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4 Beginner Swim Workouts to Switch Up Your Fitness Routine

Katrina EresmanSanjai Sinha, MD
Written by Katrina Eresman | Reviewed by Sanjai Sinha, MD
Published on April 25, 2024

Key takeaways:

  • Swimming is a low-impact cardio exercise that works core, upper, and lower body muscles.

  • A beginner swim workout may include technical drills followed by cardio sets with freestyle strokes.

  • A complete swim set should include a warmup, drills, the main set, and a cooldown.

A young woman is wearing goggles while swimming with a board in the pool.
Andrey Grigoriev/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Swimming is an excellent low-impact cardio workout with many benefits, from better mental health to stronger lungs. It’s a great full-body exercise on its own, as well as a valuable tool for active recovery after a high-intensity workout. And if you’re used to land-based exercise, swimming can be a fun way to change it up and keep your workouts interesting.

Learning to swim is also an essential part of water safety. People who plan to enjoy some mood-boosting time on the water should learn the basics first.

Whether you’re planning an aquatic adventure or want to start swimming for exercise, these tips for beginner swim workouts will steer you in the right direction. 

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What does a good swim set consist of?

Structured swim workouts are made up of sets, which outline the type of exercise you should work on and for what distance. Beginner swim workouts are written in sets, too, so it’s important to get familiar with this formatting. Once you understand sets, you can use them to create workouts that will target your specific fitness goals.

Swim sets specify:

  • Stroke category or exercise: This could be one of the four competitive strokes or a drill, like flutter kicks. 

  • Interval distance: An interval indicates the distance you’re meant to swim before resting. Since the length of a pool is 25 meters, intervals are always multiples of 25. The most common intervals are 25, 50, 100, 200, and 500.

  • The number of repetitions: This number indicates how many intervals you should do for each exercise.

  • Interval time: The time it should take you to complete each set of intervals, including both swimming and rest time. 

An example of a beginner swim set is “4x25 free 1:00.” This set includes four intervals of 25 done in freestyle. You have 1 minute to complete each interval and rest. In total, this set should take 4 minutes.

You can use a swim pace clock to track your swim time, rest time, and progress. Analog pace clocks look like a typical clock, but they measure seconds instead of hours, with 60 at the top and 30 at the bottom. Some pools have digital pace clocks, which count the minutes and seconds digitally.

Pace clocks make it easy to see your split, which is how much time an interval takes you before rest. Knowing your workout splits will help you plan swim sets that work well with your current fitness level

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Swim sets for beginners should focus on building a technical foundation with drills, Emily Thomas, USA Swimming coach and director of SwimCincinnati, told GoodRx Health. Learning the competitive strokes comes later. In the beginning, new swimmers can push themselves with a few challenging freestyle laps.

The best swim sets for beginners should include:

  • A warmup: “I always liked doing 200 yards of super easy swimming,” Thomas said of her preferred warmup. Get your body moving with some gentle laps in any style. Warming up helps prepare your muscles and heart for the cardio that’s to come.

  • Drills: New swimmers can use drills to strengthen their swim technique. Thomas recommends including sets focused on flutter kicking (kicking with the arms held forward) and rotary breathing (rotating your head and body to the side to breathe).

  • The main set: For the main set, new swimmers might try intervals of 100 at the fastest comfortable pace. “You want your heart rate to go up,” Thomas said. 

  • A cooldown: Wrap up your swim with a few cooldown laps.

Beginner swim workout routines

Swimming works the core, upper body, and lower body muscles. It’s also low impact and easy on the joints, so it’s great for people with musculoskeletal conditions like arthritis and fibromyalgia

Depending on your fitness goals, there are various beginner swim workouts that you may want to try. The following routines can be a starting point as you delve into the world of swimming for exercise. 

1. Basic interval swimming workout

This simple interval workout is great for swimmers who want to get their heart rate up and focus on sprint work, Thomas said. The times may differ from person to person. Use the pace clock to find your split, and build sets that include 15 to 20 seconds of rest, Thomas suggested.

  • Warmup: 100 yards easy swimming with your choice of stroke

  • Drills:

    • 4x50 flutter kick 1:30-2:00

  • Main set:

    • 4x25 free 0:45-1:00

    • 4x50 free 1:30-2:00

    • 4x75 free 2:30

    • 4x100 free 3:00 

  • Cooldown: 200 yards of cooldown laps

2. Interval swimming with equipment

New swimmers may want to use flotation devices like kickboards or pull buoys to isolate upper or lower body movements with this workout. A pull buoy fits between your legs, adding buoyancy to the hips so you can better work on your stroke. To focus on your leg technique, you can hold a kickboard in front of you. 

  • Warmup: 200 yards easy swimming with your choice of stroke

  • Main set:

    • 4x25 with kickboard 0:45-1:00

    • 4x25 with pull buoy 0:45-1:00

    • 4x50 with kickboard 1:30-2:00

    • 4x50 with pull buoy 1:30-2:00

    • 4x50 free 3:30

  • Cooldown: 100 yards of cooldown laps

3. Interval swimming with drills 

A drill-focused workout will give you plenty of options to work on technique. And sets of fast intervals add in some great cardio. 

