training on a regular basis or add some form of extra strength training to keep building muscle.
“This is because strength gains occur when the body is under ‘progressive overload’ (opens in new tab)‘, so if you want to see an improvement in muscle mass (or hypertrophy). (opens in new tab)) you need to exercise regularly—about three times a week for eight to 12 weeks.
“This gives the muscles time to endure microtrauma — tiny tears in the muscle fiber — from exercise. These tears in the muscle then repair themselves and grow as a result. The more this happens, the stronger the muscle becomes.”
Besides swimming, what other exercise should you do to build muscle?
A mix of aerobics (cardio) and strength training alongside regular swimming helps build muscle.
“Strength or weight training (opens in new tab) is by far the best supplement to building muscle through swimming,” says Ward. “That way, you can graduate the amount of weight lifted and gradually increase the weight to then strengthen the muscle.
“Strength training also increases bone density (opens in new tab) and builds stronger bones, which can then support muscles as they pull on bone to function. Swimming is a non-impact, anti-gravity sport while bone strength, and therefore muscle strength, is built through impact and gravity. So for maximum performance, swimmers need to do strength training.”
Swimming combined with strength training (known as simultaneous training) resulted in better athletic performance than without, a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found (opens in new tab).
Ward says, “This underscores the need for swimmers to do strength training to improve performance and build muscle.”
“Core exercises like Pilates should also be incorporated to ensure a strong core and a stable center from which to move the upper and lower limbs,” says Ward.
“The stronger the core, the more the limbs can move and generate power through the arms and legs. More power means more speed and power.”
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