How often do you need to Lifeguard certification to reach your goals?

How many times per week does a swimmer need to Lifeguard certification and swim? The first thing a swimmer should do to answer the question is ask someone else, why are you getting stuck?

What is the main reason or primary goal of your time on the water? 

Can you swim for relaxation or do you swim for fitness? Maybe you're doing it for more than just fitness. Maybe you swim to compete. Here are some suggestions for how often you should swim based on your personal goals.

Swimming for relaxation

If you swim because it relieves the daily stresses of life, then swimming as often as you like is the way to go. Be careful not to swim fast (at a high intensity level) or for too long each day and be alert for signs of overuse injuries such as swimmer's shoulder. Since swimming acts as a way to cope, frequent, low-intensity, short swim workouts are a great idea.

Swimming for Fitness

If your goal is general fitness and swimming is all you do for your fitness program, I'd suggest adding some dry stuff to the mix, like lifting weights, cycling, or jogging, but it's not a necessity . For a fitness swimmer , three to four swim workouts each week is a good goal. Swim workouts should have a mix of swim durations and intensities: some days shorter, some days longer, some days easier, and some days should have more challenging, higher-intensity swimming.

Again, be careful of an overuse injury.

Swimming for special fitness

If you swim because you want to be a better swimmer , then just like the general fitness swimmer, you should mix up your lengths and intensities . Swimming three to six times each week is the way to go.

You should also do some form of dry work to help with core strength and while lifting weights may not be 100% specific it can help and you can do some specific exercise to reduce the chances of him developing shoulder problems swimmer.

Swim to Lifeguard training 

If you're doing a triathlon or another type of multi-sport event that involves swimming and you don't have a swimming background, then you should be swimming three to five times each week. How long and how hard varies depending on the depth of the race you're running for, how far along you are in your training plan, and your ability. If you're an experienced swimmer, you can probably get away with swimming two to four times a week, depending on what event you're training for and how things fit into your overall training plan. Once again, be alert for shoulder pain or other overuse issues.

Whatever the answer to the question of why you swim, getting into a pool, lake, river or ocean to swim should leave you feeling good when you're done. Swimming is a great way to get the cardiovascular and fitness benefits of Lifeguard certification. Enjoy the water!