5 Tips to Increase Your Swimming Time

Swimming is a good form of exercise, using every muscle in your body, enabling you to stay in shape, and is easy on your joints. Swimming one to two lengths of the pool can make you tire easily. To swim longer, structure your workouts to build your endurance and focus on swimming techniques. Commit yourself to each workout, and you will start to notice you can swim for longer distances with ease.
Step 1
Build your endurance by performing intervals. Swim one length of the pool at a faster rate, then swim another length slower. Repeat this pattern four times. Do this workout three times a week.
Step 2
Set a goal. Swim for 15 minutes. When you can do this without getting tired, swim for 20 minutes. Gradually increase each swim session until you have reached your goal. This builds your endurance and helps you swim longer without fatigue.
Step 3
Practice swimming efficiently. Lower your head in the water. This brings your hips and legs closer to the surface, creating less drag and saving energy. Use a long stroke with a powerful arm pull. Have one arm in front of your head at all times. For example, do not pull your front arm until your recovery arm has entered the water.
Step 4
Vary your strokes. Swimming using different strokes allows you to use different muscles so you don't fatigue as fast. Try swimming freestyle, then breast stoke, back stroke and side stroke.
Step 5
Relax your muscles. Tight muscles can make you fatigue faster, making it hard to swim for longer distances.