Start with Simple Swimming Strokes

Swimming is wonderfully fun to do, and it is an excellent workout too. There are so many ways to swim; you can have fun exercising to the days end.

Different strokes and techniques will activate different muscle activity. Use cold water to awaken nerves and muscles for hyperactivity.

First there is the back stroke: which is performed on your back-go figure. Use your arms like propellers to pull your body forward in the water.

This is a good workout for your chest muscles and your back muscles as well. Although, since you are swimming backward, you will have to pay special attention to your placement in the water; you wouldn't want to hit your head on anything like a wall or boat- that may be embarrassing if others are around and it could hurt your head.

There are different variations on this single stroke too. There is the elementary back stroke, inverted backstroke and others as well.

It depends on the kick that accompanies the arm movement. There is the synchronized kick, the flutter kick, the dolphin kick and more that you will learn about.

Doing the dolphin kick is the best full body work out, and is used specifically in training. Professional swimmers can travel up to 10 feet a second with the dolphin kick.

It is done by rolling your body underwater kind of like a mermaid (or merman) would. This movement takes a lot of practice, so try doing it on land before you start doing it underwater.

Another good exercise is the doggy paddle. This swim is done by pretending that you yourself are an animal with four legs, using your arms as your third and fourth hypothetical leg.

This may be demeaning so perhaps do this one when no one else is around to judge you. It is done by holding your arms in close to your sides, and keeping them curved close to a ninety degree angle.

Try to think about how a dog looks while it swims. Try holding your head above water while doing this swim.

To increase the difficulty of the exercise you can also try doing the doggy paddle backwards. This is done by reversing the hand stroke to propel your body feet first.

However, this swim will look much sillier than the regular doggy paddle looks, so try to keep this exercise away from the public as well. There is also the human paddle which is a lot like the doggy paddle except you allow your arms to be projected outward more.

Swimming for exercise is a great way to lose weight and have fun while doing it. And I know many people that ,in fact, swim just for enjoyment.