Swimming is a great way to build and maintain the strength you need for day-to-day living

Elite swimmers lift weights to boost their strength. For sprinters especially, strength is a big determinant of speed – assuming your swimming technique is good.

This may give the impression that swimming itself is not a good strength-building exercise. In fact, I’ve had this discussion several times with teenagers and young men.

“It takes too long to make gains with swimming,” they tell me. “The gym is more efficient.”

There are a few things to unravel here.

First, have no doubt that swimming will help you build and maintain strength. Top-level swimmers would be strong without the additional gym work they do. Land training supplements what they do in the water.

Second, consider what you want to be strong for. Is it for aesthetic or practical reasons? Training in the gym allows you to target specific muscles and progressively overload them, which is more efficient for muscle growth. If you want to bulk up, hit the gym.

On the other hand, swimming strength is more functional. Swimming develops coordination and full-body control as well as strength. In addition, it builds your aerobic capacity.

Being strong is frequently useful for everyday tasks such as carrying your shopping, picking up your kids or moving furniture. Both gym strength and swimming strength will do the job, and the gym will probably make you stronger. But personally, I prefer the pool or the lake to the gym, and strength achieved through swimming is more than enough for most situations.

If you want to increase your strength gains from swimming, try some or all of the following:

• Sprints. Short bursts of maximum effort swimming will force you to apply more power to the water.
• All strokes. Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and front crawl all work your body in different ways and help maintain balance in your muscle development.
• Training aids. Swimming with fins helps build core and leg strength while using paddles increases the load on your shoulders, arms and chest. Use these tools in moderation as they increase your risk of injury.
• Use the walls. Every time you push off the wall is an opportunity for something like a squat. Push off hard to work your quads and calves, and tuck into a tight streamline for core strength.

One downside with swimming is that it isn’t weight-bearing. While this makes it a low-risk way to train, it’s worth adding weight-bearing activities – such as walking, skipping or running – to your routine to compensate for this.

A core concept of the Renaissance Swimmer project is to use swimming to help you live your best life. Staying strong is part of that.