Get Stronger with Resistance Swimming

If you want to gain strength, stamina and more muscles, do regular resistance training. Swimming in clothes is an aquatic form of resistance training and a less obvious form of weight training. It is the aquatic equivalent to weight lifting without the injury risk.

Resistance levels can be adjusted to suit your training needs by adding layers of heavier clothes like jeans, jumpers and trainers. This can be used for slow, controlled movements, like push-ups. Heavy trousers add weight to your training routine to build up greater lower body strength. The effects of this addition results in increased weight shifting and dashing power.

It is like Weight Lifting

Many athletes use wet clothing in training to increase their strength and endurance in long repetitive events, such as swimming, running or cycling. The more you wear, just like adding weights, the harder your muscles get trained. Simple.

The weight of the soaked up water slows down your movements because you have to move that weight, a bit like weight lifting. Hoodies, sweatshirts and jogging pants can be really hard to swim in, especially if you layer them. Practice in these challenging outfits and you'll gain a good bit of strength and stamina.

Build up Strength

Begin your training swimming several lengths just in running tights or shorts and measure the time it takes. You will find this quite easy to do. Next increase your training level a notch, just like you would do in a gym. Put on a T-shirt and measure the time to find out what difference the extra resistance makes. Then add tracksuit bottoms and measure the difference. Swim a fair distance to get used to the extra resistance on the legs. Finally put on a tracksuit top and repeat. Notice the difference.

Next do a variation of this training. As before start your swim just in T-shirt and shorts. Then add rain pants or an anorak. Finally wear the whole suit. The nylon fabric doesn't soak up much water. Instead water will collect in the sleeves and pockets. Hence the training effect is somewhat different. Raise your arms to drain out the water.

If you teach a class, do a kit race where they swim in their sports kit from one side to the other, then get out and trade their kit with someone else on their team. It's nice fast paced fun.

A fun and easy exercise: Go for a run to a beach or pool. Swim several lengths dressed in your sports kit. Jump out at each end, touch the wall or something else and hop back in to swim the next length. Then run back. By the time you get home your clothes are almost dry. Don't forget to shower in your kit before and after your swim to rinse out sweat, chlorine or any dirty water. Otherwise it rots your kit and starts to smell.