Swim Warmups for First Timers

Although you might be tempted to just jump in the water and start swimming laps at full speed, a good warm-up routine can improve your swim workout. By warming up properly, you can enjoy better mobility in your swim strokes, increase the blood flow to your muscles and be better prepared mentally for a tough workout.

Leg Muscle Warm-Up
Warming your leg muscles before getting into the pool is a good way to prepare for your workout. Jessi Stensland, a professional triathlete, suggests forward lunges as a good warm-up technique. To do the lunges, step forward with your right leg so your front knee is bent and you put more of your body weight on that front leg. While holding the position, extend your left arm straight over your head and then pull back slightly. This stretches your quads and lats, while also working your hip flexors and glutes. Do this stretch four times on each side.

Chest Preparation
The Standing T exercise provides a good way to warm up your chest muscles, according to Stensland. This exercise is also done on land before you get into the water. Stand with one foot about 24 inches in front of the other and then lift your arms out to your sides, with your palms facing the floor. Squeeze your shoulder blades inward. Hold this stance for a few seconds and repeat the stretch six times, switching sides with each repetition.

Additional Land Warm-Ups
You can do a series of additional land warm-ups to prepare for your swimming workout. Stensland also recommends exercises that help flex your back muscles, such as bending backward or forward while standing. Stretching your neck muscles is also good practice, according to George Edelman, a physical therapist and Masters swimmer. He suggests sitting on a chair, placing your hand on your head and gently pulling down diagonally.

In-Water Prep
Even if you're concentrating on doing an active warm-up and a few stretches on land, warming up with some slight swimming in the pool before you start your heavy lap swimming is also beneficial. Swimming coach Lisa Wolf suggests a low-intensity swim that gradually increases your heart rate. Try a 300-yard easy swim, rotating your strokes. Switch to four laps focusing on your kicks and then four laps emphasizing your arms.

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Prevent Feeling Nauseous Swimming

If you experience nausea while you swim, it could hinder your workout and thus decrease the fitness benefits you could gain from this effective form of cardio. It also impedes your ability to compete according to your full potential. However, there may be simple things you can do to alleviate the condition.

Visit your local general practitioner and explain your symptoms. An underlying heart condition or abnormal blood pressure can cause nausea when you exert yourself. Have the doctor check your blood pressure and resting heart rate to rule out a preexisting medical condition.

Wear goggles that fit you. Goggles improve your vision underwater, which can prevent help motion sickness while you swim. However, their compression can lead to swimmer’s headache or supraorbital neuralgia, which can cause localized head pain and nausea. Prevent this by choosing goggles that have soft rubber with a smaller area of seal around the eyes, as suggested by John C. O'Brien, Jr, MD from the Baylor University Medical Center. Readjust the goggles on occasion to prevent pressure trauma.

Avoid sudden changes in your body position and rapid head movements. These changes can cause dizziness, which can lead to nausea in some people. Limit your swimming to styles that require minimum head movement such as the butterfly.

Rest well between swimming or exercise sessions. Swimming too frequently with a lack of rest in between sessions can lead to exercise-induced nausea. Have a snack with a source of protein before you swim to keep your blood-glucose level up while you swim.

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