Is It True That Swimming Help Tone Your Arms?

Freestyle swimming
January 22, 2021 0 Comments

What do people swim for? Because there are so many fun water activities? To improve health or to lose weight? A lot of goals are set by you when you go swimming. But one thing is for sure, swimming ensures all of the above that you want.

It is not an exaggeration to say that swimming is the best sport. It helps you strengthen your fitness, helps you stay in shape. Some people find that their bodies tone up significantly from swimming. Let’s dig into this conversation by the following article.

 Is it true that your arms toned by swimming?

When you swim, every stroke engages your shoulders, biceps, triceps, upper back, and chest. Your arms are responsible for reaching forward during the upstroke phase of each stroke, and for pulling you forward by pushing through the water on the downstroke phase of each stroke.

This pushing-and-pulling motion engages the arms and chest while the rotation of the arms either forward, as in the breaststroke, or backward, as in the backstroke, engages the shoulders and upper back for a toned upper body. After you finish your swim, you can further tone your underarm area with water-based arm exercises. Side and front arm raise, with your arms submerged in the water, can help you tone your triceps.

How long does it take so you can notice?

It doesn’t take a long time, as long as you swim properly. If your laps are decently intensive and extensive (meaning fast and not below 30 minutes in total, with just the right amount of rest in between), you should feel a good amount of muscle soreness all over your body the next day. 

But usually, after 6 – 12 weeks of regular swimming, you should notice some changes in your body, especially your arms. They will be tidier, neater and “feel hard”.

Your arms will be toned after 6 - 12 weeks
Your arms will be toned after 6 – 12 weeks

You can refer to this article for more details: How Long Does It Take To See Results From Swimming?

What is the best stroke for your arm to get toned?

For those who’ve been asking that question, the answer is Butterfly is the best stroke to choose. It’s the hardest to learn, and definitely not for beginners, but Butterfly is at the top of the calorie burn list.

  1. Average calorie burn: around 450 calories for 30 minutes swimming
  2. It’s the most effective all-round stroke for toning and building muscles.
  3. It helps with upper body strength, toning your chest, stomach, arms (particularly your triceps), and your back muscles.
  4. It helps to increase your flexibility, suppleness and stretches out the body to improve posture.

If you want to especially focus on your arms, maybe put on some extra lifting is not a bad idea. It will help you get your arms toned up quickly and more efficiently. Wish you succeed!


Does Swimming Tone Your Arm? Click To Find Out!