With so much going on at Christmas, it can be easy to let exercise slip by the wayside in the midst of food, booze and general indulgence. Swimming can be the answer to all your festive anxieties about staying healthy and is good for both the body and mind. In the lead up to Christmas, swimming not only provides a quick and easy workout but also lets you escape the chaos of Christmas to unwind.
With this in mind here are 12 Top Christmas Swimming Tips to help motivate you through to Christmas; you never know you might even be more trim come Christmas day!
These easy-to-follow tips will let you keep a more relaxed diet and enjoy the festive season to the max!
1. Enjoy all those Christmas treats guilt free, earn them through hard work in the pool. Had extra chocolates in the office or a few glasses of your favourite tipple after work? try adding a few extra lengths at the pool!
2. Try swimming in the mornings, it will set your day off to a good start and you’ll still have time for socials in the evening.
3. Mix up your strokes to get an all over body work out, try doing at least three strokes during each work out.
4. Mix the intensity by warming up steadily for around 1/3 of your work out, mixing the intensity with fast and slow swimming for the middle 1/3 and doing technique and skills work for the final 1/3 (e.g. kicking with a kickboard, slowing your stroke down and concentrating on technique and breath control, using your fins).
5. Short work outs like just 20-30minutes of swimming per day are enough to maintain fitness and keep your weight down during the festive period. Do 5minutes warm up, 10-20mintes at a faster pace, and then 5minutes warm down and stretching.
6. Sticking to regular swimming will relax your mind as well as working your body. Christmas can be stressful, so make some time for yourself and spend it in the pool relaxing and toning your body so you feel ready to handle the in-laws, the kids and all that turkey!
7. Try something new. Staying motivated over the festive period can be difficult so challenge yourself to do something new in the pool. Try to improve your kicking with a Kickboard, try to do a length underwater (the key is to stay completely relaxed and calm!), or try to do a stroke that you don’t usually do. Setting yourself a challenge or trying something new will re invigorate your work outs.
8. Doing breast stroke will tone your thighs and bottom – remember 80% of power should come from your legs and just 20% from your arms so try making your arm pulls much more narrow and small so that your legs and power you through the water.
9. Doing front crawl will tone your arms and back. You should also keep your trunk tight and strong, which will help tone your stomach muscles.
10. Backstroke is an excellent stroke to use during your warm down as it works the opposite muscles to front crawl and allows your body to relax. It will work your chest muscles as well as your sides. Keep your stomach tight and your hips up so that your feet don’t sink.
11. Persuade a work colleague or friend to come along; it’s easier if you can help motivate each other.
12. After all that hard work, relax and enjoy your Christmas - Ho Ho Ho!