Cross-Training with Swimming

Olivier Poirier-Leroy outlines the five benefits of cross-training with swimming.

Swimming is one of the most popular forms of exercise on the planet. Due to its low-impact nature, high versatility, and ability to target the whole body, swimming is a unique way to cross-train, whatever your sport or activity of choice.

Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks' Super Bowl-winning quarterback, partly credits swimming for his durability and recovery. Apart from getting regular massages, the Seahawks Pro Bowler hits the swimming pool three times per week, swimming up to 30 laps at a time.

"I love being in the water, in the pool,” he told ESPN back in 2016. "I think that helps a lot getting your body back. That is a big thing for me".

You do not need to be Michael Phelps or Russell Wilson to reap the benefits of hitting the pool. Here are five reasons athletes should cross-train with swimming.

Low-impact exercise.

There is a reason that being in the water feels so great. Your body's weight is reduced by around 90% thanks to the buoyancy of the water. Taking the load off your joints and bones in the pool can be a relief, especially for athletes who take a beating performing land-based sports involving hard impacts, like jumping on a hard court or hitting the football field. With reduced stress on ligaments, joints, and tendons, athletes and gymgoers can get the blood flowing without putting additional high-impact reps on the body.

A full-body workout

Swimming is excellent for cross-training as you can use it in various ways. Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly are full-body movements that require every primary system in the body to work together. But if you want to specifically target your shoulders and back, strap on a pull buoy and do some “pulling” in the water, using only your arms to propel yourself through the water. Likewise, if you want a more leg-centric workout, use a kickboard and target the quads, calves, and glutes. Whatever your goals are in the gym or on the court, there is a way to train for them in the water.

Swimming is a way to get more training in

Swimming presents many unique challenges for athletes and gymgoers in the water. We have already discussed this exercise's low-impact and full-body benefits, but because you are in the water, you can also exercise for longer. The adjustment period can take time for athletes who are just getting back into the gym or are starting a new training regimen. General soreness and training limitations mean progress can be slow.

Thanks to swimming's low-impact nature, you can add a heap of training to your schedule without hurting yourself. Research with sedentary individuals (Cider et al., 2006) showed that they could work out much longer in the water than on dry land. Water-based exercise, whether it is swimming for laps or water jogging, can be done for more extended periods. It can be a total game-changer for athletes trying to build a more significant aerobic base at the beginning of the season or after some time off.

Swimming is mental recovery, too

One of my favourite health benefits of swimming has less to do with what you see in the mirror and more to do with what is happening between your ears. Spending time in the water, with just you, your breath, and the black line below you, has distinctly meditative properties that will leave you feeling rejuvenated and refreshed when you pull yourself out of the water.

One paper (Berger & Owen, 1992) found that collegiate students felt significantly refreshed after swimming. They reported decreases in stress, tension, and anger after their swims, showing that swimming is a great way to stay physically healthy and a powerful tool for managing stress and tension. There are few moments in the day when we can unplug from social media, smartphones, and other external distractions.

Swimming helps develop healthier lungs

One of the things that you notice about swimmers is their remarkable ability to breathe correctly. It is a function of the sport—as you churn up and down the length of the pool, you are using breathing patterns to suck down the oxygen necessary to fuel your muscles.

When you watch Olympic-level swimmers, you notice that they do not breathe that much during sprint events. Even middle-distance and distance swimmers need to be strategic with their breathing in and out of flip-turns and starts. This attention to breathing and the highly aerobic nature of the sport combine to create powerful lungs.

A paper compared swimmers' lung functions to runners'. Even three years after the swimmers had finished training for their sport, they still had much more robust and developed lung capacity compared to the runners, who were competitive-level middle-distance runners.

Another paper published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine in Science showed that 18 participants had a 6% increase in running economy after just twelve sessions in the water. The benefits of breathing more efficiently in your sport of choice should be readily apparent—getting more oxygen down and using it more effectively gives you a performance edge both in training and on game day.

The takeaway

Swimming is an excellent tool for athletes and gymgoers of every stripe. Its versatility and application are unparalleled when it comes to training and recovery modalities.

Whether you are looking to boost aerobic capacity, increase lung efficiency, or take a break from the regular rigours and high impact of training, swimming is an option.

Grab your swimsuit and goggles, and head to your local aquatic centre. You'll get in better shape, recover faster, and improve your mood.

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

POIRIER-LEROY, E. (2020) Cross-Training with Swimming [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article607.htm [Accessed

About the Author

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national-level swimmer who has become a high-performance coach and mental performance consultant. He has over 30 years of experience in competitive swimming and believes that swimming is a core skill every athlete and gymgoer should learn.


