I swam 3 times a week for 30 minutes - it might be the 'bare minimum' but I found benefits beyond cardio fitness in 3 weeks

It’s safe to say that swimming is one of the most versatile and effective workouts around. Choose front crawl over butterfly, or swap backstroke for breaststroke, and you work different muscles. Pick up the pace to increase the intensity, or go long and slow and build endurance.

Swimming workouts are low-impact, tone muscles, reduce stress, and promote better sleep. Recently, I was listening to an old episode of BBC Radio 4’s Just One Thing back, where Dr Michael Mosley talked to guest Professor Hiro Tanaka about how swimming could be the best exercise you can do, particularly for longevity.

The professor recommended swimming three times a week for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, following his own findings that swimming, or even just walking in water, can reduce arterial stiffness, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

I love to swim, and I have gone swimming every day in recent years, although I don't go that often anymore. However, hearing this, I decided to try swimming three times a week for just 30 minutes. To add variety, I asked three swim coaches for their favourite swimming workouts.

30 minutes of swimming benefits

1. Full-body workout

The upper body, lower body and core are all involved when you swim, making it one of the best full-body exercises, but you have to change up your stroke to reap the benefits. I was leaving progress on the table with my 'front crawl only' routine.

I haven’t done backstroke for years, and swimming just a couple of lengths of it (as one workout required) left me worn out. I also realised that I didn’t have as much backward rotation in my shoulders as I assumed, so that’s something I'm going to work on by varying up my workouts.

After a couple of workouts, I spoke to Cheryl Pottinger, swimming teacher for Better. She suggested I start using props to target underdeveloped areas in the pool. "Using a kickboard, for example, allows you to focus on the efficiency of your leg action," she told me. It makes you put more effort into your kick. You use the body’s largest muscles, such as the glutes, and therefore burn more calories.

If you want to focus on increasing your upper body strength and mobility, squeeze a pull buoy between your legs, she says. This isolates the movement in your arms, shoulders and core, helping you perfect stroke technique and work upper-body muscles.

2. Boosts brain health

Repeating a well-known routine week after week feels comfortable and is what my brain needs after a long day, but the brain (and body) loves novelty. The new swimming workouts I was doing provided it. I had to stay mentally alert to learn a new routine, challenge my coordination (particularly on backstroke, which I wouldn’t usually swim), and focus on small technique details during basic drills.

When it comes to looking after your brain, this is great work. When you learn something new, neurons fire electrical signals along new routes (neural pathways) in the brain. Over time, these pathways become stronger and more established, effectively remodelling the brain and helping ward off the brain ageing that comes naturally with every year.

3. Improves cardiovascular fitness

I’m not one to jump into the fast lane at my pool, and I like to take my time at a leisurely pace. However, the workouts I followed all included a speed section to raise my heart rate and build endurance. This was challenging for me, and I made full use of the 20 to 30-second rests after sprints to create an interval swimming pattern.

Head of swim for David Lloyd Clubs, Nuala Muir-Cochrane, suggests that adding a speed challenge to your swims helps build cardiovascular fitness, increases stamina, and adds intensity and variety.

But, she warns, don’t go flat out as soon as you get in. Raise your heart rate gradually with a warm-up, which will activate your shoulders, core, and legs without fatigue.

4. Improves sleep quality

It might be a coincidence, but my fitness tracker recorded a slight increase in deep sleep. It was only an extra 20 minutes or so on the days when I went to the pool, but every little helps when you are trying to sleep better.

Aerobic exercise, such as swimming, has been found to improve sleep quality across age groups. One particular study focused on men and women over 55 who suffered from insomnia. The trial found that after following a 16-week programme of moderate aerobic activity, participants reported improvements in sleep duration, efficiency and latency (the time taken to fall asleep).

30-minute swim workouts recommended by swim coaches

Multi-stroke swimming workout

Nuala recommends this beginner-intermediate workout that incorporates three different swim strokes and a speed challenge in the middle to increase stamina and build cardiovascular fitness.

