How to Get a Female Swimmer's Body

by Jennifer Leigh

    Female swimmers are known for their long, lean, sexy and muscular physiques with strong shoulders, backs and arms. A female swimmer is narrow through the waist and has trim and muscular hips, thighs and legs. One of the best ways to get a female swimmer's body is to train like a professional female swimmer. This means logging plenty of hours in the pool and taking part in strength-training activities. You also need to watch your diet and live a healthy lifestyle, as clean living is necessary to lose fat and build muscles. This is not an easy task, but can be well worth it in the end if you want to look and feel great.

    Items you will need

    • Swimming suit
    • Goggles
    • Swim cap (optional)
    Step 1

    Plan to spend time swimming at least three or four days per week on average. Your body will morph into that of a female swimmer faster if you are in the water a lot. During this time, swim at a pace that is considered to be of moderate intensity. This provides you with the benefits of an aerobic workout without causing fatigue. Each swimming session should last for a minimum of 30 minutes, but a workout of 60 to 90 minutes is better for getting results.

    Step 2

    Alternate among different swimming strokes when you work out. Common strokes for female swimmers include the front crawl, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly stroke. Each one of these swimming styles works the back, arms, legs and core of female swimmers, but the backstroke and butterfly focus more on the shoulders and back. Female swimmers often have less natural muscle in their back and shoulder areas than male swimmers do to begin with, which means that practicing the backstroke and butterfly will help them gain power in these important muscles.

    Step 3

    Push yourself further in your workouts by swimming a few laps in each of your workout sessions as if you were competing in a race. This means trying as hard as you can, or giving it your all, and swimming as fast as you can. Take a small break after doing this to catch your breath, and repeat for an interval training-style workout. Doing this multiple times works your anaerobic system in addition to your aerobic system.

    Step 4

    Add strength training to your weekly routine to provide your body with additional muscle tone. Work out your upper and lower body, alternating between them on different days of the week. Focus on the muscles in your arms, back, shoulders, abdominals, thighs and calves. Female swimmers should focus on doing multiple sets of each weight or machine with a high number of repetitions. This will provide strength and muscle tone, but will not make your muscles look overly bulky, which is not generally considered to be a feminine form or ideal for female swimmers. Train two or three days per week for 30 to 60 minutes per session. Exercise programs such as yoga also provide strength-training benefits, but it often takes longer to see results. Since the female body is slower to show results from all types of strength training than most male bodies, doing yoga might not give you the results you want.

    Step 5

    Eat a clean diet as much as you can. This means avoiding fatty, unhealthy and processed foods that are not beneficial to your body. The female body naturally stores more fat than the male body on average, which means that eating low-fat foods is particularly important for women. Avoid alcohol, caffeine and processed sugars because they can cause changes in the female metabolism. Focus on drinking a lot of water and eating foods such as lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and veggies, healthy fats and low-fat dairy products. Eat foods that contain iron and calcium, which are two nutrients that females need more of than their male counterparts.