Have you ever looked at Michael Phelps and been envious of that lean, ripped V-shaped torso of his? Yeah, us too. Well, it’s National Swim a Lap Day on June 24^th. So, we thought we’d offer up a great workout using laps in your swim spa to burn those calories.

An ideal workout would be one that’s at least 30-45 minutes per session four to five times a week. (Note that swimming can burn up to 750 calories per hour!)

For the size of your swim spa, calculate how many times you need to swim end to end to equal 50 meters.  That’s key to make sure you’re swimming the same distances you could in a normal sized swimming pool.

For beginners

• Start out with hopping in the swim spa and tread water for three to five minutes. Hop out of the spa and do some stretching on a mat before starting your routine.
• Backstrokes are likely the easiest to achieve as a beginner. If you’re already an adept swimmer, you can incorporate sidestrokes, breast strokes and do some freestyle swimming to get your laps in too.
• Swim the equivalent of about 50 meters, resting up to a minute after each 50 meter increment (that’s equal to about a lap in a swimming pool). Repeat this length up to 10 times.
• As the weeks progress, try to add another 100 meters every week, 200 if you’re really hitting your stride.

For the more experienced swimmer

• Swim the equivalent of 200 meters (same distance as two Olympic/Michael Phelps sized laps). Do some stretches when finished.
• Next, swim another 100 meters. When finished hop out and do ten sets of 20 crunches and 10 pushups, resting about 45 seconds between sets.

Look forward to a leaner more in shape you!