How to do it:

• Warm up by alternating between one length of easy front crawl and one length of backstroke, for the first 10 minutes.
• Pick up the pace for the next 10 minutes, alternating between front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke.
• Over the next 5 minutes, sprint one length in every four, maintaining fast controlled swimming with a strong push off at each end.
• For the final 5 minutes, cool down with a gentle swim using your favourite stroke and slow breaths.

The quality of movement is more important than speed overall, she says. “For front crawl, look down while reaching forward and rotate through the body; with breaststroke, ensure you glide after each kick; and exhale underwater to avoid holding your breath. For backstroke, keep your head still and hips high.”

Switching between all three strokes not only gives you a full-body workout but also “prevents overloading one muscle group and improves coordination and water confidence", she says.

Front crawl with kickboard

Cheryl recommends this routine for beginner-intermediate level. Expect to cover 800m over 30 minutes in a standard 25m length pool.

Here's how to do it:

• 200m warm up including 4 x lengths of front crawl; followed by 4 x lengths of breaststroke.
• For the next 550m, follow a pattern of 4 x lengths of front crawl; 2 x lengths of front crawl kick (holding a kickboard); 4 x lengths of front crawl. Take a 20-30 second rest between each set.
• Swim 2 x lengths of front crawl at your maximum speed, before a 20-30 second rest.
• Repeat step 2.
• 100m cool down with 2 x lengths of front crawl; 1 x length of your choice of stroke; and finish with 1 x length of head-first sculling (lie on your back using your arms to propel you backwards).

“This workout makes use of the major muscle groups to work on strength endurance, while including some differing strokes and skills to target different muscles separately too,” says Cheryl. “The varying speeds allow you to build speed endurance and eventually be able to achieve further distances in the same amount of time.”

Front crawl sprints

Sarah Bridgeman, swim instructor at Nuffield Health Tunbridge Wells, suggests this advanced swimming workout for those looking to perfect technique and improve endurance in 30 minutes.

Here's how to do it:

• Warm up for the first 200m with a stroke of your choice, focusing on long strokes and controlled breathing. Finish warming up with 100m swimming with a kickboard.
• Swim the next four lengths (100m), focusing on a different technique drill for each length: e.g. single arm strokes (while holding a kickboard) or fingertip drags (scraping the surface to keep the elbows high during front crawl). Take a 20-second rest at each end.
• For your main set, swim 50m at approximately 80% of your top speed, before resting for 20 seconds. Repeat for a total of four reps.
• Sprint for 25m at close to your top speed, before resting for 30-40 seconds. Repeat for a total of four reps.
• Cool down in the final 100m using strokes of your choice, focusing on slowing down, stretching and resetting your breath.

“Maintain technique under fatigue, but focus on efficiency, not just effort. ‘Water feel’ is more important than speed alone,” so think about form and streamlining the body, maintaining rhythmic kicking and controlled breathing, and focusing on strong and effective pulls, she advises.

Tips for improving swimming consistency

• ‘Habit stack’ your swim: Sometimes, committing to 30 minutes of swimming can feel like a hassle (all that changing before and after, showering, washing your hair, drying everything). I found that if I coupled a swim with something else, I was more likely to go. This could be a swim after a Pilates workout or even timing it for when I’d usually need to wash my hair (about every other day) so I could tick two things off at once.
• Pick the right time of day: If your local pool is anything like mine, a lunchtime swim can feel very different to an evening dip. I try to avoid busy periods as sharing lanes with other swimmers often makes it difficult to go at my own pace. Evening slots for 30 minutes of swimming are quieter, allowing me space to stick to a workout plan and try out drills.
• Pre-pack your swim bag: Cheryl says, “Being organised with packing your kit bag the night before is a big help with maintaining consistency.” I have a swim bag always ready with my swimsuit, a quick-drying Dock & Bay towel, Decathlon’s Bfast anti-fog goggles, and travel toiletries.
• Swim with a friend: Unlike the gym or fitness class, I tend to see swimming as a solo activity (it’s hard to chat when your face is mainly underwater). But Cheryl suggests that if you’re struggling to stay motivated, booking a slot with a friend will keep you on track.