Find a swimming style that focuses on the muscles you want to train

Plenty has been already written about the benefits of swimming as a health, fitness, and body shape booster. But have you thought about pool workouts as a way to work on specific muscle groups? Let’s take a close look at the most popular swimming styles. Find out which one will work best for you.

01 June 2023

No matter what swimming style you prefer, during a regular swimming routine you engage almost all of your body’s muscles. This is essential not only to move efficiently in the water, but also to maintain the correct position of the body, depending on the stroke you swim. Every swimming style works the following muscle groups:

deep abdominal and lower back muscles – by keeping them taut, you maintain a correct straight body position, resulting in less resistance from the water;
shoulder muscles – essential for creating propulsion and achieving the widest reach of the arms;
forearm muscles – you engage them by pulling your arms towards you to swim faster;
upper back muscles – responsible for stabilizing the shoulders while swimming;
gluteal and biceps femoris muscles – contribute to holding the correct body position in the water ‍and maintaining the desired swimming speed.

Breaststroke – which muscle groups does it engage?

The breaststroke is a popular swimming style requiring rhythm and dynamic balance between strong arm and leg movements. The leg action of the breaststroke is accompanied by a full range of arm motion, similarly to bench pressing. Efficient breaststroke swimming requires a relatively small number of stroke repetitions, but they must be powerful enough to maintain the swimming speed.

The breaststroke is a swimming style targeting primarily the following muscle groups:

pectoralis major muscles and arm muscles;
latissimus dorsi muscles;
quadriceps femoris muscles;
biceps and triceps muscles;
gastrocnemius muscles.

Important! Many swimmers get the breaststroke wrong by keeping their head above water all the time – craning their neck and pushing the abdomen out. In addition to being inefficient, this swimming position puts a strain on the cervical and lumbar spine. To swim breaststroke correctly, you need to submerge your head with each stroke cycle and synchronize your breathing appropriately.

Find out more by reading the article “How to do breathing exercises and increase lung capacity? 12 easy exercises”.

Front crawl – which muscles does it train?

The front crawl (or freestyle) is the fastest of all swimming styles, which is due to vigorous movements of the arms and hands along the vertical axis of rotation, supported by powerful leg movements. The freestyle engages large muscle complexes in the arms and legs, as well as deep abdominal muscles which are put in motion during hip rotation. The specific features of the front crawl make it especially suitable for tall swimmers with long limbs.

When swimming the front crawl, you strengthen:

trapezius muscles;
pectoralis major muscles and arm muscles;
biceps, triceps, and forearms;
latissimus dorsi muscles;
gluteal and abdominal muscles;
biceps femoris and quadratus femoris muscles.

Backstroke – is it good just for back muscles?

The backstroke seems to be the most relaxing of all swimming styles. More advanced backstroke swimmers seem to be able to swim multiple lengths of the pool without any effort. In actual fact, the dynamics of the backstroke involves a fine-tuned, alternating rhythm of movement of the muscles of the back and chest, while the arms are engaged to a lesser extent than in other swimming techniques.

When doing the backstroke, you work the following muscle groups:

latissimus dorsi muscles;
trapezius muscles;
pectoralis major muscles;
gluteal and abdominal muscles;
quadriceps femoris muscles;
gastrocnemius muscles.

Butterfly stroke – which muscles does it target?

Butterfly stroke is not as fast as the front crawl, but more intense and demanding for the swimmer. To swim butterfly, you need a good breathing technique, considerable strength, and excellent coordination of the lower and upper body. The cumulative effect of these elements determines the correct technique and dynamics of swimming. The effects are easy to see in professional butterfly swimmers. Characteristically, they have broad shoulders, well-built arms, and sculpted abdominal and gluteal muscles.

The butterfly stroke primarily targets the following muscle groups:

shoulders, biceps and triceps;
pectoralis major muscles;
gluteal and abdominal muscles;
latissimus dorsi muscles;
spinal erectors;
biceps femoris and quadratus femoris muscles.

Who will reap the most benefits from swimming?

Each swimming style engages multiple muscle groups. During pool workouts you do resistance training, building up body strength and endurance. In view of the specific nature of swimming, when your body has to work against the resistance of water, pool training offers particular advantages to:

children and adolescents – swimming develops postural muscles responsible for holding the body in an upright position and maintaining a healthy spine, and improves psychomotor development;
people with sedentary lifestyles – swimming engages the muscle groups that get neglected the most when sitting at a desk or in front of the TV;
people suffering from joint problems – swimming is a low-impact activity, so it puts minimal stress on your joints, reducing the risk of pain and injury.
people who want to strengthen their core – swimming works nearly all muscles in your torso, promoting their harmonious growth;
pregnant women – swimming has a positive effect on the abdominal and pelvic muscles, and reduces the risk of postpartum complications;
elderly people – swimming improves general fitness with minimal risk of injury.

If you want to enjoy the full benefits of swimming, don’t limit yourself to one style. As in any other sport, trying new things usually carries a wealth of benefits. If you want to find out which swimming technique is best for your training goals, consult a swimming coach.

One final pro tip: swimming is an endurance sport, and a typical swim workout consists of a high number of repetitions at medium intensity. Swimming engages multiple muscle groups in your body. So if you decide to take up regular swimming, the first pool workout will help you identify the most ignored parts of your body. Consequently, if you want to achieve the best results, consider combining swimming with other types of physical activity, such as gym workouts.

If you follow this approach, note that a typical strength exercise program with heavy loads is not as important as building muscle endurance through an increased number of repetitions.

To get the most benefits out of swimming, allow ample time for body recovery and stick to a well-balanced diet.

Do you want to know more? Read the article “What are the best foods to eat before and after a swim so that you don’t hurt yourself”.

.............

_References:

_{1. https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.}

_{2. https://chasethewater.com/.}

_{3. https://www.simplyswim.com/.}

_{4. https://marathonhandbook.com/.}

_{5. https://revelsports.com/}

_{6. https://portalplywacki.pl/.}

_{7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/782376/.}

_{8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17615512/.}