Swimming to Lose Weight: Is Swimming Good for Weight Loss?

By Inbound Pursuit

swimming to lose weight

Part of what makes losing weight so challenging is the monotony of constantly hitting the treadmill - boring! Or, maybe you’re struggling with the toll constantly running takes on your knees, hips, and ankles. 

Whatever the case, there’s a far better way to jumpstart your weight loss journey or add some variety to it. We’re here to talk about swimming to lose weight. 

But, is swimming good for weight loss? Absolutely! Just look at some of the top swimmers’ bodies, they’re shredded from head to toe. It’s because swimming is a full-body workout that not only engages so many muscle groups but it also serves as a form of cardio, actively burning calories. Swimming is also low impact on the body, so it’s easy to do regularly without strain.

We’ll help you set your expectations with how much weight you can lose swimming below along with tips on how to lose weight swimming, from frequency and duration to the best strokes. But first, why is swimming good for weight loss? 

Is Swimming Good for Weight Loss? 

Swimming to lose weight is one of the most popular methods, and it’s not hard to see why. Harvard Medical School has shown that you can lose up to 420 calories swimming laps for an hour. That same hour spent walking at a moderate pace would only burn 189 calories.

But what is it about swimming that makes it so great for weight loss? Why is swimming good for weight loss? We’ll take a closer look at all the benefits of swimming for weight loss below.

How Swimming to Lose Weight Works

The simplest explanation for swimming to lose weight is the calorie deficit it helps create. Like we just said above, you can burn a ton of calories at a fairly moderate pace. 

The exact calorie burn depends on the individual in question, the stroke, and the intensity. For example, freestyle is a bit more moderate in terms of intensity whereas butterfly stroke is more demanding.

But swimming also works every major muscle group from the upper to the lower body, helping to build muscular endurance and mass simultaneously. This can increase your energy expenditure during and after your workout. 

This is part of what creates the “afterburn” effect associated with swimming. It increases your metabolism long after leaving the pool as your body continues to recover and repair. 

Additional Health Benefits of Swimming

Swimming for weight loss can improve your health in so many other ways, too. Additional noteworthy benefits of swimming regularly include: 

Plus, let’s be honest - swimming for weight loss is a whole lot more fun than other forms of cardio, like running! Also, is swimming good for your lungs? Definitely. 

There are so many reasons why you should incorporate swimming into your wellness routine even if you aren’t focused on weight loss. But how should you frame your swimming weight loss goals?

Factors That Affect Weight Loss Through Swimming

You probably want to get a better sense of what’s possible with swimming for weight loss, but there’s no way to say with a high level of certainty exactly how much weight you can lose through swimming alone. There are far too many moving pieces, including:

  • Swim Duration and Intensity: Longer, more vigorous swimming sessions burn more calories. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) in particular can be more powerful.
  • Water Temperature: Cooler water forces your body to work harder in maintaining its core temperature, increasing calorie expenditure.
  • Consistency: Swimming once a week is obviously not going to move the needle the same way swimming 3-5 times a week would.
  • Technique and Stroke Selection: We touched on this already, but strokes like freestyle aren’t going to burn as many calories as more challenging strokes such as butterfly.
  • Body Composition: Leaner individuals may burn fewer calories in swimming compared to those with higher body weight since there is less fat to burn.

Don’t worry, though, we’re going to help you figure out how much you need to swim to see weight loss results in just a few moments. But is swimming or running better for weight loss, and how do other cardio exercises compare?

Swimming vs Walking, Running, and Other Exercises

From the calorie-burning potential to the muscle-toning possibilities, there are really no forms of exercise that can do what swimming does. Running, cycling, and even walking have their place - but swimming has an edge in one way or another. 

For example, swimming burns far more calories in the same time frame as walking. In contrast, swimming won’t burn quite as many calories as running, but it’s much gentler on the joints so it’s more sustainable. It’s far more enjoyable for most people, too.

Meanwhile, cycling is unique in that it can strengthen the lower body, burn calories, and be gentle on joints - seemingly the perfect form of cardio. The only issue is it doesn’t really engage the upper body quite like swimming does. 

We’re not here to tell you that you must choose swimming over any other form of cardio. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss, but it’s just impossible to ignore the appeal of swimming. 

How to Lose Weight Swimming: The Best Swimming Routine for Weight Loss

If you’re ready to start swimming to lose weight, there’s really no need to overthink it. Dive in the pool a few times a week and spend anywhere from 20-60 minutes swimming laps! From there’s just a matter of making it incrementally harder to keep pushing yourself to the limit.

But to help you make the most of swimming for weight loss, we’re going to share some more detailed advice on how to lose weight swimming. The first thing you should do is choose the right stroke. 

The Best Strokes When Swimming for Weight Loss

Remember, not all swimming strokes have the same cardiovascular impact. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to choose the most difficult to lose weight, though. It might make sense to start with something more moderate and work your way up to harder strokes:

  • Freestyle (Front Crawl): This is one of the fastest strokes and provides a great cardio workout, burning 400-600 calories per hour depending on intensity. It’s where we recommend most beginners start with swimming to lose weight.
  • Butterfly Stroke: The more advanced butterfly stroke burns the most calories, up to 800 calories per hour in some cases! This is because it does a better job engaging your chest, arms, back, and core. Try it for short intervals if you’re an experienced swimmer.
  • Breaststroke: An excellent beginner stroke that’s lower-impact while still burning around 300-400 calories per hour. It’s great for endurance and pacing.

