Since a young age I’ve had a phobia of swimming. There was a time when I could effortlessly sit on the bottom of a pool for a good 20-30 seconds without fail, but even then I was not a “swimmer” as such, since my technique was poorly taught and executed. Matters worsened in my mid-teens when I took swimming lessons in a heated, over-chlorinated pool which developed breathing problems that led me to avoid swimming for a good 3-4 years.
I’m still not a swimmer exactly, as I have a few weaknesses I need to work on before being able to complete multiple laps of a pool without coming to a stand still, but even so, it’s becoming an increasingly enjoyable activity. And this got me thinking, can you build muscle mass with swimming? There’s unfortunately lots of contradictory answers, to this question, so I dug deeper, read between the lines, and I’d like to share some ways in which swimming is conducive to building muscle:
- Aids recovery. Just like with cold showers a short swim improves your blood circulation and thus aids with the recovery of your muscles. But of course, the added movement and increased amount of time you’d spend in a pool makes it far more effective than a shower is at improving your circulation.
- Low-impact resistance. Building strength is based around resistance: you make your muscles perform an action that puts stress on them and they soon adapt, and then you just repeat the process. Swimming is a very low impact form of resistance in that, there’s certainly stress being put on your muscles as you swim, but it’s not like lifting weights where your arms will be sore the next day. You can swim every day and not notice any soreness if you’re swimming with proper technique.
- Alleviates stress. Stressing about strength will hinder your gains. Slicing through water effortlessly is a magical feeling that almost literally washes away the stresses of your day and preoccupations that cloud your judgment. Focusing on your stroke, and beating your personal swimming records is like liquid meditation.
- Renews energy. When you’re swimming with proper technique (more on this at the end of the article) you come out of the water feeling better than you did when you went in. Sure, most sports are like that, but with swimming you can leave the water with more energy and feeling less tired. That’s an incredibly unique trait.
- Full body workout. Most of the muscles in your body get a workout when you’re swimming. And while I haven’t been swimming long enough to confirm it, I imagine this would help “even out” your physique where your traditional strength training isn’t contributing much too. Swimming adds balance to your training.
So what’s the consensus? Swimming can build muscle mass but, and this is a big but, it’s not going to make you bulky, or have anywhere near the impact of exercises like squats or pull ups will. You can’t rely completely on swimming as a form of training essentially but as long as you’re eating enough food it’ll still be a beneficial habit to pick up.
Note: To learn about swimming with proper technique click here.
