1 Ignore the Clock.

Swimming slowly is great for flab fighting.

To lose weight you don’t need to work as hard in the water as you might think. Gentle aerobic exercise is what you need for burning fat. Enjoy the experience of movement in water, of encountering its resistance. See it as a meditation.

2. Put Technique before Fitness

If you’re training for a triathlon, remember that your greatest need in the long run is probably to work on technique. Most aspiring triathletes sacrifice technique for fitness but you can be pleased to get out of the water feeling energised and ready for the bike ride. Swimming purely for fitness soon gets boring. Working on technique offers limitless mental stimulation.

3. Use Interval Training.

Even without looking at the clock, there is something about interval training that keeps you motivated and ensures you complete your target distances. If your plan is simply to swim 20 or 40 lengths, there’s a danger of boredom setting in before you’re out of the changing rooms! But if you decide you’re going to do 5 x 100 metres with a little rest in between (5 repetitions of 4 lengths in a standard pool), your sessions are bound to be more enjoyable. Because you’re only doing 4 lengths at a time, you’ll inevitably work a little bit harder than your plodding pace. Enjoy a short rest and go again. Sometimes it’s fun to use the clock and see if you can keep the same pace but don’t get obsessed with times!

4. Swim Less Far.

For a healthy amount of aerobic fitness, how much distance do you really need to cover? How little can you get away with? Instead of aiming too high and disappointing yourself, aim low and be satisfied! If you do 500 metres twice a week you may only need to be in the pool 20 minutes but you can come out feeling great and looking forward to your next swim. If you’re thinking about doing your first triathlon, remember that most events for beginners only involve a 400 or 500 metre pool swim.

5. Play.

Try to do some lengths of something that doesn’t feel like real swimming. We learn through play. The strokes depend on our ability to rotate. So practise rolling from front to back all the way to the other end of the pool. Enjoy the freedom you have in the water to experiment with movement. When you go back to your stroke, something may have changed.