I was put on bed rest when I was pregnant with my son, and long story short, I gained a lot of weight and lost a lot of muscle tone. I had spent 5 months on the couch sitting and wasn’t allowed any form of exercise. Then to add insult to injury, I had to have a C-section, so I was restricted even longer.
After the birth of my son, I had baby weight to lose and then some, and I wasn’t in the greatest shape to get started. I didn’t have a lot of time to spend at the gym because of a newborn, and I needed something low impact because I hadn’t done anything exercise-wise but lift the remote and feed my face for over 6 months. I talked to a fitness trainer I knew and she told me the perfect low impact/ high results exercise to get back into shape and build up some endurance for other workouts was swimming.
Swimming is an all encompassing exercise. Anyone can do it — young, old, fit, or unfit. With these easy steps you can swim a mile (1500 meters) in six weeks. The workout requires that you do it three times a week without fail. At first it doesn’t matter how fast you swim, it only matters that you can swim it without a break. As your body adjusts to the workout, speed will follow.
Week One.
- Swim 100 yards and rest for 12 breaths do this rep a total of 4 times.
- Swim 50 yards and rest for 8 breaths for a total of 4 times.
- Swim 25 yards and rest for 4 breaths for a total of 4 times.
(total: 700 yards)
Week Two.
- 200 yards and rest for 12 breaths
- 100 yards and rest for 10 breaths for a total of 4 times
- 50 yards and rest for 6 breaths for a total of 4 times
- 25 yards and rest for 4 breaths for a total of 4 times
(total: 900 yards)
Week Three.
- 400 yards and rest for 12 breaths
- 100 yards and rest for 8 breaths (4 times)
- 50 yards and rest for 4 breaths (6 times)
- 25 yards and rest for 4 breaths (6 times)
(total: 1250 yards)
Week Four.
- 600 yards and rest for 10 breaths
- 300 yards and rest for 8 breaths
- 100 yards and rest for 6 breaths (4 times)
- 50 yards and rest for 4 breaths (4 times)
(total: 1500 yards)
Week Five.
- 1000 yards and rest for 8 breaths
- 100 yards and rest for 4 breaths (4 times)
- 50 yards and rest for 4 breaths (4 times)
(total: 1600 yards)
Week Six.
(Days 1 and 2)
- 1200 yards and rest for 6 breaths
- 200 yards and rest for 4 breaths
- 100 yards and rest for 4 breaths
- 50 yards and rest for 4 breaths (3 times)
(Day 3)
- Swim the 1650 (1500 meters) straight through without a break.
It was grueling on my muscles in the beginning, but I followed this swimming regimen to the letter and sure enough, as the fitness trainer promised, I was swimming a mile in six weeks. Sure, I was the slowest swimmer ever to have swum the mile, but I was doing it without taking a break. Within a couple more months I was speeding along in the water and felt great.