Take your time to master each stroke before trying to ramp up the session duration or intensity. Watch videos on YouTube or better yet, get a lesson at your local gym. This will help you use your body more effectively in the pool to maximize swimming weight loss results. 

Interval Training for Weight Loss

You’ve seen us reference the idea of HIIT a few times so far in this guide, and there’s a reason for that. Whether it’s swimming or running, this methodology is one of the most powerful ways to burn fat. 

It involves alternating between high-intensity bursts (sprinting 1-2 laps) and low-intensity recovery laps. So for example, you might swim 25 meters at full speed, then rest or swim slowly for 30-60 seconds. You’d go back and forth between these intervals for 20-30 minutes.

What makes HIIT really unique is how it keeps your heart rate elevated and continues burning calories long after you’ve left the pool. We highly recommend you give it a try - at least in one or two of your weekly workouts. Speaking of which…

Incorporating Variety into Your Swim Routine

Although swimming is more exciting than running on a treadmill, there are still ways you can keep things fresh and fun. This not only prevents mental burnout but also forces your body to keep adapting so you don’t stall in your swimming weight loss goals. Here are some tips:

  • Drills: Focus on specific aspects like kicking, pulling, or stroke technique to build strength and efficiency. This will help you burn more calories when you start swimming laps.
  • Equipment: Use kickboards, pull buoys, or fins to target different areas of your body.
  • Different Distances: Alternate between sprints, mid-distance laps, and endurance swims to challenge yourself.

Warm-Ups and Cool-Downs

Just like you would with running or strength training, you need to warm up and cool down to prevent injuries and improve performance. 

The first 5-10 minutes of your workout should involve swimming at a gentle pace. Better yet, do some arm and hip circles before even jumping in the water.

Then, dedicate 5-10 minutes to slow-pace swimming at the end of your workout. This helps reduce muscle soreness and speeds up recovery so you can get back to full form before your next workout.

Frequency of Training

As far as how often you should be swimming to lose weight, it depends on whether you’re incorporating other forms of cardio or not. 

If swimming weight loss exercise is all you’re doing, we recommend starting with 2-3 sessions a week and eventually working your way up to as many as 4-5 sessions per week. 

The duration of your sessions should taper up higher as well, starting with a lower range of 15-30 minutes and eventually aiming for 45-60 minutes per session. 

More Weight Loss Advice Besides Swimming

We know you came here to learn about swimming for weight loss, but this is just one piece of the puzzle. There are so many other things you need to focus on if you’re trying to shed pounds quickly and keep them off. These include:

  • Calorie Deficit: You can’t outswim a bad diet. You need to be in a caloric deficit, which swimming will help with by burning calories - but the other side of this is consuming fewer calories on a daily basis, forcing your body to turn to its internal fat stores as fuel. A 250-500 calorie deficit is plenty.
  • Choose Foods Wisely: What you eat matters as well. Prioritize lean protein sources like chicken, fish, tofu, and legumes. Steer clear of liquid calories or any sort of processed foods when you can.
  • Strength Training: Swimming will build strength to some extent, but complementing this with a more fulcrum routine will help increase your resting metabolic rate, meaning you burn more calories at rest.
  • Sleep Quantity and Quality: Poor sleep disrupts hormones like ghrelin and leptin, which regulate hunger and fullness. Make sure you’re getting not just enough sleep, but high-quality sleep so your body can actually repair itself and you can wake up refreshed ready to do it again!
  • Manage Stress: Stress creates cortisol, and cortisol is the enemy of weight loss since it leads to cravings for comfort foods. Practice mindfulness techniques like meditation or yoga to keep stress at bay.

One final piece of advice we want to offer is in how you look at your swimming weight loss goals. Focusing only on the numbers you see on the scale can be demoralizing when progress stagnates. 

So, try to set other goals for yourself as well - like exercise-specific benchmarks (swimming for longer, swimming faster, etc.), body composition goals (how you look in the mirror), and more.

Our blog has additional weight loss tips, from using b12 for weight loss to natural semaglutide alternatives to try. You can also learn about how to get rid of neck fat naturally, hot yoga for weight loss, the best fruit for gut health, akkermansia muciniphila foods, and more.

Wrapping Up Our Guide on Swimming to Lose Weight

So is swimming good for weight loss? As we bring this guide on swimming to lose weight to a close, it’s clear why swimming for weight loss is such a powerful approach.

It’s a full-body form of exercise that not only burns calories but strengthens your muscles while minimizing the impact on your joints. Learning how to lose weight swimming can be much more fun than other workouts, too.

Hopefully you feel confident in jump-starting your swimming weight loss journey. Just remember to give yourself the right support along the way. Whether you need a prebiotic or probiotic supplement or both we’ve got clinically studied solutions waiting to be discovered here at res.

 

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