i mean, for a good exercise/workout. i just started swimming a few weeks ago and i was wondering if sticking to one swim stroke particularly the breast stroke is good enough to keep you in shape or whatever..im not saying that im not open or dont want to learn the other ones, but im just wondering..o yea, and i swim every night for atleast 30 mins before dinner, is that good?? OPEN TO ANY ADVICE! thank you!
2007-11-19 18:48:58 · 8 answers · asked by ........ 4 in Health ➔ Men's Health
I'm a swimmer. I have developed osteoarthritis in my rotator cuff aggravated by performing freestyle backstroke and butterfly. So now .. all I do is breastroke. So, I do 3500m of breastroke every Tuesday and Thursday mornings... and it is a decent workout. I'm a little concerned it will blow out my knees next ... lol.
I only train 2 per week in the pool. Every day is the way to do it.
You should put a pair of flippers on... and do dolphin kick... two kicks to every breastroke arm stroke... I have found this to be a tremendous abs workout. I do 1500m of it every two weeks.
Another useful drill is to do freestyle kick (no flippers) and breastroke arms. This improves the efficiency of your arm motion as you attempt to reduce drag when throwing your arms forwards.
With your kick.... make sure your pointed toes eventually touch together so that you squeeze as much water behind you as possible to improve propulsion.
Enjoy.
2007-11-19 19:08:56 · answer #1 · answered by Icy Gazpacho 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One stroke would probably work only a select group of muscles constantly. That's not the best plan for getting in shape. There IS a reason why professional swimmers use more than one stroke, right? Try out many different strokes and really get your body worked up. That's the best way to make use of your energy and work out many parts of the body.
2007-11-19 20:45:20 · answer #2 · answered by ktownfarmboy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
swimming is one of the best things you can do for cardio. yes, 30 minutes is great, especially every night! i don't know much about the breast stroke... but i only know one style and that's freestyle. i don't really think it matters as far as being in shape if you only do one stroke or all of them. it's just the act of swimming in general that is great for your body. your still rotating your arms in the same way, even when you look at the other methods.
also, depending on your gender, in case you are female, swimming makes your upper body become more broad... you wouldn't want to "only" swim for exercise. if you're male, that's not a problem. keep it up though!!
2007-11-19 18:56:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Walking and swimming are the two best exercises. So 30 minutes before dinner is GREAT! The breast stroke is fine. It might get boring, and I think you should learn the basic crawl. (Also known as freestyle.) Be sure you're kicking your legs (under water with legs straight.) Keep up the great work!! Very heart smart. :)
2007-11-19 18:59:57 · answer #4 · answered by LadyLynn 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Each stroke you learn exercises different muscle groups. So to concentrate on just one stroke would be not as good as doing three or four.
Just as in weight lifting you need to exercise different muscle groups to balance the overall workout, the same goes for swimming
Enjoy
2007-11-19 23:57:28 · answer #5 · answered by .*. 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since you're in it for the exercise then yes, one stroke is sufficient. You'll still get all the benefits from the aerobic workout and the waters resistance. Heck I run and only have one running style and it's enough.
2007-11-19 20:44:53 · answer #6 · answered by iraq51 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's the exertion of moving your body through the water, so you can do it with just one stroke. I would be concerned about getting bored, though.
2007-11-19 18:53:22 · answer #7 · answered by barbara 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i personally love the breast stroke... try stroking more often...
2007-11-19 19:02:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