This workout includes zipper drills. A zipper drill is all about the recovery stroke when your arm exits the water. As you reach your recovering hand forward, you slide your thumb across your torso up to your armpit. Imagine that there's a zipper on the side of your body, and you have to zip it up. 

  • Warmup: 100 yards easy swimming with your choice of stroke

  • Main set:

    • 4x25 zipper drill 

    • 4x25 fast flutter kick with kickboard

    • 4x50 fast swimming 1:30

    • 4x25 zipper drill 

    • 4x50 fast swimming 1:30

    • 4x25 flutter kick

    • 4x50 fast swimming 1:30

  • Cooldown: 100 yards of cooldown laps

4. Distance swimming

This workout focuses on distance instead of time. It offers steady-state exercise that’s great for endurance and heart health. And it can help you feel more comfortable in the water. “It gets you in that groove of feeling your stroke,” Thomas said. 

  • Warmup: 200 yards easy swimming with your choice of stroke

  • Main set:

    • 5x100 freestyle at a comfortable pace, with 30-second rests between sets

  • Cooldown: 200 yards of cooldown laps

What are the best exercises to improve your swimming stroke?

As you get more comfortable in the water, you might want to improve your freestyle swimming technique. There are lots of exercises that can help you with that, both on land and in the water.

Exercises like planks and push-ups are great for supporting strong body alignment, Thomas said. You want to work toward a streamline body position, meaning your legs are together and everything is in a straight line. The zipper drill is great for this, too, since the focus is on keeping the arms and elbows tucked in.

The side plank is also a great on-land exercise to get you acquainted with the body roll, according to Thomas. Proper swimming strokes are accompanied by strong breathing technique, which involves turning to the side rather than lifting your head up. With each stroke and breath, your body should tilt from side to side while remaining parallel with the surface of the water. Avoid the temptation to look forward, as Thomas said this will cause your hips and legs to drop down.

Pool safety tips

For new swimmers, getting comfortable in the water can take some time. But if you know what to expect and what to work on, the transition from on-land exercise to swimming is a little easier. Here are a few helpful safety tips and best practices:

  • Stop plugging your nose. Getting water up your nose is uncomfortable. But Thomas advised that new swimmers should get used to breathing out of their nose underwater. You can practice before your sets in the shallow end. “Start from the surface and move your way down,” she said. If you’re still uncomfortable, she added, you can use a nose plug during your laps.  

  • Pick the right lane. Many pools have slow and fast lanes, so make sure you choose the lane that fits your pace. When pools are busy, swimmers might share lanes. But be sure to ask a swimmer before you share a lane with them. Then, keep to the right side of the lane, swimming in a counter-clockwise circle, letting faster swimmers pass you on the left. 

  • Avoid collisions. Crowded pools make collisions more likely. Take extra caution if you're swimming near others. When sharing a lane, be mindful to stay on your side and never enter a lane directly in front of another swimmer. If you need a rest, don't stop in the middle of the lane. Instead, move to the corner or exit the pool.

You may also want to stock up on helpful equipment. All you really need to start swimming is a bathing suit. But you may want to grab a few other items to make your beginner swim workout more comfortable, such as:

  • Nose plug

  • Earplugs to protect from swimmer’s ear 

  • Goggles 

  • Swim cap

  • Kickboard 

  • Pull buoy 

  • Swim paddles

The bottom line

Swimming provides a low-impact, full-body workout with lots of health benefits. Swim workouts are made up of sets, which lay out the number of laps, the type of drill or stroke, and the time it should take to complete. You can find swim sets online or create your own based on your fitness goals. Just make sure you follow pool etiquette and check with your healthcare professional before diving in if you have any underlying conditions. 

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Katrina Eresman
Written by:
Katrina Eresman
Katrina Eresman is a freelance writer and musician based in Cincinnati. For the past 5 years, she has written about fitness, physical therapy, and the importance of staying active.
Lauren Savage, MA
Lauren Savage, MA, is a health editor at GoodRx, where she focuses on movement, exercise, and healthy aging. She aims to provide readers with the information they need to live healthier, more active lifestyles.
Sanjai Sinha, MD
Reviewed by:
Sanjai Sinha, MD
Sanjai Sinha, MD, is a board-certified physician with over 20 years of experience. He specializes in internal medicine.

References

Adnan, M. W., et al. (2019). Effects of swimming towards mental health in collegiate male adults. Malaysian Applied Biology.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Ear infections.

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Goodman, E. (2024). Swimming 101: The four strokes. NBC Universal.

Lazovic-Popovic, B., et al. (2016). Superior lung capacity in swimmers: Some questions, more answers! Revista Portuguesa de Pneumologia.

McCall, P. (2015). HIIT vs. steady state cardio: Which one is best for your clients?

MySwimPro. (2021). Beginner swim drill: Zipper drill [video]. YouTube.

Zhang, X., et al. (2021). Waterscapes for promoting mental health in the general population. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

GoodRx Health has strict sourcing policies and relies on primary sources such as medical organizations, governmental agencies, academic institutions, and peer-reviewed scientific journals. Learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate, thorough, and unbiased by reading our editorial guidelines.

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