How to Build Endurance in Swimming: Endurance Training Tips

If you want to swim well, cover long distances without losing speed, then you will need to work on your endurance. It is necessary not only for professional swimmers, but also for amateurs. From our article you will learn how to increase endurance in swimming , why a swimmer needs to be more enduring.

The Importance of Endurance in Swimming

Endurance is a key aspect that helps you cover long distances and endure even the most intense workouts more easily. Insufficient levels of this characteristic lead to the following negative consequences:

• Reduced concentration and efficiency of movements over long distances. This is especially important for those who train for the purpose of participating in competitions.
• Reduced speed and distance covered. As a result, motivation decreases. Few people want to immediately feel exhausted and tired after covering a short distance.
• Decreased efficiency from training. Instead of rest and relaxation after a busy working day, on the contrary, the physical and psychological state is further aggravated.

Regularly increasing your endurance makes swimming as productive and effective as possible, no matter what goals and objectives you set for yourself.

The influence of endurance on swimming performance

With a good endurance level you will be able to:

• swim for long periods of time without having to stop often, constantly progressing in covering distances;
• feel great both during and after swimming, including a great mood;
• be able to maintain a great pace throughout the entire distance;
• take part in various competitions.

As the distances you swim become longer over time, you become more motivated.

Endurance training in the pool

It is recommended to improve your swimming endurance by visiting a swimming pool. In an artificial closed reservoir, you should train according to the following scheme:

1. Increase the distance. Never try to cover large distances at once. Do interval training and increase the distance you swim regularly and gradually. Be sure to rest periodically. This is what will gradually develop physically and increase your speed in the water.
2. Do breathing exercises. In addition to physical endurance, respiratory endurance is also important for a swimmer. Be sure to breathe either through your mouth or your nose. There is no need to combine them.
3. Vary the intensity of your workouts. You don’t need to train at the same pace all the time. Monotony is bad for motivation and can cause severe fatigue. For example, if you constantly swim at a high intensity pace, this can lead to fatigue and have the opposite effect.
4. Use swimming equipment. Swimming lessons do not have to be monotonous. You can always use a raft, fins, masks, pool clothes, etc. Firstly, it will help to increase the load. Secondly, it will make the training more diverse.
5. Give yourself enough rest. The recovery time after any physical activity is about 24 hours. If you swim every other day, you can easily avoid the feeling of fatigue in your limbs.

Regularity is also important. Visit the pool at least three times a week. When your body and muscles get stronger, you can increase the frequency of visits.

What is the best swimming style?

To swim long distances, you need to be mentally and physically prepared. Distances from 4 to 5 km are considered long. If compared to running, this is a half marathon. Ultramarathons in swimming are considered distances from 15 km. Only experienced swimmers with excellent endurance can overcome such distances.

People think about developing endurance in swimming precisely when they want to swim longer and faster. The ideal choice for this purpose is the front crawl. The style provides high speed in covering long distances in the water and requires less energy.

To get less tired and swim further without losing speed, you need to:

• Give your muscles a short rest by using a long sliding stroke above the surface and a powerful, amplitude stroke under the surface of the water. This way, you can avoid acidification of muscle tissue.
• Minimize the work of the lower limbs. It is the movement of the legs during swimming that accounts for the greatest expenditure of energy. In crawl, the transition to an economical mode is achieved by using the lower limbs as a support for the stroke.
• Pay attention to the maximum oxygen consumption. The indicator directly affects how long your muscles can remain in aerobic mode without becoming acidic.
• Don’t ignore your moral state. Bad mood and wrong attitude negatively affect the body’s readiness for upcoming loads.

Never go swimming in a bad mood. You can’t swim if you have a cold or any signs of poor health. Over time, when your body is strong enough, you will get sick less often, but even then, you should not forget about this recommendation.

Variations of training using different swimming styles

Crawl is an ideal stroke for covering long distances and training endurance, but it is not the only one. You may also like these other variations:

• Mixed. A combination of breaststroke, freestyle, dolphin, butterfly and backstroke in various segments will also be a great challenge and will push the limits of your current endurance level.
• Interval training. Similar to the previous option, but involves alternating at certain equal distances.
• Sprint. Consists of overcoming a fifty-meter sprint in a competitive style, but in one specific style. Great for improving technique.
• Marathon. An ideal option for group training with like-minded people. It consists of a long training session lasting several hours with a change of styles.

Alternating different swimming styles is not only a way to diversify your workouts and increase your endurance, but also to engage different muscle groups. Consequently, absolutely all muscles become prepared for the load.

How to train to increase swimming endurance?

Developing endurance in swimming is a long and painstaking process that requires a thorough approach:

1. Train regularly and at the same time. This will allow the body to adapt to the upcoming loads and get equal time for rest.
2. Increase the load gradually. Add ten percent to the distances covered once a week. After a month, add one training day or twenty percent of the distance covered.
3. Always work on technique. In the pursuit of distance and speed of the distance covered without the correct technique, you can reach a point where progress simply stops.
4. Work on dry land. Many will find this advice strange, but strength training is of no small importance for a swimmer. Endurance is developed not only by swimming, but also by doing exercises with your own weight, weights, a pull-buoy, brakes, shoulder blades, and a parachute.
5. Do breathing exercises. The first training sessions in the pool should be done in such a way that the mastery of technique and breathing is honed. Later, they will simply become automatic, but this will require time and hard work.
6. Eat right and rest. Give up junk food and empty calories. Review your diet, including foods and dishes rich in protein, fats and complex carbohydrates. Rest well and properly. You need to sleep at least 7-8 hours.

Therefore, training in the pool alone is not enough. To swim well, you need to completely revise your daily routine, devote time to proper sleep and nutrition.

Monitoring and evaluating endurance improvement

Tracking your achievements is the key to success in progression. This is achieved in the following way:

1. Record your workouts. Keep a journal in which you write down the distance, time, and how you feel after each session.
2. Do special tests. Periodically arrange swims for certain distances and number of repetitions, constantly increasing the load. This is the best way to check how much your swimming endurance has increased.
3. Work with a trainer. It is not necessary to swim under the supervision of a specialist all the time, but it is recommended to consult periodically. An alternative option is to make videos of your workouts. Many experienced trainers can conduct excellent analysis and give recommendations after watching.
4. Use assistive devices. Special watches for tracking swimming or applications installed on a smartphone will be excellent assistants.
5. Set a goal. Decide in advance what level of endurance you want to achieve. Divide the final goal into small stages and constantly progress.

These recommendations will help you stay motivated. By constantly monitoring your progress and achieving certain results, you will clearly see that your efforts and training are not in vain.

Swimming is one of the best ways to stay in great physical shape and overall health. By developing endurance, even amateur swimmers begin to feel much more comfortable in the water and get maximum pleasure from swimming. The main thing is to be patient and not stop training.