Whether you’re gliding through open water or chasing a new personal best in the pool, swimming stands out as an exceptional full-body workout, engaging multiple muscle groups throughout the body.  

The natural resistance of the water helps to build strength and endurance, while its buoyancy reduces impact on the joints, making swimming a low-load option for many people, including for those with conditions such as arthritis, or osteoporosis.  

But the benefits don’t stop with your muscles and joints – the repetitive, rhythmic nature of swimming, creates a meditative effect that can help reduce stress and anxiety, boost mood and your overall sense of wellbeing. In addition, the focus required to maintain good technique can build both mental and physical resilience over time. 

In this blog, we’ll explore the most popular swimming strokes and the specific benefits they provide. 

No two swimming strokes are the same – each challenges your body in unique ways, offering its own distinct benefits to your overall health. Let’s dive into each stroke and how it strengthens and targets different muscle groups from head to toe. 

Butterfly is often seen as one of the most physically demanding strokes. It demands strong coordinated movements between the upper and lower body, to propel your body forward slightly over the water, meaning you are pushing more weight against the water than in other strokes. 

This stroke requires and develops an exceptional shoulder range of motion, as the arms must clear the water in a wide arc while maintaining proper form. This powerful arm work intensively targets the muscles in the upper body, chest, shoulders, and arms. The chest muscles (pectoralis major and minor) work intensively during arm movements, while the muscles in the shoulder (deltoids and rotator cuff) support powerful overhead motion.  

The distinctive dolphin kick enhances hip mobility and strengthens the hip muscles, while the changing body movement promotes spinal flexibility and core strength.  

As the lower and upper body must work hard and seamlessly together in this stroke, butterfly builds explosive strength, develops your core and improves overall strength and stability. The intense nature of the butterfly stroke leads to higher energy expenditure and calorie burning, which helps with cardiovascular health. 

Front Crawl effectively works your arms (triceps), shoulders (deltoids), chest (pectoralis major), back (latissimus dorsi), and core, making it an excellent full-body workout. The rotator cuff muscles provide crucial shoulder joint stability, particularly during the recovery phase of the stroke, as they help control arm movement above the water.  

This stroke helps improve shoulder mobility and thoracic extension, essential for maintaining good posture both in and out of the pool. The stroke demands core activation to maintain body position and reduce drag, while the consistent kicking pattern required in front crawl works your leg muscles, including the hamstrings and quadriceps.  

Regular practice of front crawl can significantly improve shoulder mobility and rotator cuff strength, leading to better overall upper body function. It also enhances hip mobility through the continuous kicking motion, helping to offset tightness associated with prolonged postures. The rotational breathing pattern also promotes thoracic mobility, as the spine must rotate while maintaining stability. 

Breaststroke is a popular swimming stroke, appreciated for its versatility and the freedom to choose your own intensity level. It targets diverse muscle groups, particularly engaging the muscles in the chest, shoulders, upper back, and inner thigh, with its sweeping arm pull and distinctive frog kick.  

The rotator cuff muscles are constantly working to maintain proper shoulder positioning during the large degree of circular arm movements. The pulling phase engages the biceps and triceps, while the recovery phase works the anterior deltoids and pectorals, to help propel you forward. 

The frog-kick in breaststroke actively engages your inner thigh muscles (adductors) as well as your quadriceps and hamstrings, along with the glutes and hip flexors, making it another excellent option for a full-body workout. The stroke’s symmetrical nature helps develop balanced muscle strength and improved posture.  

This stroke also requires and develops good thoracic extension during the breathing phase, as swimmers must lift their heads while maintaining proper body position.  

Regular practice can help improve overall whole-body strength, particularly in the hips and shoulders, while the rhythmic nature of the stroke helps develop coordination and body awareness. 

Backstroke employs a unique combination of muscles compared to other competitive strokes. While other strokes primarily use the Pectoralis Major in the chest to pull through the water, backstroke mainly engages the Latissimus Dorsi – the broad muscles across the upper back. This engagement of the Latissimus Dorsi is performed through the full overhead arm motion, assisting in shoulder flexibility and thoracic mobility. Although this is the primary muscle used in backstroke, the Pectoralis Major, like in other swimming strokes, is also engaged, just to a lesser extent. 

The face-up position in backstroke requires substantial core strength to maintain a flat position on the water whilst simultaneously performing leg kicking actions and overhead shoulder movements. The continuous rotation of the shoulders through a full range of motion helps maintain and improve shoulder joint mobility and stability, while the flutter kick engages the entire posterior chain, helping to strengthen the legs and hips.  

The alternating arm movement pattern helps develop balanced strength and mobility in both shoulders, while the sustained back position promotes improved posture and core stability. 

Backstroke is great for building endurance, shoulder mobility and core strength. 

Swimming is a beneficial form of exercise that engages your entire body, with each stroke offering its own unique set of benefits. From strengthening muscles, supporting bone health, joint mobility/health, flexibility and improving cardiovascular fitness, to reducing stress and even boosting your mood – the list is endless.  

Whether you’re a beginner, or swim competitively, our team of physiotherapists and strength and conditioning coaches can provide specialised support and personalised plans for swimmers at all levels, identifying areas to enhance performance and helping to prevent or recover from injuries.  

References 

• Muscles Used for Swimming the Backstroke | livestrong 

• Why Swimming is a Great (and Healthy) Hobby for Anyone 

• For information about Mental Health – Dr Alex George 

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