Weight Loss Tips come in many forms, but one excellent tip is to swim! My last post talked about dancing as a great form of exercise to lose weight. This post I’ll talk about the many advantages in the fight against the flab that swimming has over other forms of exercise and provide some good ideas in the form of swimming tips for weight loss.

Losing weight is something that a lot of people need to do in order to get fit and be healthy, which is a fact that can’t be denied. Even if it means shedding just a few pounds to regain that ideal weight and body shape, engaging upon some form of light weight loss program has many benefits for many people. We also know that exercise when teamed up with a good diet is the key to losing weight as you not only shed pounds but build up a stronger body that runs more efficiently. That means it can burn off the calories more efficiently and therefore has that knock-on effect of keeping you at that ideal weight once to achieve it. That’s as long as you keep up with a light exercise routine and keep an eye on your calorie intake.

Often, the exercise routine goes out the window along with the diet because it becomes too restrictive of a person’s time, or lifestyle. When this is facing you, then its time to find a form of exercise that is enjoyable and one that you will look forward to doing regularly.

One of these great, fun weight loss exercises is swimming.

Swimming is not only fun, but it gets your body moving and using all of the major muscle groups. When done regularly, swimming will help to tone up your body all over and build strength and vitality. Which is what you need to keep the weight off, or lose the weight, whichever comes first!

Another great thing with swimming is that it doesn’t matter how big you’ve become, or how unfit you are, you can still get great benefits from spending half an hour or so paddling around in the water. Of course, you’ll get more weight loss benefits by actually swimming up and down and the more you put into it the more you’ll get out. But as a way of getting things started, you can go at your own pace until you are ready for the more strenuous swimming strokes that will help your body to burn more fat and build muscle density and strength.

So if you’re overweight and unhealthy, start slow! Don’t rush into trying to swim a length of the pool if you’re not ready to do it. Take it a little at a time and slowly build up to that first length. Then keep going and over a period of time that you set for yourself, you’ll get up to two lengths, then three, four and more. But all the time you’re doing this, it also has to be fun and never seen as a chore.

You can choose the method of swimming to suit you. Often adults like to start off with a gentle breast-stroke, which is a great way to get yourself into the swing of things. From there you can progress to mixing your strokes for every length you do.

So you can start with a length of breast-stroke, then switch to the crawl for the next, then back to a more sedate breast-stroke for the next. Or for some variety, try side-stroke, a length on each side! Then there is back-stroke, but you’ll need goggles for that one as I find I tend to get too much water in my eyes otherwise! But there is an even lazier one and that is a back-stroke without the stroke! Just float on your back and gently move your legs and arms in the water so that you move slowly across the water from one end to the other. That’s really nice, especially when its a hot sunny day and you’re in an outdoor pool!

These are really great swimming tips for weight loss. So go to the pool with some friends and have some fun in the water as well as looking at the more serious side of getting yourself fit. That way you’ll always look forward to going to the pool and it will never seem like a chore!

Terry Didcott
Weight Loss Tips