How Many Laps Should You Swim for an Effective Workout?

Whether you want to boost your mental, physical, or emotional wellbeing, swimming is a low-impact activity that allows you to do just that without being heavy on the joints. It’s best to develop a plan when swimming, such as adding the right amount of laps to boost your health and reduce the odds of accidents and injuries. Below are some ways to develop a lap routine.

Body Fitness Matters

Higher stamina can lead to 50 laps per session. However, lower endurance will make it more challenging to take on more than 20 laps without fatigue. Lean muscles also play an intricate role in your fitness level. With a more fit core, your body’s muscles can allow additional laps without the need to stop or experience physical setbacks.
If your heart and lungs are strong, you can increase your routine to between 30 and 50 laps without causing your body to fail. The heart and lungs allow the body to deliver oxygen effectively to various muscles, reducing the odds you’ll be extremely tired after your fitness routine.

Goals Are Important

The number of laps you swim depends on various factors, including what you seek to achieve from your workouts. This could be to increase your swimming speed, lose a set amount of weight, build muscle strength, or meet other goals. If you want to shed pounds, knowing how many calories are burned per session is necessary. However, if greater muscle strength and better swimming speed are the goals, the repetition of strokes at a specific speed should be the focus when counting laps.
Regardless, avoid overexerting yourself. As your body gets more comfortable, you can increase your time in the water and work toward additional goals.

Skill Level Is Key

If you’re at the beginning level, your swimming techniques and breathing skills may not be great inside the water, preventing you from swimming the same number of laps as advanced swimmers. The more enhanced and progressive your skills are, the easier it will be to do at least 50 laps per session due to the higher levels of endurance, focus, and long-distance swimming skills.
If you’re beyond the beginner’s level but not quite to an advanced state, keep your laps between 20 and 30 per session, with up to four sessions per week. Soon you’ll understand various swimming techniques, such as body positions and stroke methods, and have more endurance than in the beginning stages.

Changes Are Essential

In some instances, you may experience fatigue or pain, and it’s vital to listen. Your body could be telling you to rest for a few days or decrease the number of laps in your current workout routine.

Another change to consider is adding a lap pool to your backyard or customizing your current pool. Doing so leads to more privacy and convenience when swimming. You can work with a custom pool and spa builder in San Diego, CA, allowing you to design a pool where you can control the temperature, select the depth and lane markers for laps, keep it clean, and remain active and fit from the comfort of your home.

If you’re looking for the perfect way to boost your physical fitness levels, swimming laps in a pool might be exactly what you need. As an award-winning swimming pool builder San Diego families and businesses have trusted for more than four decades, San Diego Pools can create a custom pool for you that offers a great way to exercise as well as a place to relax and get away from it all. Give us a call today.