Breaststroke benefits

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Swimming is a great exercise to add to your workout routine, especially if you’re just starting your fitness journey. There are many benefits that come with regular swimming, especially swimming in breaststroke. 

If you want to find a new exercise to add to your normal workout routine that is guaranteed to work almost all of your muscles and give you a great cardio workout for weight loss, swimming in breaststroke is that exercise. 

In this article, we examine some of the benefits of breaststroke swimming.

 

What is Breaststroke Good For?

A benefit of breaststroke is that you can easily modify the pace at which you swim for a workout that’s perfect for you. For example, if you want a more gentle workout, you can swim slowly. For a more challenging workout, you can increase your speed. 

Breaststroke is also an especially good cardiovascular workout compared to the other swimming strokes. 

Regularly swimming in breaststroke improves your lung capacity and strengthens your heart. It is an excellent choice of exercise if you want to build stamina and strength.

Not only is breaststroke a great cardio workout, but it’s also effective at toning your muscles. When swimming in breaststroke, almost all of your muscle groups are engaged. But it’s particularly effective at toning your thighs, lower leg muscles, and chest muscles.

 

Does Breaststroke Tone Your Stomach, Legs, or Arms?

Breaststroke is effective at toning your stomach because it is a short-axis stroke. This means that when swimming in this stroke, your body should bend at the short axis through the hip. This means breaststroke is a good exercise for toning your core muscles. 

The core muscles are further worked by your body moving in a wave-like motion from the chest, which also engages the core. 

Your body is balanced and remains stable when swimming in breaststroke as a result of your core. For all of these reasons, breaststroke is a good option for toning your stomach. 

Your legs can also be toned through regular swimming in breaststroke. This stroke requires a lot of power from your legs. 

For this reason, it’s very good at toning both your thighs and lower legs. The kick is where you get most of the momentum from in breaststroke, and this tones your hamstrings and thighs. 

At the end of the kick in breaststroke, your legs push back, which also works to tone your glutes and quads.

As the breaststroke uses the legs for the majority of the power and drives through the water, it does not particularly work on toning your arms. It is, however, a full-body exercise that will result in fat loss from your whole body, including your arms. 

 

How Many Calories Does the Breaststroke Burn?

The breaststroke burns fewer calories than other swimming strokes because it is slightly slower and uses less energy. This allows you to swim further distances, which is a great cardio workout. 

It is believed that swimming breaststroke for 30 minutes results in roughly 200 calories being burned. However, it is important to remember that this number depends on how much you weigh, the intensity that you swim at, and the distance you choose to swim for. 

 

Final Thoughts on Breaststroke Benefits

Incorporating breaststroke into your regular fitness routine is always a good idea. There are so many benefits that can be seen from swimming in this stroke. It engages many different muscle groups in your body. Breaststroke also provides a fantastic, full-body cardio workout. 

So, if you’re looking to lose weight, this is a great option for you. In addition to this, breaststroke is very effective at toning your core muscles and leg muscles in particular. So you’re bound to notice changes in your body once you start swimming regularly.