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Swimming is one of the most popular forms of exercise on the planet. Due to its low-impact nature, high versatility, and ability to target the whole body, swimming is a unique way to cross-train, whatever your sport or activity of choice. Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks' Super Bowl-winning quarterback, partly credits swimming for his durability and recovery. Apart from getting regular massages, the Seahawks Pro Bowler hits the swimming pool three times per week, swimming up to 30 laps at a time. "I love being in the water, in the pool,” he told ESPN back in 2016. "I think that helps a lot getting your body back. That is a big thing for me". You do not need to be Michael Phelps or Russell Wilson to reap the benefits of hitting the pool. Here are five reasons athletes should cross-train with swimming. Low-impact exercise. There is a reason that being in the water feels so great. Your body's weight is reduced by around 90% thanks to the buoyancy of the water. Taking the load off your joints and bones in the pool can be a relief, especially for athletes who take a beating performing land-based sports involving hard impacts, like jumping on a hard court or hitting the football field. With reduced stress on ligaments, joints, and tendons, athletes and gymgoers can get the blood flowing without putting additional high-impact reps on the body. A full-body workout Swimming is excellent for cross-training as you can use it in various ways. Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly are full-body movements that require every primary system in the body to work together. But if you want to specifically target your shoulders and back, strap on a pull buoy and do some “pulling” in the water, using only your arms to propel yourself through the water. Likewise, if you want a more leg-centric workout, use a kickboard and target the quads, calves, and glutes. Whatever your goals are in the gym or on the court, there is a way to train for them in the water. Swimming is a way to get more training in Swimming presents many unique challenges for athletes and gymgoers in the water. We have already discussed this exercise's low-impact and full-body benefits, but because you are in the water, you can also exercise for longer. The adjustment period can take time for athletes who are just getting back into the gym or are starting a new training regimen. General soreness and training limitations mean progress can be slow. Thanks to swimming's low-impact nature, you can add a heap of training to your schedule without hurting yourself. Research with sedentary individuals (Cider et al., 2006) showed that they could work out much longer in the water than on dry land. Water-based exercise, whether it is swimming for laps or water jogging, can be done for more extended periods. It can be a total game-changer for athletes trying to build a more significant aerobic base at the beginning of the season or after some time off. Swimming is mental recovery, too One of my favourite health benefits of swimming has less to do with what you see in the mirror and more to do with what is happening between your ears. Spending time in the water, with just you, your breath, and the black line below you, has distinctly meditative properties that will leave you feeling rejuvenated and refreshed when you pull yourself out of the water. One paper (Berger & Owen, 1992) found that collegiate students felt significantly refreshed after swimming. They reported decreases in stress, tension, and anger after their swims, showing that swimming is a great way to stay physically healthy and a powerful tool for managing stress and tension. There are few moments in the day when we can unplug from social media, smartphones, and other external distractions. Swimming helps develop healthier lungs One of the things that you notice about swimmers is their remarkable ability to breathe correctly. It is a function of the sport—as you churn up and down the length of the pool, you are using breathing patterns to suck down the oxygen necessary to fuel your muscles. When you watch Olympic-level swimmers, you notice that they do not breathe that much during sprint events. Even middle-distance and distance swimmers need to be strategic with their breathing in and out of flip-turns and starts. This attention to breathing and the highly aerobic nature of the sport combine to create powerful lungs. A paper compared swimmers' lung functions to runners'. Even three years after the swimmers had finished training for their sport, they still had much more robust and developed lung capacity compared to the runners, who were competitive-level middle-distance runners. Another paper published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine in Science showed that 18 participants had a 6% increase in running economy after just twelve sessions in the water. The benefits of breathing more efficiently in your sport of choice should be readily apparent—getting more oxygen down and using it more effectively gives you a performance edge both in training and on game day. The takeaway Swimming is an excellent tool for athletes and gymgoers of every stripe. Its versatility and application are unparalleled when it comes to training and recovery modalities. Whether you are looking to boost aerobic capacity, increase lung efficiency, or take a break from the regular rigours and high impact of training, swimming is an option. Grab your swimsuit and goggles, and head to your local aquatic centre. You'll get in better shape, recover faster, and improve your mood. Page Reference If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is: POIRIER-LEROY, E. (2020) Cross-Training with Swimming [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article607.htm [Accessed About the Author Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national-level swimmer who has become a high-performance coach and mental performance consultant. He has over 30 years of experience in competitive swimming and believes that swimming is a core skill every athlete and gymgoer should learn.