BlueFit Swimming is excited to offer Free Splash Time infant classes! These sensory-based classes are design for babies up to 4 months old as an introduction to the pool in a fun and nurturing environment.

The first session will be Wednesday of each month, there are limited spots available, to save your spot click here now.

Swimming is not only important for water safety but also helps your child’s development, improving coordination, balance and muscle development. Our Splash Time classes are a great way to bond with your little one while also meeting parents with babies a similar age.

For more information on Splash time please visit their website here.

Swimming for 10, 20 or 30-plus minutes non-stop is good general exercise and will help you increase your speed and strength from a baseline level. However, without including some form drills and swim sets with rest in between intervals, you will plateau in speed and fitness in just a few weeks.

See below a freestyle swimming workout we have come up with for you to try on your next swim:

• 3 x 100m warm up with 10-20 second rest between. Goal: To get the blood flowing to your muscles and loosen up your joints.
• Rest 1 minute (stretch, relax)
• 6 x 50m holding a kickboard and focusing on your freestyle arm technique, with 20-30 second rest between. Goal: Working on improving your technique which is a critical step to becoming a faster swimmer.
• Rest 1 minute
• 6 x 100m of higher effort than steady swimming with between 10 to 30 seconds rest after each 100m. Goal: To increase your effort into the 80-90% of maximum range. If you are a newer swimmer, keep this closer to 80% and take more rest. Experienced swimmers swim closer to 90% and take less rest. This is roughly the fastest pace you might attempt to hold in a sprint.
• Rest 1 minute
• 1 x 100m of kicking on your front with torpedo arms.
• 1 x 100m of an easy stroke. Goal: Cooling down and stretching out.

Credit Team USA.

Swimming is a full-body workout and therefore it is important that your body is well nourished but not over-fed before you get in the pool. Food is important to provide a consistent supply of energy, however, sometimes in the morning before you leave or just after work/school, there isn’t enough time to cook an A-grade snack such as a smoothie.

Below is a list of easy snacks to make quickly or easy to organise the day before:

Fruit
Pack a banana, apple or mandarin in your bag or cut up some watermelon, cantaloupe or berries, put them in a container the night before and drizzle with some lemon juice to keep them riper for longer!

Museli Bars
These are too easy to pack away and the supermarket will offer you a range of flavours including, nuts, berries, yoghurt or fruit, anything to tickle your fancy.

Raisins or sultanas
You can buy these in bulk and pack a small amount in a container or buy these in small pocket-sized packets to carry. Easy and delicious!

Toast
Carbs are a fantastic type of food to eat before a swim. They can produce a lot of energy that can be burned off in your workout, plus toast takes roughly one minute to cook and a minute to apply your favourite spread.

Eggs
You’re probably thinking how are making eggs easy and quick? In the morning while you’re getting ready or having a shower just put an egg in a pot of boiling water for around 5 minutes, then take the boiled egg on your way. You can peel it when it’s cold before you swim.

We all know swimming is a great form of exercise but do we actually know how to turn it into a workout? Is there more to just laps of strokes when exercising in the water? Of course, there is!

Try this workout below and see if it floats your boat:

WARM-UP:

• Start by 2 laps of walking with high knees, as you get to the end of each lap do 10x squats.
• Shoulder rotations: 10 forward each arm, 10 back each arm.

WORK-OUT:

1. Swim easy, with any stroke for 200m.
2. Grab a kickboard with one hand and perform one-arm freestyle with the freehand for 100m (alternating arms every 25m).
3. Move to your back, and do 2 laps of survival backstroke.
4. Grab a kick-board or hold torpedo on your back and kick for 100m.
5. Do 200m of backstroke aiming to do 50m under 40 seconds.

COOL-DOWN:

Pick any easy swimming movement for 200m and end with stretching against the pool wall.